The right and wrong call when using video for training purposes.

s an official, you want to get the call right.

That’s the most important part of the job, and in today’s day and age, studying the film and learning from it can go a long way.

Whether it’s watching video of a game you worked or looking at an educational clip, film can help sharpen officials to make sure their next call is the right one. Heck, it’s why officials at the top level of the major pro leagues and in college sports review film frequently.

Some officiating organizations will go over video in conferences or educational sessions, while others will post it directly to their websites.

But in the spirit of getting the call right, what’s the right call when it comes to collecting and sharing video clips for training purposes?

Don Collins, retired commissioner of the CIF-San Francisco Section, who served five years as a staff attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, said it’s all about getting it right.

“As an official, we are trying to get things right in the game. If we don’t get things right away from the game, what does that say?” Collins said. “So, I think it’s vital that you think about this.”

Sports law attorney Alan Goldberger, who wrote Sports

Officiating: A Legal Guide, echoed Collins' thoughts.

“Getting it right is just like what happens in a game. Make sure you study the rulebook and make the right calls,” Goldberger said. “That’s what I would say to officials and associations as they make training materials.”

When it comes to creating training materials, there are two key ways to go about doing it: filming it yourself or grabbing it from an outside source — typically a broadcast — and using that for training purposes.

Let’s start with filming yourself, or having someone else from your organization holding the camera at a game. Even at the amateur and youth levels, one of the first things to do is ask for permission. In most cases, this will be a simple “yes,” and assuming you already have some relationship with the game’s organizer, that person likely will go out of the way to make life easier when it comes to filming.

One key thing to remember when getting permission is that in an age where sports distribution rights are starting to filter even into the younger levels, it’s important to make it clear it’s for sports officials’ education and not an effort to distribute the game via a live stream. Whether in an in-person group or posted to an association