Resilience - A Key to Success

By Steve Horgan, USA Field Hockey's Director of Umpiring



We all know there are many skills required for an umpire to be successful. Knowledge, fitness, personality, understanding, empathy and communication, just to name a few. But one skill that can make or break an umpire is his/her ability, or lack thereof, to recover quickly from challenges or difficulties during his/her career. Maya Angelou said, “I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.” Resilience is one the most important skills for an umpire to be successful.