High School Football Referee Guide

It’s that time of year again:  Football season!

Fans, players, coaches and officials all look forward to this time of year.  Maybe you’ve thought about officiating /becoming a football referee.  Maybe you’ve said to yourself, “I mean how hard can this be? If these blind, senseless, people can make those calls and get paid to do it; well certainly so can I and I can do a better job, and people will think my calls are great.”  Maybe you think it’s that easy…..read on.

The act of  simply becoming an official is the easy part.  Becoming a good football official, who knows the rules, understands the mechanics, understands positioning,   and earns the respect of their peers – these are the hard parts of becoming an official.  Seriously – if you’ve ever thought about becoming an official – you may have asked some of the following questions:
continue reading…

Well, I never did get a chance to write a season wrap-up for this blog, but now is as good a time as any. Our varsity crew had a great year and we are all looking forward to working together again this fall. Hope you all enjoyed your season and learned a lot that you can take with you next year.

Oh, and I absolutely have to give a huge shout-out to the New Orleans Saints!!! Black and Gold Superbowl, huh???? I hope they play a game us Saints fans can be proud of….

Thanks to all of you who faithfully followed my blog this past year – I will be back again in the late summer with some new ideas and tips to share with my fellow football officials! Let me know if you have topics you’d like me to cover.

Enjoy the off-season everyone!

High School Football Officials are always aware of player safety.  It is one of the most important aspects of the game.

But what about us?  Officials can and do get hurt during games.  In our local organization, several officials have been injured on the field in the last few seasons, including one badly broken arm last Friday night!   In order to minimize your risk, keep these points in mind:

Be Observant

Stay focused!  It’s not enough to be ready to officiate – always be prepared for different situations that could happen on the field or the sidelines in order to protect your own safety as an official.  Here are some of the key areas to be aware of:

Hazardous field conditions, i.e. wet or icy grass surfaces:

• potentially causing  cleats to become stuck when following plays
• potentially causing loose footing
• potentially causing sliding that could cause injury to you, other players, coaches
• potentially causing you to lose focus during plays

Side line interferences

• too many coaches or assistants on the sidelines -  do not be afraid to throw a sideline warning in order to control this
• coaches or assistants moving past the appropriate team box
• Be polite but firm in the following situations
  • statisticians roaming the sidelines
  • photographers getting in the way of players or officials
• Be alert for plays that may carry beyond the sideline and into team benches, etc.

Middle of the field situations

• Pay special attention to the following:
  • Plays developing around you
  • Players or actions that may potentially continue through your area
  • Possibility of getting stepped on in the playing area
  • Getting run into by players

After game situations

• Leave the field as a group as soon as the game is over
• Travel together when leaving the field and when heading into the locker rooms
• No one expects to be accosted – but always be observant for any disgruntled fan

More than once I have had to ask statisticians or photographers to ‘get out of the way’ when running down the sideline.  They want to be there – but the sideline is the area for the wings (linesman, line judge, coaches/assistants in their respective areas and the chain crew) to work.  You must have the ability to follow plays without being concerned about running into someone.    Yes you are looking out for player safety but also be cautious about your own safety during and after the game.

Till next time – here’s a five yard delay-of-game penalty for ya!

Watching game film – so just how good are you?

Do you think  your crew is good, great, or even perfect? If you think your crew is perfect, and that there is no room for improvement – pack up that whistle, flags, and stripes and retire.   But seriously, one of the ways a crew can get better is to watch film of your crew officiating a game.

You can  request a copy of the game film from the athletic director or head coach.  Thanks to a comment on this blog made by a fellow official, our crew started bringing  a blank DVD and a shipping envelope, addressed back to me with postage applied.  (thanks for the great tip, Jeff!)  We hand this to the coach or AD and ask for a copy of the game film. Then when it arrives we set up dinner at someone’s house  (the one with the best cook of course.  No not the officials – but one of the wives) and watch the game film together.

Everyone anticipates a really good display of their skills. Watching film helps each person to critique themselves and to offer advice to each other.  Prior to watching the game film we vow to not be nit picky.  We also decide to each take 1 – 3 things away from the film review that we can work on to get better individually.  This is a learning tool – you will be surprised at what you might or might not see your crew do.   You make your crew better by working to improve, listening to coaches, offering advice or asking for advice.  Watching game film is no different – it’s a learning tool for everyone.

Watching the game film:

• We find the good points to point out
• We also find the bad points
• We look for each other in proper position
• We look for stopping the clock
• We look for continuing officiating – it is very easy to stop officiating on a play
• We look for missed player actions – it is very easy to “Not” see a cheap shot or what appears to be a cheap shot
• It is also very helpful to slow down the action to see what you might or might not have called on a particular play.
• We critique our selves on measurements
  • running play coverage
  • position
  • action in and around each person’s zone
  • action that continues out of bounds
  • potential late hits
• Game film is also a great way to help you keep a log/journal of things you want to improve on each game, each play and each year.

In the end all of us want to get better and this is a great tool to utilize.

Till next time – here’s a five yard delay-of-game penalty for ya!

The season is going along really well….here are some pictures of a local Junior Varsity game I worked a couple days ago.

Last night our crew watched a game tape from last week’s varsity game. Next post I’ll talk about the value of reviewing game tapes.

Hey, welcome back to the High School Referee Guide Blog!  A while back we talked about crew communication prior to the game. Let’s expand on that a little bit more today.  Some people think we just walk on the field and officiate the game, right?  Wrong!!    Today I will talk about the pregame routine and all the details we address as a high school football crew.

As a rule, we like to be on the field at least 35 minutes prior to kickoff time.  During this time members of the  crew should meet with each team’s head coach and follow these rules of communication: continue reading…

It’s been another busy football week here in Northern Colorado! I have done a Jr. High or Jr. Varsity game pretty much every day this week. Last Saturday I had the opportunity to white-hat for a local youth league. The team I officiated for was 4th graders – they were so excited about playing football! I just loved watching their energy and enthusiasm. Doing these type of things in your community can really keep an official jazzed about the sport.

Four guys from our varsity crew are going on the road this afternoon to the Eastern Plains to officiate an 8 man game. We’ll take sandwiches and other “road food”. It will be a long day (2 1/2 hour drive each way!) but these rural schools have just as much interest in the games as the big name local high schools.

Remember, as an official, it’s not about always working big games or playoff games….it’s about the kids and the athletic programs and the loyal fans at the schools no matter how big or small. Keep a good attitude and enjoy your officiating at EVERY game…

till next time…..

There are many things a high school football crew should do prior to each game and during each game.  On-field communication is one of the primary keys to looking sharp and becoming a really good crew.   You can review this information at crew meetings or even in the vehicle on the way to the game continue reading…

New high school football officials often ask for advice and I always tell them: Never stop learning from every experience. I believe that almost ALL games can be used as potential learning experiences. I try to learn something from key situations in games, from other officials (new or old), and from rule changes. Many officials will tell you that it is a good practice to write down your goals before the season starts regardless of how many years you’ve been officiating. continue reading…

What a week! I have had a Jr. High or Jr. Varsity football game every day this week so I’m behind in my blogging. Meanwhile, here are some pictures taken at yesterday’s Jr. Varsity game between two local rival schools. (the home team won!). Our crew’s first real Varsity game is tomorrow. Looking forward to working with the guys!