Comments for High School Football Referee Guide

Comment on Safety First – How To Stay Safe On The Field by matthew lipsey

matthew lipsey — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:18:51 +0000

Ive gotten jacked up more than once. Then again the position of umpire will put you in a more injury prone situation. My first year as an official I was doing chains in a playoff game and wasnt paying attention and got blindsided. Since then, I ve learned to stay alert no matter what is going on

Comment on About by doug ramirez

doug ramirez — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:29:15 +0000

Very nice articles. I also would let the person interested in becoming an official know to contact their state high school association.

Comment on High School Football Officials – Watching Game Film by thefootballref

thefootballref — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:57:00 +0000

Hello Stew, first I apologize for this taking me a while to get to – the season is almost over and it’s been a long but great season. The film study has been an excellent idea. We watch film and are very critical of ourselves as a crew and as individuals. We look for – positioning, continuing officiating, play around the area, etc. Our ultimate goal is to get better as a crew. My biggest complaint is we can’t get enough schools to send or give us game film – after all, we want to get better and this helps us to learn so many things about ourselves, and how we actually look on the field. This is one of the better ways to get better as a crew. Thank you for successful season wishes – I wish you the best throughout Europe in your games.

Comment on High School Football Officials – Watching Game Film by Stew Penrod

Stew Penrod — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:42:10 +0000

Pat, I think the film study is an excellent idea. Over here in Italy, we don’t always have the best facilities to get film work done and have a film study session. Many of the official’s I work with come 2 to 3 hours to work the game. Just getting them to come see a film is extremely difficult. Keep having a successful season.

Comment on High School Football Officiating – Pregame Communication with Coaches by thefootballref

thefootballref — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:41:14 +0000

Hello Jeff. Many thanks on the great suggestions. Especially the self addressed package with a DVD and postage for the game film. Many of the things you mention we do as individuals – the back judge meets with the clock operator, the linesman checks the line to gain equipment, etc. I appreciate your advice and any comments.

Comment on High School Football Officiating – Pregame Communication with Coaches by Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:37:58 +0000

I klike you process for pre-game. We follow a very similar approach. Something to consider however is asking about concerns the coach may have about his team’s opponent after reviewing game film from the previous week. We also address whether the coach will want a early flip or a 3 minute coin toss. We also pre-game our coaches 2 hours before game time so we do not disrupt them while they are working with their team directly before the game. We use the 35 minutes before the game to visit with the clock personel and the line to gain crew.

The last thing covered in meeting with the coaches is giving them a self addressed package with a DVR and postage in order to get a copy of the game film to review prior to next weeks outing.

I just found you blog and I think I will enjoy seeing how other crews do it. Good luck this year.

Comment on Sportsmanship – on the field and in the bleachers by thefootballref

thefootballref — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:55:45 +0000

This is a great question Susan. The answer is yes, but in order to warrant a penalty, the actions by the fan should exhibit excessive poor sportsmanship. What is excessive? Without knowing the entire situation, it is hard to answer this. However when officials feel that a fan is “crossing the line or being excessively abusive”, this can cause a 5, 10 or 15 yard penalty for a team. In our local organizations an official will usually talk to the coaching staff and ask for a sideline (fan) to be controlled by the AD (athletic director). If the official feels that the fan’s actions are extremely belligerent, the official can call for a sideline warning penalty. (rule 9-8).

Comment on Sportsmanship – on the field and in the bleachers by susan

susan — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:53:09 +0000

Can a referee flag a parent for yelling bad call and penalize the team a 5yd penalty in a highschool freshman football game? Can a referee ban parent from a game?
Seems like fans can’t cause penalties for thier team
Thanks
Susan

Comment on About by Todd Skaggs

Todd Skaggs — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:36:28 +0000

Nice web-site. Your enthusiasm and passion are apparent. Keep carrying the torch proudly!

Todd Skaggs

For a free 7 lesson course
on improving your football officiating
visit http://www.profootballreferee.com

Comment on About by thefootballref

thefootballref — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:27:53 +0000

Josh – thanks for your question. The best way to become an official is to attend some local high school football games and talk to the officials to find out about their local association. I’m sure one of them would be glad to share their experiences so you can decide if that is something you would like to pursue. Meanwhile, be sure to keep checking this blog to read about the real-life adventures of my varsity crew. Today is our first game!! Let me know if I can be of any more help to you. thanks – Patrick