High School Football Referee Guide

The 2009 High School Football Season is Underway!!

Sorry for the delay in posting – I have been up to my eyeballs serving as white-hat for Jr. High games while waiting for my varsity game season to start on the 5th of September!   Also there are weekly football association meetings to attend and I’m still officiating for a softball league at work.   whew – there are not enough hours in the day!

Anyway as you all know, this time of the year is especially busy so bear with me and I’ll try to update this blog as often as I can with useful information for the High School Football Official. Let me know if there is something you’d like me to cover in a future blog post.

Now, let’s talk about high school football official crew communication continue reading…

As promised, here is the information detailing field mechanics for High School Football five-man crews for the following three positions:

Linesman

• Positioned on the receiving team’s 30 yard line
• On their  sideline (typically the visiting team side)- with the chain crew
• Out of bounds
• Counts all receiving team players
• Responsible for making certain that coaches, players and others are in their proper locations on their sideline
• Hold arm above head when ready to signal to the Referee – ready for the kickoff whistle
• Bean bag in hand ready for spot if last touched inbounds by the receivers
• Ready to throw flag if kick goes out of bounds and untouched by the receivers
• Watches players not the flight of the ball
• If touching by the receivers is in the area then gives clock start signal
• Provides player coverage, watching action and providing cleanup around and behind the runner
• Picks up action of the runner and follows as needed

Line Judge

• Positioned on the receivers’ free kick line – 50 yard line
• Opposite the linesman
• Out of bounds
• Counts all receiving team players
• Responsible for making certain that coaches, players and others are in their proper locations on their sideline
• Hold arm above head when ready to signal to the Referee – ready for the kickoff whistle
• Bean bag in hand ready for spot if last touched inbounds by the receivers
• Ready to throw flag if kick goes out of bounds and untouched by the receivers
• Observe infractions involving receivers free-kick line
• Watch for first touching by the kicking team
• Watch players not the flight of the ball
• Watch for illegal blocks
• If touching by the receivers is in the area then gives clock start signal
• Provides player coverage and watches action
• Picks up action of the runner and follows as needed
• If ball action becomes dead in area, blow whistle and kill clock

Back Judge

• Initially controls the ball
• Hands the ball to the kicker
• Communicates to the kicker each time for potential onsides kicks
• Counts all kicking team players
• Gives predefined signal to crew if onsides
• Moves to position on the kickers’ free kick line – 40 yard line
• Same side as the linesman
• Out of bounds
• Responsible for making certain that coaches, players and others are in their proper locations on their sideline
• Observes kicking line for infractions
• Hold arm above head when ready to signal to the Referee – ready for the kickoff whistle
• Bean bag in hand ready for spot if last touched inbounds by the receivers
• Ready to throw flag if kick goes out of bounds and untouched by the receivers
• Watch for first touching by the kicking team
• Watch players and  the flight of the ball – until ball is out of zone
• Watch for illegal blocks
• If touching by the receivers is in the area- gives clock start signal
• Provides player coverage and watches action
• Picks up action of the runner and follows as needed if on a long return
• If ball action becomes dead in area, sees the ball and then blows whistle and kills the clock

Hope you find this information useful and, as always, feel free to leave comments or questions for me.

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

For your reference, here are the five-official field positions for kickoffs:

Referee

• Positioned adjacent to the receiving team’s goal line
• On the linesman’s side line
• Near the inbounds line
• Counts all receiving team players
• Awaits the ready signal from all other officials (this is typically an arm held straight up)
• Blows whistle  to signal the ball is ready for play and that the kickoff can proceed
• Gives clock start signal upon touching of the ball by the receiving team if observed
• Ready to signal on a touchback
• Ready to throw flag if kick goes out of bounds and untouched by the receivers
• Bean bag location of catch (may be needed if player’s momentum takes them into the end zone)

Umpire

• Positioned on the receiving team’s 20 yard line
• On the line judge’s sideline (typically the home team side)
• Out of bounds
• Counts all receiving team players
• Responsible for making certain that coaches, players and others are in their proper locations on their sideline
• Hold arm above head when ready to signal to the Referee – ready for the kickoff whistle
• Bean bag in hand ready for spot if last touched inbounds by the receivers
• Ready to throw flag if kick goes out of bounds and untouched by the receivers
• Watches players – not the flight of the ball
• If touching by the receivers is in the area then gives clock start signal
• Provides player coverage, watching action and providing cleanup around and behind the runner
• Picks up action of the runner and follows as needed

Watch for my next post which will cover Five-man field mechanics for kickoffs for the positions of Linesman, Line Judge and Back Judge.

Until then, feel free to comment or ask a question.   Here’s a five-yard delay of game penalty for ya!

Wow this is a  tough topic!   It’s unfortunate that we ever have to be “police” on the field – but it does happen.  A game with bad sportsmanship can sometimes make for the worst games to officiate.  I believe that sportsmanship should be a required class for parents, athletes, coaches and officials.   In my opinion playing  and/or winning with respect for yourself and the other team is really how sports should be played.  Behind player safety – sportsmanship is key for officials to monitor. continue reading…

I want to reiterate something I said in my last post: communication between football officials is key – both on the field and off.   This is true whether your crew is new or has been together for a while.

Tonight we had our first high school football varsity crew meeting of the 2009 season here at my house.   After burgers and fixin’s and a couple of brews, we talked about our season schedule and studied for our upcoming officiating test. continue reading…

The basics high school football rules for football officials, and some do’s and don’ts:

Well first off – this is just my opinion but here are some of the basics that I try to follow.

Player safety – the one thing I consider THE most important.   Always keep an eye out for player safety:

• Clipping
• Illegal blocks – chop blocks, block in the back, etc.
• Face masks/pulling of the helmet openings/or chin strap – with twisting of the helmet
• Unnecessary roughness – yeah it’s football – but an unnecessary hit to a player totally away from a play or a hit with intent to harm needs to be controlled continue reading…

Before the season starts take some time to assess your gear.   I use a large duffle bag for my varsity game gear and a smaller one for Jr. High/recreational league games.  I try to have duplicates of most of my gear in each bag to make it easier to pack and keep track of what I have with me.  (If you will only do Jr. High or youth leagues, you may only need one bag for your gear).

Here’s a list of clothing items you need in your bag: continue reading…

Here are some first steps you should take in your journey to becoming a football official (also known as a football ref):

1. Almost every area or school district has a local official’s association which meets during the football season to network, discuss rules, field mechanics and philosophy.  To find out about football official’s associations in your area, call your school district office and they can give you more information.   Also check your local youth leagues and recreational football leagues for information.
2. Attend games in your area and talk to the officials after the game and find out how they got started and who to contact for more information.
3. Volunteer to help with pre-season scrimmages and/or junior high level games.   There is always a need for officials at that level and the games can provide you with valuable experience as well as a chance to get to know the local coaches and other officials.
4. Ask if your association has a formal or informal mentoring program.  These programs are designed specifically to provide new refs an opportunity to learn from veteran officials.   Likewise, if you are a veteran official be sure to extend your hand to new refs to answer questions and welcome them to the group.   Remember – everyone starts at the beginning!