If you are a veteran official or someone with a desire to become a new official there is much to do and learn.  There are many things you can and should be doing to prepare for the season ahead.  Read on for tips and ideas for new and seasoned officials.

Tips for beginning your career as a high school football official

If you have a desire to become a high school football official then please contact your local youth football associations – these associations are great places to start. They can tell you how your local organizations work and give you specific information about meetings or opportunities to meet other officials.

If you already know any high school officials, ask them to help you find out how to contact your high school officials association to learn more about how to get started.  As a new official you can and should be learning rules, positioning, and mechanics about being an official from other officials or on your own using rule books and materials available through your local association.  Many local football organizations may offer to teach you the fundamentals of becoming a football official – one-on-one training will give you such valuable experience. Find a mentor in the organization if you can.

You can contact NFHS about rule books or acquire them from your associations if needed.

Tips for veteran high school football officials

If you are a veteran official, by now you should have started doing the following:

• Studying your rule books (https://nfhs-football.arbitersports.com/front/105409/Site ) and points of emphasis for the year.  NFHS members can use the above link for football publications – rules, case studies, and officials’ books.
• Taking inventory and ordering new gear if needed, flags, hats, score cards, etc.  I do this every year about 1 ½ months prior to the first game.  Do this early because many times certain items may become back ordered if you wait too late.  There are many sites to order gear from:  http://www.ump-attire.com, http://www.honigs.com, http://www.cliffkeen.com just to name a few.
• Checking your scheduled games and knowing where you will be the first few games.  Many associations use websites for scheduling – find out the website of your association and learn to use it. Also, it’s helpful to know who your assigner is in case you have questions about your schedule.

If you are part of a crew you should have already started to meet together to talk about:

• Gear – what color pants will everyone use this year on your crew or in your association, etc.
• Rules and the NFHS test in your state (certification required test). Studying and knowing the rules – everyone needs to have a solid understanding about the fundamentals of officiating.
• Special situational plays – golden rule – if you talk about a squirrelly play – chances are chance will give you this same play somewhere in a game this year – so talk about those crazy situations prior to the season and during your pregame talks.

This is just a short list of things that you should be or probably have been doing as an official by now. If not then you need to get started with these items as soon as possible!

Thanks for reading and check in again soon for my next blog post which will give you even more tips for veterans and new football officials.

Till then, here’s a five yard delay-of-game penalty for ya!

My feelings about sportsmanship – are that everyone plays a role in sportsmanship. Players, coaches, officials, parents, commentators, fans, etc. I wish that every state made sportsmanship classes mandatory for everyone prior to participation in all sports at all levels. I understand about getting excited, about supporting your team, but sometimes some people cross the line in commenting about a player, a call, etc. I will be the first to admit that officials miss calls.

You and I know that officials strive to do their best every time they officiate any sporting event. What is perceived as a bad call doesn’t give anyone  the right to be belligerent. Poor sportsmanship by anyone only promotes more poor sportsmanship. Poor sportsmanship sometimes is considered acceptable by players when they see this behavior from their coaches, other players or fans.

Many times one fan will call out a missed call, example ‘that’s holding’ then, like sharks that smell blood – other fans, parents, etc will chime in with the same comment when many times they never saw the same thing. Many times fans, parents, player, or coaches don’t know the rules at the level of the sport but will scream for a certain penalty. This happens so many times at high school or at youth recreation football games. Many of the rules that most fans see from NFL games never apply or are entirely different at the high school or youth level.

Good sportsmanship is very dear to me. Parents need to learn to leave what happens on the field – on the field. Even if you think a bad call was made, what is there to gain by accosting someone, official or other fan after a game? Think of how this looks in the eyes of a child at a youth recreation league game? In the years that I have officiated I have very rarely heard of a call that ‘cost a team’ a game. Yes I have heard of it happening – but extremely rarely. Typically what fans or coaches thinks is a bad call, will not ‘cost a team’ a game. Most of the time, but not always the team that loses is the team that complains the most about the officiating.

I just wish that people could maintain good sportsmanship and leave the game on the field. As stated before, I wish all states had mandatory sportsmanship classes for everyone – even for officials to attend each and every year for each and every sport.

Comments?   Let me hear what you think about this topic!    Thanks for tuning in to my blog…..until next time, here’s a five yard delay-of-game penalty for ya!

Crawling first – basic fundamentals
Rules
Seeking out a mentor – Learn and Learn some more
Equipment

Crawling first – basic fundamentals:
There’s an old saying “You gotta crawl before you walk”.   What this means is:  take things slow.    Learn as much as possible as you go.   This is true for officials of any sport. Here are some ideas to get you started:

> Read your rule books, then read them again
> Talk to other officials for advice, attend meetings, become active in your local sports organizations
> Understand that player safety comes first ALWAYS – no ifs ands or buts.  If a player hurts another player illegally you always call the penalty regardless of the bearing on a play.

If there is bad weather – heat, lighting, etc. – always keep player safety your top priority.  On extremely hot days always call for ‘Water In’ during time outs, or as needed.

This next one is strictly my own opinion – but I treat players like I would any of my own kids – If I think a player doesn’t seem right after a play (this could be due to heat, or a really hard hit) – I always ask that player “Are you ok?”.   If I don’t like the response in any way – I will ask the coach to consider taking a player out for a play to be checked. Or I take an officials’ time out for that player to be checked.

Understand these basics about making calls:

>  Be sure of all of the calls you make.  If you are unsure of a call – then don’t make the call,  unless it is a player safety call.>  Always get a number and say the penalty and number in your head, “I have holding on 47 red (defense)”, and repeat it, “I have holding on 47 red.”   Learning to do this helps you when you have to communicate the call the to the referee or other crew members.

>  Watch your whistle usage.  Be slow on your whistle, not late, just a fraction slow – yes coaches may complain that “‘players are taught to play until they hear the whistle”. This is so untrue – the whistle does not end the play. The play action ends the play.  Don’t blow your whistle if you don’t see the ball. Nothing is worse than killing a play when a play still has a live ball in possession.  And if you ever blow an inadvertant whistle – own it, to yourself and your crew.   Everyone (yes, even officials in the NFL!) blows a call once in a while.   Learn from it and move on.

>  Stay in your zone.  Don’t blow your whistle if the play is not in your zone or throw a penalty on what you ‘think’ is a penalty from too far a distance.  This doesn’t mean that if you clearly see a penalty that you should ignore it.  It just means use good judgement and stay in your zone. That is why there’s more than one official on the field – everyone has their own job, but all of us are responsible.

Learn Your High School Football Rules:

What most people see on Sundays (NFL football) is so different than most of the rules at the high school or youth level.   For instance:
>  Know the differences between offense off sides (false start) and defense off sides (encroachment). No one can false start on the offense and no one can jump in the neutral zone where the ball lays.

>  Learn what pass interference is – it is separation or a physical advantage gained by either player.  At the high school level – there is no such thing as an ‘uncatchable ball’.  Pass interference is pass interference.
>  Intention grounding is intentional grounding – there is no ‘outside the tackles’.

>  Read your rules as often as possible and then reread them as often as possible.  It is a disservice to your crew and the teams if you do NOT know the rules and are not able to explain your calls.

Seek out a mentor – find someone in your high school football association that is well respected and that you think you can become friends with.  Ask them for advice. There are many tales and stories and lessons that you can learn from a mentor.  A mentor can teach you so very much – proper position, guidance, what to avoid, what to expect, etc.

And finally….about those stripes!

Last year I wrote an article about what equipment you’ll need to get started.   You can check it out here..

So until next time…..here’s a five yard delay of game penalty for ya!   Thanks for checking out my blog…

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:

How or where do I go to become a football official?

What do I need in order to officiate?

Are there any costs associated with officiating?

How much money can I expect to make?

And the most important question you should ask yourself is why do I want to do this?

How do I become a football official?

To become an official, here are a few first steps:

• Contact youth/recreation or flag football associations in your local area
• Contact another official
• Attend a game and talk to the officials before or after the game
• Contact a school administrator
• Contact  a coach

Express your interest in becoming an official.  One of these suggestions should help you get started in the right direction.  You can also go to one of the following links:

NASO – National Association of Sports Officials

NFHS – National Federation of State High School Associations

What do I need in order to officiate/Are there any cost associated with officiating?

To officiate there are a few basic things you will need to get started at the youth level or at a flag football level:  (it’s not all about equipment):

• The desire, patience and ability to maintain a positive attitude
• Willingness to learn the rules through self study, clinics, or a mentor
• Acceptance that learning is a continuous  part of officiating – there’s a very old saying “Knowledge is Power” – one thing coaches hate is an official who is out of position when making a call, or an official who simply does not know the rules.
• Mental and physical shape to endure being an official – being on a football field can be minutes to hours depending on the type and level of game.
• Equipment can be as simple as a referee shirt, whistle and a yellow flag when first starting out.  These items can be purchased from many online or local officiating sports businesses or by the generosity of another official.   If you desire to officiate at the junior high school level and above you may want to purchase what is called a ‘referee starter package’.  Here are just a few places that I use online:
  • Honigs
  • StripesPlus
  • The cost associated with officiating are usually equipment, association yearly fees, meals after games, etc.  This will depend on your level of participation.

How much money can I expect to make?

Before I answer this question – let’s be honest about this – if your desire is to make money at the start -  maybe you should rethink  becoming an official.  Please don’t misunderstand me or get discouraged – Yes many officials do it for the money.  But the money is usually not what most officials think about.  Most officials want to do their best,  they want to get better every game, they want to socialize with others to have a good time and improve their knowledge of the game.  The average earnings depends on the level of game that you call.  School associations pay differently depending on the state.  Understand that you are going to spend money to get started, you are going to spend money to maintain your officiating equipment and you are going to spend money to eat when and if you travel.  Doing your best, learning the game, and having fun is what you should expect besides the cost.

Why do I want to do this?

Remember those first thoughts “ I can do a better job” – that should be your why.  You want to become a good official, to learn the rules, to try to make the best calls possible on the field – learn and have fun.  Officiating isn’t always as easy as it seems, there are many rules to learn.  There will be times you walk off a field and think you called a good game and fans, and coaches will still disagree with you.  If you desire to do this – do it with the desire to be the best, to always learn and to keep improving each time out.

Thanks for visiting my site – our season starts this week so I’ll be reporting back soon!

Until next time – here’s a 5 yard delay of game penalty!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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:

The High School Football white hat (Referee):

• Does most of the talking
• He is your ‘General’ – please allow him to maintain that level of respect and professionalism
• He will introduce the crew members
• Everyone shakes hands, showing the head coach respect
• The referee asks the head coach if all players are legally equipped – do all players have the proper playing equipment?
• Do any players have any casts that may require a doctor’s approved note to play?
• Do any players have any wraps or braces that need to be examined for metal or sharp edges and for proper padding (safety concerns)?
• If there are any casts, wraps or braces the referee instructs the umpire to review them for proper padding
• Does the team run any special formations or trick plays so that the crew knows ahead of time to watch for them?
• Does the team’s quarterback throw left or right handed (so that the referee knows which side to be on for the quarterback’s protection)?
• Is the team’s field goal kicker left or right footed (so that the crew knows their positions on field goals or extra points)?
• The referee states any special points of emphasis this year – sideline clearance in the players box, horse collar, etc.
• Does the home team have any special activities prior to the game or during half time that may take additional time?
• The referee will give the coach a card with the crew’s names and positions
• The referee will ask the coach who is the ‘get back’ coach – this is the coach who helps the side line official control the team box
• The referee will ask the coach to identify the game ball person
• The referee will then ask the coach if he has any questions for the crew

The High School Football Umpire:

• Assists the referee when meeting with coaches
• Allows the referee to do most of the talking
• Reviews any documentation, i.e.,  doctor’s notes for any players with cast or wraps
• Reviews padding for casts, wraps or braces to assess the proper protection for player safety

The High School Football Linesman

• Checks the “line to gain” equipment for several things
• Checks that the chains actually measure 10 yards (or 15 yards for 6 man) ( don’t laugh, at times the chains are too short!)
• The linesman communicates with the chain crew
  • He explains what they should do and should not do
  • He tells them to never move unless the referee or linesman are signaling to move to the next ball spot
  • He tells the down box person to move to his spotting foot each down
  • He tells the down box person to manage the chain clip (for measurements) each first down
  • He tells the down box person where to place the chain clip
  • He tells the entire chain crew to never move the chains or down box if they see a penalty marker
  • He tells the entire chain crew to drop the chains (another reason for the clip)  if play comes their way
• Do the chains have a piece of tape directly in the middle at the 5 yard mark?
• Now why would you ever need a silly piece of tape in the middle of the chains?
  • It helps the linesman and referee determine whether the penalty will result in a first down
  • The tape makes it easy to know if a 5 yard penalty or penalty inside the 10 (half the distance) will give you a possible first down
  • As the referee you don’t have to guess, you can view the tape and know if a 5 yard penalty gives you a first down
  • We make a point to replace that tape every game

The High School Football Line Judge:

• Secures and reviews the game balls
• Communicates to the ball person to always stay near the line judge and linesman for quick ball rotation when a ball is needed
• Communicates with the ball person to always retrieve the game balls when they go out of bounds during plays
• Communicates with the ball person to  place a ball behind the goal posts prior to an extra point so that the ball is ready for the crew
• Reviews the starting time

The High School Football Back Judge:

• Is responsible for the game timing
• Is responsible for the 25 second clock – timing when the “ready for play” is signaled
• Is responsible for the 45/15 second clock for time outs and between scores
• Is responsible for
  • meeting with the clock operator
  • communicating the signals to the clock operator
  • communicating the overtime procedure with the clock operator
  • communicating to turn off any horns at the end of the period timing
  • communicating with the clock operator to look for him to start the half time clock

As a crew, you need to be sure that everyone knows their pre-game responsibility.   This will help you maintain credibility with the coaches and school officials which will lead to a much smoother game for everyone.

Till next time – here’s a five yard delay-of-game penalty for ya!   Hope you are all having a GREAT football season so far…

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…..