Football Officials
The following are observations I made from week#1 and #2 and are in no particular order or identified to embarrass anyone.
Mechanics:
Referee:
Some of you are too deep, too far off to one side of the quarterback or both at the snap. The officials manual recommends 10-15 yards from the line of scrimmage and 5 yards wide of the huddle. The referee should be on the throwing arm of the quarterback. This guideline could be hard to follow when the ball is being snapped from the hash mark when considering the throwing arm of the quarterback.
Umpire:
Some crews have two back judges! When this is occurring the umpire is obviously way too deep. I know as a former umpire you don’t want to get hit, but that is why your head is on a swivel and your feet are not planted in concrete (you have to read the play and move). Also, a number of my observations show the umpire is not stepping towards the line-of-scrimmage on pass plays. In addition, as an umpire knows where the ball is to be spotted. Many umpires use two wrist bands One for the down indicator and the other to help with remembering where the last play was snapped from. Keep in mind, a play ending near the side hash mark is not spotted in the center of the field for the next snap! The ball should be placed at the dead-ball spot between the hashes.
Wings:
I watched a number of wing officials dropping their heads to observe the blade of grass where a play ended (usually when the sideline is involved) or when the player went out of bounds. Go to the spot, put your foot down to mark the spot, and continue to officiate with your head up observing what is going on in your area of responsibility. If players are behind you, rotate your body with your back to the field to observe the players who are out-of-bounds. Another observation is wing officials who are not releasing early enough to help with pass, or scrimmage kick plays. Line Judges you have to release immediately after a legal snap on scrimmage kick play. Head Linesman, you have responsibilities at the line-of-scrimmage before releasing. Make yourself and your crew look good by getting to the correct position to make any needed call. Remember, wings you are the crew ambassadors/salesman to the sidelines/coaches. Help make your crew look good. Being in the right position helps make your crew look good!
After the play, the wing official opposite of where the play has ended has police duties. It is your job to watch all the players to ensure no cheap shot goes unnoticed!
Back Judges:
Hustling is good, but moving in too fast/running to retrieve the ball does not allow you the ability to see what is going on among the players when you are focused solely on chasing down the game ball. Slow down and move with a purpose.
On punt coverage do not get too far behind the returner. Try to stay 2-3 yards deeper than the returner so that you can see the catch/muff/fumble or recovery and help with that first gunner. If you are too far behind the receiver you cannot see if the receiver’s knee touches down during the reception. Have your bean bag in your hand to mark first touching, fumble, momentum, or the end of the kick (any of these could be important)!
Lastly:
I recognize last week’s game is the first game of the season and there is still some rust to deal with. Signals from the crew were often lackadaisical. Many of you had trouble getting your hand straight up to signal the play clock operator to start the lay clock. Remember, count off three seconds and signal with your arm extended over your head to the play clock operator. Wings square your routes off. Come all the way into the hash marks when necessary. Umpires can go out beyond the hash mark when the ball is only a step or two away from you. Once again, sell yourself and your crew. Look sharp. You never know who is observing your game and with the use of game films/Hudl it is hard to hide your performance or lack thereof. Cover these items in this week’s pregame meeting.
Closing:
After this week, we are 1/3 of the way through the regular season. Overall, we are doing a good job the last 2 weeks. Most of the observations above are about blowing the dust off individually and as a crew. If possible, watch your game film. Be critical of yourself. As a crew, discuss the areas needing improvement. As always, study the rules and case books. Quiz each other about the rules and different plays/situations you could encounter. Above all else, have fun, and bring along one of our new officials to observe the crew work. Get them involved, chart your penalties so they can learn. Get them ready as you never know when a crew member will go down with an injury, or work situation he/she cannot get out of.
Keep your game situations and rule comments coming in as it makes writing the newsletter easier.
Week 2 training tape is now in Hudl under “Training Tapes” if you see yourself on there please do not get offended. We are all learning.
We are accepting nominations for IHSA official of the year. If you have a nomination feel free to send it to me or any other board members.
Next meeting will be 9/21 at Jon David Wrestling Center in Edwardsville at 7. Special Guest Sam Knox.
Have a great pregame discussion before going on the field to get you and your crew’s mind right.
Thanks,
Blake Ohren