Football
Breaking a Ball-Hawking Habit
The desire to rubberneck, gawk, stare and gape is often an involuntary behavior. Humans are innately curious and are often attracted to the most...
Coordination, Communication Key to Measurements
One of the oldest sports clichés is that football is “a game of inches.” When a measurement is involved, it might be a fraction...
Three of the Toughest Judgment Calls
In most seasons, false starts are the most frequently occurring fouls and arguably the foul that requires the second least amount of judgment (calling...
Protocols for Inadvertent Whistles
Late in the fourth quarter, the home team was up, 16-14, and the visitors lined up at the 25 yardline for what would almost...
3 Times When You Can Take Back A Flag
Once a flag is thrown, there are circumstances when it can be picked up — disregarded if you will. Except for some very specific...
Anticipation Takes Hesitation Out of the Equation
Many times only the offense knows what will happen after the snap. Communication from the sidelines or a brilliant idea from a player on...
Things No Official Has Ever Accomplished
There are a few things that no official has ever accomplished. By fully understanding the following feats cannot be accomplished, officials will gain a better understanding of how to...
Free But Not Easy
By George Demetriou
Although every game begins with a kickoff, free kicks occur much less frequently than passing or running plays. Add the fact the...
Football Ground Rules
Whether it’s dry or wet, artificial or natural, the surface on which the game is played can have a marked influence on how the game is played and on...
For Football Officials, A Fine Line Between Hustle and Over-Hustle
Moving energetically, sometimes referred to as hustle, not only creates a positive perception, but it can help officials get where they need to be to call the play properly....
Now, Later and Never
The idea of a flag being waved off brings to mind an overbearing referee trumping the decision of a younger crewmate. That has happened...
6 Elements of Your Officiating Anatomy
The human anatomy is an intricate structure consisting of 11 systems and containing more than 37 trillion cells. Officiating requires the use of many...
Foul Trumps Other Fouls
Several fouls are predicated on the hypothesis that a legal forward pass is or was in progress. As a result, several actions that are...
Don’t Get An ‘Oh, S—!’ Reputation
By Jeffrey Stern
I’m guessing you can fill in the blanks in the title of this post. If you haven’t used the word even once...
3 “When In Doubt” Judgment Guidelines
According to Webster, judgment is the ability to make a decision. An official’s judgment calls will be questioned more often than his or her...
Classifying Fouls Eases Enforcement
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here are several elements to correctly enforcing a penalty. The first is to accurately identify a foul. If there is no foul, there cannot...
Before The Flag
No one likes to see a lot of flags thrown. They interrupt the flow of the game and can seem to make it drag...
Hey Ref! Doncha Know The Rules?
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t’s a question all officials hear at some point in their careers. Unfortunately, fans yelling it from the stands are usually unaware the game...
Eyes Off the Ball
More than one clinician has joked about officials who should have to buy a ticket to officiate a game because they mostly watch the...
Flying Flag
On Dec. 19, 1999, Jeff Triplette — in his first year as an NFL referee — was working a game in Cleveland when he...
Aptitude Vs. Attitude
The attitude officials have when they walk onto the field will determine in part the success they may or may not enjoy in officiating...
The 5 D’s Of Football Success
Here's a list of qualities starting with D from Steve Shaw, CFO National Coordinator of Football Officials, that, if employed, can help any official...
Rare Rulings Well Done
No one has ever attempted to rank fouls in the order of the difficulty in calling them. However, it’s clear there is a pecking...
Yawner? Blowout? Guess Again
Iremember sitting at the breakfast table on the morning of a late-season game between two cellar-dwellers. One official, a garrulous person whose normal speaking...
