Football
Coach Communication Done Well
Communication between officials and coaches is extremely important and is an essential element of a properly officiated game. Most coaches identify good communication as...
Official/Player Communication Influences Conduct
Trying to manage a football game would be nearly impossible without effective and pointed communication. Although managing players is primarily the responsibility of the coaching staff, officials can facilitate the...
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...
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...
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...
6 Types of Interference
1. Playing Through the Back
A defender cannot come over a receiver’s back to try to play a pass. Be careful not to penalize a...
Early Movement By Either Team May Call For Flags
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ffensive players are prohibited from committing a false start before the snap. There are two movements that are illegal for all team A players:...
A Gridiron Geometry Lesson
Laypeople may think there isn’t a big difference between spots, lines and planes, but officials need a clear understanding of those geometry terms. Very briefly, a spot is...
Passer Gets Extra Attention
Philosophies, rules and mechanics have increasingly stressed the need to officiate through the passer — in other words, pay particular attention to contact on...
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...
It’s OK to pick up a flag or put one down late
Back in the day there were two commonly accepted officiating axioms: Don’t pick up a flag once it’s put down and don’t put one down late. The idea...
When in Doubt, Solved
Several years ago rulemakers began putting “when in question” guidelines in the rulebook. They say that in certain cases, if a ruling could go either way, it should...
Manipulation Or Management?
One of the attributes that separates the best referees from their good counterparts is the ability to manage a game. Good game management includes...
Judgment Necessary at Line of Scrimmage
Judgments are a large part of football officiating. All rules require some degree of judgment. Perhaps the simplest application is determining whether a team has too many players on...
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...
Deep Official A Key Crew Member
Back judges are often undervalued in a crew of five. Perhaps that stems from the many prep teams that run the ball much more often than pass...
When a Lone Ranger Isn’t a ‘Good Guy’
Even if you are too young to have watched the TV show, you should be familiar with the Lone Ranger, a fictional character that...
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...
Focus on Free Kicks
You are the referee for tonight’s game. You have completed the pregame conference with your crew, met with the head coaches and conducted the coin toss. Now you hustle...
More Than a Dozen Intentional Acts Are Possible
When the word “intentional” is mentioned, the first thing that springs to the mind of most football officials is intentional grounding. However, intent plays a role in many more...
Plays Not Seen Often Challenge Officials
No one has ever attempted to rank fouls in the order of the difficulty in calling them. However, it’s clear there is pecking order....
Movement Only One Part of the Job for Umpires
It takes a great deal of fortitude to venture into the jumble of flailing arms and bodies where only linebackers dare to tread. But in addition to being...
Poor Signals Lose Time
By Gerry Grunska
Recently I witnessed a victory that was essentially accomplished through timing errors by the officials. The process went like this. Time was running out for team...
Football Crew Success Depends on Working Together
Teamwork can be traced back to the Neanderthal age. It has been used to find food, build shelter, drive away enemies and protect the...
