Football
Critical Rules for Umpires to Know
The umpire is in charge of the line of scrimmage and all the action that takes place in and around it. There are some...
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...
How to Handle a New Crew Member
If you’re used to working on a crew with the same people from week to week, you know that you can quickly reach a...
Wing Officials Are Coach Conduits For Crew
Wing officials face the constant challenge of the game in front of them and having to communicate with coaches who are behind them.
Control of the sideline is important...
Flying Flag
On Dec. 19, 1999, Jeff Triplette — in his first year as an NFL referee — was working a game in Cleveland when he...
Onfield Meetings – Short, Simple & Complete
Much has been written and said about the importance of perception in officiating. Image is everything, as the saying goes and that is true not only of...
Video Tips for Working as the Referee with Legendary White Hat Jerry Markbreit
Jerry Markbreit is one of the most well known and respected sports officials in the world. Not just in the football community but across...
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...
It’s a Foul Now or Later (But Not Never)
You observe movement in either line just as the ball is snapped. You know it is a foul, but do you prevent the play...
Ball-Watching Afflicts Veterans and Newer Officials Alike
Two huge mistakes that officials can make are ball-watching and officiating air. The former means watching the runner to the exclusion of what’s happening around him. The latter means focusing...
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...
You’ll Kick Yourself If You Don’t Spot These Fouls
If something funky happens in a football game, it usually occurs during a kick play. Such downs are a smaller percentage of all plays...
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...
The Game Of The Century – Notre Dame vs. Michigan State 1966
In a game that featured number one against number two — Notre Dame vs. Michigan State — college football fans were highly anticipating which...
What Happens When the Neutral Zone Expands?
The neutral zone is one of the basic tenets of a football game. In practical terms it’s the space between the offensive and defensive...
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...
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...
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...
Be A Penalty Enforcer
Being an effective penalty enforcer is vitally important, but something officials tend to neglect. Contrary to what some officials seem to think, it is not only a referee-umpire...
A Little Officiating Magic
The Magician’s Oath is to never reveal the secrets of magic to non-magicians. Nonetheless, there are various “tricks” officials can use to call a game properly. Magic can...
Ditch the Dinosaur Mechanics
The semifinal game was sold out. Although the visitors were seeded lower, their playoff performance made them the favorite. The home team held its...
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...
The Best Games Include These Three Elements
Safe, fair and fun.That phrase — that triangle, if you will — contains the ingredients to the best game you’ll ever have. And there...
Literally Lateral
When San Antonio Trinity University used 15 backward passes to score the winning touchdown on the last play of an October 2008 game against...
