Football
A Strong Case for Keeping a Steady Pace
An important part of officiating a solid football game is maintaining a good pace of play: neither too slow nor too fast in getting the ball spotted and...
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...
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...
Snap, Lapse, Perhaps?
It’s highly likely no one has ever called a perfect game. Even at the higher levels, where every official is graded in every game,...
Team B Fouls on a Touchdown
Depending on the rules code, a scoring team may or may not have an enforcement option if the opponent commits a foul during 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...
Calm on Broken Plays
Coaches, players and fans are allowed to panic when a play goes awry. Officials, on the other hand, must react to broken plays as if they're routine...
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...
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...
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...
