Well, the first night is done. We had 4 intramural games, each with 2 20-minute halves, running clock unless in the final 2:00. After one forfeit and two games assisting the scorer's table, I donned the stripes for the final game of the evening...
Some observations:
1. I went into this thinking officiating was going to be, all in all, pretty difficult. Many things to look for, always being in the right spot, lot of running. I was wrong. It's WAY harder than I thought...
2. I watch the ball too much. At least twice I consciously found myself looking at the ballcarrier, when my responsibility was elsewhere. Gotta work on that.
3. Blow whistle, raise arm. Blow whistle, raise arm. Blow whistle, raise arm.
4. "Slow down" are the two greatest words of advice in this job. I didn't fully appreciate that until last night. I read everyone saying that, figured that made sense, and went on with my day.
There weren't any particularly tricky plays to call from a rules standpoint. I'm not sure if that was because there actally weren't any or I simply didn't know enough to recognize them. Well, I'll keep studying the rulebook.
Matt Tabak