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Originally Posted by Rich Fronheiser
I'm interested in all this talk about pace since I'm a WH and this is one of my most important jobs.
There's no way we use the same pace for every play. Most of the game, the pace is what I would describe as almost leisurely. The offense is huddling, we're getting the ball spotted, and I'm giving the RFP. I'm not in a hurry, but neither is anyone else.
At the end of the game during a hurry-up, I know I'm trying to get the ball spotted quickly and making sure we're not delaying the offense while not putting undue demands on the defense.
It's one of the things the NFL officials do extremely well. They get the ball spotted quickly for a spike/play.
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In the NFL the play clock starts when the previous play becomes dead, so the NFL you must get the ball spotted because the play clock is already running. For NCAA and HS we decide when the clock starts. We aren't taking our sweet time but we definitley aren't going to speed things up just so they can get another play off. The key is to set your pace and it will vary, but if you create a routine then the teams have to adjust to you and know that is the same routine you'll follow. Depending on the play it may take longer to make it ready. My routine is, ball becomes dead, we relay the ball to the Ump and he spots the ball, I make eye contact with each official. I look at LJ, then at the U, then to the BJ and finish with HL, then I make the ball ready. I'd estimate it will take me about 4 secs. to look at all 4 officials. We keep the same speed we started with.