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He will never forget it – but he can certainly learn from it! Officiating is an on going educational process with many ways to learn. Reading the rule and case books, attending clinics, bouncing situations off experienced officials, even message boards like this are excellent tools. Unfortunately, making a mistake can also be a great learning tool and a lesson that will stick with him longer than anything he read about in a book. He just learned from experience.

Many years ago, I was the linesman on a try. The kicker went in motion, the holder caught the snap with his knee on the ground. The holder rose and threw a pass to the man in motion who scored. I thought no more about it until the next week when I was assigned to the same team. In the pre-game conference with the visiting coach, he mentioned the play and said it was illegal. Now he couldn’t explain why, but he got the ruling from a respected official.

After the conference, the BJ & I ran to the locker room for a rule book. It was a mistake I’ll never forget – but also a lesson I have never forgotten either. I’ll bet this situation will be burned in his brain forever but he will know what to do next time.