[KurtBryan]

Dear Officials:

This is a copy of one of the emails we have received about our A-11 Offense. It is from an Referee in our state of California, please let me know if this sounds along reasonable lines - as you understand them to be.

Thanks again for your perspectives and I would really appreciate everybody keeping things clean and pleasant. Remember, all of us on here love the game of football.

* I have spoken with many Officials via phone or email who for their own personal reasons wish to remain anonymous - just as most of you on this site elect to do in this forum. Stay hidden for your own personal reasons.
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Dear Coach Bryan,

As a football Official of nearly 25 years of high school experience, I would like to offer my opinion about your A-11 offense and the review it is likely to undergo at the annual NFHS rules committee meetings. I've had a great deal of experience working with a broad scope of people involved in rules discussions and interpretations.

To begin with, let me congratulate you and your coaching staff on the highly creative A-11 offense you designed and for the successful season you had in its first season of use. Truly a remarkable achievement especially given the average talent you work with at Piedmont (and I say that with the utmost respect to your players). It is known throughout the San Francisco bay area that Piedmont is an academic powerhouse but not a football haven.

My main points:

1. It is evident you and your staff did their homework in researching the NFHS rules and when you “discovered” a possible way to create a new offensive system in football, you proceeded to go through the proper steps and sought help sorting through everything from the NFHS and your state rules interpreter in the CIF.

2. The NFHS and the CIF are comprised of a very experienced stable of professionals who understand the rules of the game better than most. Obviously, since the A-11 did not trigger anyone at either organization to call it a “travesty” and they did not flag it for being "deceptive" or not within the “spirit” of the rules, the A-11 was granted the right to proceed. Please understand something you probably already know, an innovative concept like the A-11 was given a complete review inside and out prior to being approved.

3. That brings us to the present, and then what steps I believe will be taken moving forward regarding the A-11 offense.

4. Annually, the NFHS sends out questionnaires and collects feedback using other mediums from officials and some coaches regarding what egregious happenings have taken place on the gridiron during the previous season.

5. The NFHS reviews that information and accumulates all data necessary to build a case for keeping a rule intact, altering an existing rule or creating a new rule.

6. I’ve watched your team's video clips online and have had several discussions with my fellow officials here in the bay area regarding the A-11 offense. A few of those officials did have the opportunity to officiate your games this season and the response from them was generally favorable. The consensus was the A-11 requires officials to be “on their toes more” but it is certainly manageable.

7. Having been an official for quite some time it is fair to assume I have established good relationships with some football coaches in the region. Our talks cover an array of subjects and again the A-11 has been generally well received by your peers. But you probably already know that.

8. But, there are officials and football coaches who do not like the A-11 and no amount of information will change their view.

9. When the NFHS reviews the A-11 offense they will not simply “wipe the slate clean” with a knee-jerk reaction and automatically institute the NCAA scrimmage kick formation definition to try and further eliminate an offense like yours. The NFHS takes all things into consideration before implementing a change in the rules and their history clearly documents my point. Given the fact you previously had the A-11 approved prior to this past season of use, they will no doubt give it time to mature and unfold.

10. Rest assured the NFHS will watch the progress of the A-11 offense and the positive or negative impact it has on football. If it turns out the A-11 offense brings a respectable amount of favorable reaction and results from coaches, officials and the football community, it may very well be the A-11 offense has changed the game of football in an intriguing and positive fashion. If so, congratulations will be in order to you, your staff and your players.

11. However after a few seasons of use, if there is a myriad of well-documented cases involving coaches deliberately abusing the A-11 offense (cheating) or far, far too many officials making mistakes on the field because of it, then the NFHS will incorporate a rule like the one similar to the NCAA rule, in order to curb its use as any every down offense.

Personally, it will never cease to amaze me when I learn about the creative tactics football coaches develop to help their teams try and win more games.

Again, congratulations on your accomplishment and history will be the judge.

My warmest regards to you and yours,

An Official in California