[With_Two_Flakes]

Been a White Hat for over 20 years and I do some assessing of newer guys, so here are my tips..............

You can run forwards faster than you can run backwards, so start deep (at least 12-15yds from LOS) so that you are never caught out by a passer who drops deep.

Plenty of East/West movement. Be a sideline to sideline Referee. On a run that makes the sideline with a loss or little gain, you need to be the 2nd man out there. Don't be stood still between the hashes just killin' grass and leaving it all to the wing guy.

Take your time giving signals. No matter how slow it feels to you, your penalty signals are probably too fast. Another thing I often see when I assess is that newer White Hats are so wound up in talking to the Umpire and the captain that they forget to give a prelim signal, so no-one on the sideline or in the crowd has a clue what the penalty was or who it was against.

Don't blow the ball ready until you are in position and the rest of your crew are ready - take a quick look left and right to check the wings (esp the HL) are ready. That ensures you have the crew's full attention on the next play and as a bonus you'll likely never have to flag a delay of game.

You don't have to be stood over the ball at the succeeding spot to give a 1st down signal. It will be a 1st down wherever you signal it from. If you do, then you only have to move back 12-15yds again to get in position. So save yourself some time and also wear and tear on your feet !