[With_Two_Flakes]

If you are holding the dead ball spot, don't leave it! Make the R come to you (unless someone can hold the spot for you). NEVER assume a pen will be accepted and therefore you dont need that spot.

If you have a flag, toot your whistle once the play is dead to let the rest of the crew know. That includes the R if he threw the flag. The most important guy is actually the HL to make sure he freezes the chains. Most flags are marched from the prev spot so make sure you still have it.

If there are multiple flags, talk! NEVER assume the other guy saw the same foul as you, he might have something different. If you have the same foul, just needs one of you to go tell the R.

When and where do you give the preliminary signal?
Always give it as early as you can. The coach wants to know what the foul is and whether it's against him or not, so he can think about what play to call next. Also many coaches want to be able to shout/signal in to their captain to accept or decline. If you don't give a prelim, you take away that help from a young man who may well need it.
Some fouls are obvious as to whether they will be accepted and only warrant one signal eg a false start, an offensive hold on a run that made big yardage, etc.

One final word on signals. Your signals are too quick. Everyone's signals are too quick... Watch yourself on film, you'll be surprised how much faster your signals are than you think they actually are. Practice in the mirror at home.


Does it change if the R is the one who called the foul?
Nope. Stick to the same routine, but obviously you miss out the foul being reported to you as you called it. Toot your whistle, tell the U what youve got so he can bale you out of trouble if you are about to screw up.

What should the other crew members (5 man) be doing during this time?
Covering spots, covering flags, relaying in a ball. When the U actually marks it off, I want my LJ at the enf spot and the HL to mirror the U to check he goes the right distance.
Make sure the rest of your crew understand that you want them to come in as soon as they think you and the Ump have messed it up. You don't want them to start talking about it on the ride home after the game. Better to look bad but at least get it right on the night.


A personal preference of mine is not to announce numbers on fouls. I work mostly adult rec games in the UK and Europe and they get a bit more fiesty than the High School and College I've done in the US. My philosophy is not to yell out numbers and so set a guy up for retaliation the next play. I'll get the wing guy to give the number to the sideline so his coach knows who messed up.