Just got on a crew and was wondering if there was anything anyone could tell me to help? I've worked BJ once before but do not have any formal training.

Having never worked much back judge, this is what I'v come up with. I assume this is 5 man?

* Be a good dead ball official. A good back judge will see much of what is going on after a play.

* On running plays, rarely watch the ball carrier. Your job is to watch in front of the ball carrier for fouls. A good back judge will also catch those fouls that occur in the area that is behind the Umpire. Get in the habit of watching something other than the runner.

* Know who you are keying on. There is nothing worse than two officials keying off the same guy and leaving one guy free.

* Try to never get beat to the goal line. It is an important line. Be sure you are there to cover it when you need to be.

REPLY: w_sohl...send me an e-mail. I've got a lot of stuff to share. By the way...where are you located? From the number of posts and your registration date, it looks like you've been around for a while. How long have you been officiating FB? ([email protected])

Just a few things.
 

Read off of the Tackle instead of the TE. The tackle position will tell you most of the time whether the play is a pass or a run.

My first steps are usually backwards first. In this day and age with all passing, you want to keep everything in front of you.

Keep your concentration. It is really easy if you worked the other positions to get bored and lose concentration. The BJ's calls tend to be the biggest calls in the game. You have to get most of the clean up fouls and the many PI calls that take place in a game. If you get one of these calls right, these plays are magnified.

Always hustle. Unfortunately you are in a position to get the ball most of the time (this is the case in 7 man too). Be ready to run and keep the game moving.

Peace

Here is a good link for keys. I presented this to our state FB workshop last year. All wings and BJ's should study this. Not bad for everyone to read. It's from Mississippi's state organization. Good stuff.

http://www.misshsaa.com/Officials/Po...ting%20(1).ppt

Here in Canada, we have a saying: "The two most important lines are the goal line and the other goal line." :)

This is an excellent point. When I work deep, I am looking for something that will gain the ball carrier real estate illegally.

Want to send me that BJ stuff? I'm definitely intersted.

nice power point, and good information