Umpires

[Ed Hickland]

There seems to be a stereotypical view of an umpire as a slightly overweight not so fast big guy.

I agree an umpire should be tall enough to see over the majority of players. But he also needs to be quick and flexible to be truly effective.

An umpire has to be able to move quickly to avoid contact. On pass and kick plays the umpire has move 8 yards forward quickly to be in position to rule on ball or passer crossing the line.

Runnning plays the umpire needs to be able to recognize the point of attack while looking for holding and other line infractions. All at the same time avoiding players coming from anywhere within the 360 degrees surrounding him.

To my way of thinking and Coach Madden agrees the umpire should be the best athlete on the field.

One sad note. The position can be dangerous. We had an older official on our crew a few years ago who was overweight and did not move quickly. He was hit by player and knocked on his hip. Surgery was required for hip replacement. He went into a coma following the surgery and died shortly after.