Non existent pre-game. The players deserve better

[BigJWalt]

Guys, I was at a varsity game yesterday between two closly matched teams. We knew this going in. Well the pre-game lasted all of one minute, if that long. I invested a lot of time to get to the varsity level, and I still invest a lot of time each week. I just felt like it was a disgrace that this referee thought it was not important to have a pre-game.

Then at half time we have a 0-0 score, and we had to talk him into going over the OT procedure. He was more interested in talking to a friend he saw at the game.

Final score was 10-7 as a FG was made with 40 seconds remaining.

Has anyone encountered anything similiar? As a rookie to the varsity level I will bite my tounge, but I think the kids and other officials deserve better.

[ref49873]

I could not agree with you more.

My crew is gieeting our first taste of varsity ball and as the referee I spent a lot of time working on a pre-game for each week.

I have used a lot of information I have read on this forum and found some other football sites that have been put together by experienced officials.

It is unfortunate that some officials won't take the time to invest the time in a proper pregame.

[BigJWalt]

Originally Posted by ref49873

I could not agree with you more.

My crew is gieeting our first taste of varsity ball and as the referee I spent a lot of time working on a pre-game for each week.

I have used a lot of information I have read on this forum and found some other football sites that have been put together by experienced officials.

It is unfortunate that some officials won't take the time to invest the time in a proper pregame.

I talked to my regular referee tonight about this. He felt the same way as you and vowed he will never stoop to that level.

[BktBallRef]

I worked with the same referee for 9 years now. We've never walked on the field without having had at least a 30 minute pre-game. We arrive 90 minutes before game time and leave ourselves plenty of time to take care of everything we need to.

[Rich]

I am the referee on my crew. I can't believe a referee would just show up and work without any preparation.

A few weeks ago an assistant coach (who I know as a basketball official -- NCAA D-I Women) told me ours was the first crew he's seen in 4 years walk the field and check the chains before the game. I was STUNNED.

We have a weekly routine, although we may not spend a huge amount of time talking about the same things each week -- we thoroughly cover anything that's happened the previous weeks that we think need to be covered better. We do most of our talking while driving as I try to have the crew ride together whenever practical.

[mr.stimson]

I have only officiated at the high school level for four years. Never has the pregame been less than 15 mins. You must cover all assignments. The more experienced the white hat has usually correlates with the length and depth of the discussion.

[whitehat52]

Walt

I have been the whitehat on my crew for the last 15 years and we have an in depth pre game before every contest. This crew has been together for the last 10 years and we still have a pre game before every game. We also arrive a minimum of 90 minutes before each varsity contest, this gives us plenty of time to take care of anything that may arise. That being said if your R doesn't feel a pre game is necessary, start it on your own with the other 4 or 5 officials. After you start one the R will most likely will pay attention and add his 2 cents. If you work with this official on more than 1 occassion he will probably get the message that you want and need a pregame.

[BigJWalt]

Originally Posted by whitehat52

Walt

I have been the whitehat on my crew for the last 15 years and we have an in depth pre game before every contest. This crew has been together for the last 10 years and we still have a pre game before every game. We also arrive a minimum of 90 minutes before each varsity contest, this gives us plenty of time to take care of anything that may arise. That being said if your R doesn't feel a pre game is necessary, start it on your own with the other 4 or 5 officials. After you start one the R will most likely will pay attention and add his 2 cents. If you work with this official on more than 1 occassion he will probably get the message that you want and need a pregame.

Great advice. Thank you. I appreciate reading the responses of how you guys cover everything even though you you have been officiating a long time. It shows you care.

[FootballRef05]

Another thing on pre-games. When I was working my way up to the varsity level I was surprised at the lask of pre-game conferences at my JV games. I often thought how in the heck are newer officials supposed to learn if there is no pre-game. Having said that, I WH a lot of JV games now and I always have a 30 minute pre-game to be sure the newer officials have any questions answered and have a good understanding of their responsibilities. I have never in 10 years of officiating walked out on a varsity field without a pre-game, that is mind blowing to me.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by FootballRef05

Another thing on pre-games. When I was working my way up to the varsity level I was surprised at the lask of pre-game conferences at my JV games. I often thought how in the heck are newer officials supposed to learn if there is no pre-game. Having said that, I WH a lot of JV games now and I always have a 30 minute pre-game to be sure the newer officials have any questions answered and have a good understanding of their responsibilities. I have never in 10 years of officiating walked out on a varsity field without a pre-game, that is mind blowing to me.

The only problem we've had for FR/JV games is the fact that many of us are running from work to the field. We get no locker room, so we go dressed.

But this season one of my crew members has taken it upon himself to demand we all arrive about 30 minutes early as we have a rookie on the crew. Most of the crew has made it so far (I have only worked one FR game as my business travel has been heavy) and it's good for us to try to get there early.

(An aside -- this year, I've asked other crew members to step up and take responsibility for things I've done in the past. One crew member is in charge of making sure we have 4 or 5 for all subvarsity games and managing the schedule. Another is in charge of contacting the AD on Monday for Friday night's game. Another is in charge of bring a VHS tape or DVD-R in a self-addressed stamped envelope since we have every game taped for later viewing. He's also the treasurer who manages the travel expenses along with the kangaroo court money. To be honest, all I've had to do is show up on Fridays and put my white hat on. It's been quite nice and everyone seems to be much more involved.)

We use FR/JV games to work other positions. I rarely work the WH position on Thursday nights because I'm trying to break in a new referee in case anything should happen to me. So I work one of the other positions, usually U, so I can help if needed. This Thursday, we're working our normal positions because our rookie is working his first varsity game on Saturday.

Sorry for the long-winded response, but the topic of pregame got me thinking about my crew and how things have improved this season becasue people have stepped up and taken responsibilities -- maybe the OP could be in charge of getting pregames started.

[FredFan7]

Almost all of my JV games are with my varsity crew or with experienced officials. With work schedules we all come dressed and have about 15 to 20 minutes to get ready, so we don't pregame the JV games.

We DO a pregame for all varsity games in the van and in the locker room. Not having a pregame conference for a varsity game is very wrong.

[FootballRef05]

Originally Posted by Rich Fronheiser

The only problem we've had for FR/JV games is the fact that many of us are running from work to the field. We get no locker room, so we go dressed.

But this season one of my crew members has taken it upon himself to demand we all arrive about 30 minutes early as we have a rookie on the crew. Most of the crew has made it so far (I have only worked one FR game as my business travel has been heavy) and it's good for us to try to get there early.

(An aside -- this year, I've asked other crew members to step up and take responsibility for things I've done in the past. One crew member is in charge of making sure we have 4 or 5 for all subvarsity games and managing the schedule. Another is in charge of contacting the AD on Monday for Friday night's game. Another is in charge of bring a VHS tape or DVD-R in a self-addressed stamped envelope since we have every game taped for later viewing. He's also the treasurer who manages the travel expenses along with the kangaroo court money. To be honest, all I've had to do is show up on Fridays and put my white hat on. It's been quite nice and everyone seems to be much more involved.)

We use FR/JV games to work other positions. I rarely work the WH position on Thursday nights because I'm trying to break in a new referee in case anything should happen to me. So I work one of the other positions, usually U, so I can help if needed. This Thursday, we're working our normal positions because our rookie is working his first varsity game on Saturday.

Sorry for the long-winded response, but the topic of pregame got me thinking about my crew and how things have improved this season becasue people have stepped up and taken responsibilities -- maybe the OP could be in charge of getting pregames started.

Thanks for the response. Here in Western NY most JV games are played Sat mornings so most everyone is coming from home so a 9am pre-game for a 10am kickoff is reasonable here. Where we run into problems is getting to Varsity games that kick off at 1pm on Saturday afternoons, mostly Catholic league, section 6 varsity kickoff at 2pm on Sat afternoons. In some cases getting to a Varsity game an hour before kickoff is challenging depending on how far each guy has to travel because we do not work in crews here.

[Bob M.]

REPLY: One of the "problems" with pre-games is that they may get to be too mundane after the same crew has been working together for even a few seasons. I've been working on the same crew for about 8 years and with the same referee for 27 years! Really...for how long can we deal with an R who takes out an old binder and just recites a litany of "on a free kick, you go here, you go there" kind of stuff?

If you don't begin to inject some creativity into your pre-games, it's easy to fall prey to the "We-know-what-to-do-We've-been-doing-this-for-years" syndrome. Try some of these techniques:

• Have each member of the crew take turns preparing and leading the pre-game. A good idea I heard is to have him address each other member of the crew and tell what that member can do to make his job easier.
• Break the crew up into natural (and maybe some unnatural) pairs to discuss portions of the game that require their teamwork. Examples: R and U talk about enforcement procedures; L and H talk about using cross-field mechanics; B, L, and H talk about passing game keys, U, L, and H talk about spotting the ball and forward progress, etc.
• If you know the teams involved, consider talking about their tendencies and some of their game procedures. Examples: no-huddle; vertical passing game; use of misdirection, strong running game, etc.

When pre-games start to go bad, don't just look at the R. Each crew member needs to take some responsibility for injecting some life into them. For your particular case, if I were you, I would get the R's attention back to detail (and away from his friend) by asking for help: "Hey Mr. Ref, I need some help in understanding the OT procedure, especially..."

[FootballRef05]

Good point Bob. My association assigns pre-game topics for each week of the season giving every crew member a topic to discuss in detail during the pre-game. It really help in getting away from the same ol same ol that some R's bring to the table.

[stevesmith]

My crew (same every week) meets the week before the season starts for a "formal" 3-4 hour pregame discussion, preferably before our first scrimmage. Once the season starts we usually meet at a nearby restaurant 3 1/2 hours prior to kickoff for a pregame dinner, then we're at the stadium 2 hours before kickoff...that gives us 1 hour to walk the field, get dressed, and cover whatever we need to talk about for that game. Our discussions include what we did both right and wrong the week before, suggestions of what we might do different this week, and debate if necessary over the chapter's weekly 5 question quiz. While we don't have a "formal" pregame, we have covered anything specific we need to discuss and have put ourselves in a football mindset long before the game starts.