New Official!

[bisonlj]

I echo what everyone else here says. One of the best reasons to work lower level games is the rules cover a lot of very odd situations that are much more likely to happen in youth and sub-varsity games but not as often in varsity games. You can read the rule and case books 1000 times but unless you've had some of these situations happen on the field they won't sync in. Better to have that experience in a lower level game than on Friday night in front of 1000s of people.

Originally Posted by Mike22Official

I've got my NFHS rule book and have been reading fairly often. I'm just trying to absorb as much as possible. The SCFOA publishes the exam grades for each official, and it seems that I'd be doing awesome if I got a 70 on my first attempt. Yikes. Does every state officials association take a standard NFHS exam or is each state's exam different?

I believe most states use the NFHS exam for licensing. I'v heard the average pass rate of the exam is about 45%. The reason for that is most people assume they've been watching football for years, the test is true/false, you can use the rule book, how hard can it be? It's a very challenging exam but passable if you are prepared. Our local association has developing a training program focused entirely on preparing new officials for the exam. It's now about 6 years old and we've seen about a 90% pass rate overall with close to 100% each of the past 2 years. We are averaging about 15-20 new officials each year so the progam has been a huge success.

[Mike22Official]

Thank you all for the kind words.

The only thing I regret is not applying during the Fall when I first got interested. They probably would have let me stand on the sidelines of some games to watch the officials.

The SCFOA's policy on the exam is that if you get a passing grade of 70 or higher, you can work varsity games even in your first year. However, looking at the exam scores and the years of experience for those officials, it seems even getting a 70 would be pretty tough. I think I'm getting a nice head start on the exam, though, by reading the rule book and checking out forums like this.

Also, it seems that my state has officials work one position for an entire season and stay there. I was hoping to work all the positions, and maybe I'll get that chance in sub-varsity games, but I'm not sure. I know they probably want each official to master one position, but I'd like to get experience everywhere.

Another thing: It's my goal to make it to the SEC or ACC one day. I know there's a good chance that I may never get that opportunity. I realize this would take a lot of hard work, dedication, and patience, but what should I tell my district director about this goal? I don't want to sound like I'm some punk kid that thinks he knows it all and is just going to breeze through high school officiating and then take-off at the first opportunity. Should he expect officials to want to work at the college level? How do I make it known that that's my overall goal without appearing arrogant?

[AndrewMcCarthy]

One thing you'll learn when you work for a while is that years of experience doesn't mean a whole lot regarding rules and mechanics. I've seen guys with 25 years of bad. If you have lofty expectations you NEED to know the rules. It will be expected of you. 70% on an exam won't cut it.

Study the definitions in Rule 2. Read every single post on these boards regarding a rules question and try to come up with the answer yourself. Even if you know the answer, look it up and see the exact rulebook phrasing.

Get a mentor who will challenge you even during the off season. Make the rules a year-round exercise and it'll fall into place.

I also probably wouldn't let it be known that you're gunning for the big leagues right away. Work in your high school group for a few years and focus solely on that. Don't even worry about college. You won't be able to start college ball for a while anyway. In some places there is a divide between high school and college guys. The less folks you alienate the better. You never know who might be in a position to help you out some day.

[Mike22Official]

Originally Posted by AndrewMcCarthy

I also probably wouldn't let it be known that you're gunning for the big leagues right away. Work in your high school group for a few years and focus solely on that. Don't even worry about college. You won't be able to start college ball for a while anyway. In some places there is a divide between high school and college guys. The less folks you alienate the better. You never know who might be in a position to help you out some day.

Got ya. If I'm asked, I'll just say, "Yeah I'd like to work in college one day, but that's in the back of my mind. I'm just trying to get better now." And that's true. I've got many years before even being qualified enough to worry about applying to a small college conference.

[MJT]

Here is my advice.

Buy the Redding Study Guide https://thatsitideas.com/doublesdist...onlineform.htm cuz it is awesome. Read it, highlight it, and work as many games as you can.

Go to a clinic or two if you can and any on field stuff at a clinic is a bonus.

This board, and the NF board, http://www.nfhs.org/scriptcontent/va...?ubb=forum;f=9, is a great site that focuses on NF FB. You can learn from reading, looking in the rulebook for answers, posting, and asking your own questions.

A mentor is a great way to go if you have someone who is good and will work with you. Talk to him about things as often as he will let you, via email or phone.

Start watching games and thinking of what the signals and enforcements for fouls that you see happen are before the official comes on and does the signal and enforces the penalty.

HAVE FUN AND NEVER STOP LEARNING OR STUDYING!!! GREAT TO HAVE YOU ABOARD!!

Grant's site has a ton of good stuff. http://home.comcast.net/~minnmo/football.htm

[grantsrc]

One thing I always tell my 7th graders at school is, "We've gotta crawl before we walk, walk before for we jog...." It's great to have goals and aspirations but like anything else, set them small and obtainable. At this stage in your career, I think getting on a HS varsity crew would be appropriate. Give yourself a few years there then look to the small college level, then after a few years at that, then look to say, NCAA D2.

It is a maturation process. I'm not saying this to spoil your Cherrios or anything, but a reason many new officials don't stay with it is because they expect the world their first few years when that isn't realistic. An article by John Bible in Referee Magazine (good resource BTW) about moving up was great advice and something I read periodically to put my goals in perspective. It is his stance that an official should work a minimum of 5 (it could be 10) seasons of HS varsity before even looking to college. He then said that you should work at least 5 years of lower level college ball before applying for a higher level conference. He also said that many times you only get one shot at moving up. If you are unprepared or misapply a rule, that's your shot.

Again, not trying to rain on the parade or anything but trying to put things in perspective. Patience will take you far.

[Rick KY]

Besides all the other good advice given above, I recommend the following, to train your eye to watch the players and not the ball. When at a game, watch a different player on each play while not watching the ball or who has the ball. As an official you need to focus on the players, while most spectators watch the ball. This is difficult, if not impossible, watching TV games. Do this when you go to a game, no matter if youth, high school or any other level.

[dumbref]

DON’T DO IT MIKE!!! You will never be able to watch a football game as a specter again. You will begin to hate sports announcers. You will start yelling at the TV during games because they do not know the rules. You have to conduct rule clinics every Monday morning at work. You will have to listen to all the horror stories of how your co-work’s son team got screwed by an official Friday night.

You will learn that coaches learn the rules from announcers. And you will learn to ignore them more than you wife. She knows more about the rules than the coaches (see yelling at the TV above). I repeat - DON’T DO IT MIKE!!!

But if you choose ignore my advise, you will make friendships that will last a life time. Good luck!!