New Official!

[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!!

[waltjp]

Dumbref isn't so dumb. This man speaks the truth!

[Bob M.]

REPLY: Welcome Mike. I also saw your post on the NFHS board. These boards can be a great resource when used wisely. Read everything. Eventually, you'll learn which posters bring value to a thread and which don't. Also, don't be discouraged if you don't see a whole lot out there now. There are a few 'knuckleheads' (including yours truly) who keep up with this even during the off-season. But many go into hibernation, only to reappear in August when we begin gearing up for the next season. That's when you'll see a whole lot of activity.

[mikesears]

My advice is to keep coming back here. Of all the places to learn the rules, this is one of the best. Sometimes, the other posters on this site use the obscure "once-in-a-lifetime play" to illustrate how all the rules fit together.
This and other forums are great places for all involved in the sport.

Learning to deal with coaches is often difficult for a new official. Learn when they are just venting and when they have a legitimate question. Experience helps here.

Work as much football as you can. Nothing beats experience.

If you watch football on television, don't believe the announcers have it right. Very few announcers actually know the rulebook well enough to make informed comments. Also, don't assume that what you see at the NCAA or NFL level applies to Nat Fed. level. There are 400+ differences between Nat Fed and NCAA rules. This is why rules study is so important.

[RMR]

dumbref, my wife wnated to know how I managed to post from your computer when I showed her this:

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!!