First game as white hat in a couple hours
 

I have my first high school game in a couple hours as the white hat. Have been the ref in some peewee games, but this is the first at the HS level. Any suggestions on what topics to pregame? Our usual white hat is out of town and he does not do much of a pregame.

Keep it short and sweet and to the point. The captains aren't interested that your coin is from Hawaii or Siberia or wherever. Listen carefully to your crew when they report things to you and stay under control at all costs. Let us know how it goes.

I guess I should have stated - what are some good pregame items for my crew prior to the game? The captains meeting will be - just like you suggested - short and sweet.

ccRyder,

Your crew pre-game should cover coin toss, Free Kicks/Kickoffs, scrimage plays,punts, FG/PAT, penalties, measurements, timing and signals.

What you are discussing is who is responsible for what and what their duties are. You want to make your umpire youe best friend as he is the one that makes sure you do the right thing. You should be letting the crew know how you want them to report penalties to you. You want to inform your BJ about how to let you know the Team A is close on the 25 sec. The little things.

First game of the year should always focus on the basics of all your mechanics, where you are on kicks and such, keys, and how you will handle penalties, and any new stuff your crew is focusing on.

Ensure you don't preach. Get everyone contributing. If I know there will be a reasonable length of time for the pre-game then I e-mail each crew member a topic on which to prepare a short (2 or 3 minutes) talk.

As for the game itself, take your time. No matter how slow you thing you're giving your penalty signals, slow down some more! Make sure you get away from the huddle so everyone can see you.

First game went pretty well
 

The game was freshman and first for the year. Pretty high level teams for freshman, but 14 year olds are still quite unpredictable. I used to have one at home. The school was a bit disorganized when we arrived. Chains and scoreboard controls locked up, but I managed to find someone to get them ready. Pregame with officials went well - everyone was excited to get started. I forgot to start the clock a couple times, but I talked to the clock keeper before the game and asked him to start the clock when I forgot so he helped me out there.

We had a blocked punt in the end zone that ended up as a touchdown. We had two live ball fouls at the end of a play - both on the defense, both were 15 yarders, so that turned out OK.

The question we had was - ball ready for play. 10 seconds or so ticks off. U blows a whistle because a player behind him goes down - has a cramp or something. Do you start the 25 second count over again when the trainer and coach leave the field and a sub enters the field? Or do you continue the previous count? I started a new count. LJ thought that was giving too much time. What do you think?

New play clock.