Advice for new officials

[jeremy24175]

My previous thread 'muffs' was about my son and his two cohorts today doing a JV game.

They were short a man and tried but it was a bit tough on them.

They missed that call, even after conferring about it at halftime, they were wrong. Not until after the game did they realize they had it wrong.

Have any of you ever had something like this go on.

Is there any advice you can give me to pass on because he keeps calling me and rehashing the play.

I told him to let it go, there'll be another day. He's really taking it hard. (He's only been doing it for a year or two.)

[waltjp]

It's not the end of the world and it could be a positive experience if they learned from it. We've all kicked a ruling at some point. What separates the good officials from the bad is that the good learn from the experience and don't repeat it again.

[dvasques]

I'd even put in that the good ones admit when they made a mistake and the bad ones pretend they're still right

[MJT]

Originally Posted by dvasques

I'd even put in that the good ones admit when they made a mistake and the bad ones pretend they're still right

That is true.

That mistake will never happen again for them, and it may get them to get more into the books so those kind of mistakes don't happen to them as often.

[dumbref]

He will never forget it – but he can certainly learn from it! Officiating is an on going educational process with many ways to learn. Reading the rule and case books, attending clinics, bouncing situations off experienced officials, even message boards like this are excellent tools. Unfortunately, making a mistake can also be a great learning tool and a lesson that will stick with him longer than anything he read about in a book. He just learned from experience.

Many years ago, I was the linesman on a try. The kicker went in motion, the holder caught the snap with his knee on the ground. The holder rose and threw a pass to the man in motion who scored. I thought no more about it until the next week when I was assigned to the same team. In the pre-game conference with the visiting coach, he mentioned the play and said it was illegal. Now he couldn’t explain why, but he got the ruling from a respected official.

After the conference, the BJ & I ran to the locker room for a rule book. It was a mistake I’ll never forget – but also a lesson I have never forgotten either. I’ll bet this situation will be burned in his brain forever but he will know what to do next time.

[dvasques]

sorry, dumbref, but why is it ilegal?

[MJT]

Originally Posted by dvasques

sorry, dumbref, but why is it ilegal?

I'm not sure why it was illegal either? In NF the holder must rise to advance, pass, handoff, or kick but in NCAA he can pass or handoff without rising. It is legal in either level for the holder to rise and pass so he must be talking about something else that made it illegal. Otherwise dumbref, you were right and the coach who got the rule from the "respected" official was wrong.

[JasonTX]

It's not illegal under NCAA, but the ball would have became dead immediately when the holder gained possession with his knee on the ground. Once the kicker goes in motion the holder is no longer excempt from the rule that declares the ball dead when he has his knee down with possession of the ball.

[With_Two_Flakes]

JasonTX is correct, NCAA Rule 2-27-3-b
.......During a scrimmage-kick play, he remains the holder until no player is in position to make the kick............

So in your example, if the kicker goes in motion, there is no-one in position to make the kick, so the "holder" isn't a holder anymore by rule and is not exempt from the ball being blown dead when he has possession with his knee down.

[MJT]

Duuuuuh!

[dumbref]

Originally Posted by MJT

I'm not sure why it was illegal either? In NF the holder must rise to advance, pass, handoff, or kick but in NCAA he can pass or handoff without rising. It is legal in either level for the holder to rise and pass so he must be talking about something else that made it illegal. Otherwise dumbref, you were right and the coach who got the rule from the "respected" official was wrong.

NF 4-2-2 Exc 1 for the record - I think you've already stated your duuuh. That's exactly what I did! It's never happened again!

[OverAndBack]

If you kill yourself after every mistake....


...you'll be dead.

Learn from it. Move on. You'll never have the perfect game, but that shouldn't stop you from trying to get there. And if this was a simple avocation, everyone would do it.

It's not. Which is why they don't. We do. And the good ones learn to let their mistakes go, eventually.

If Don Denkinger can let it go, we all can.

[Bob M.]

"If you kill yourself after every mistake....you'll be dead."


REPLY: O and B...can I use this quote. It sounds like something Samuel Goldwyn Mayer might have said in his hey-day.

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by Bob M.

"If you kill yourself after every mistake....you'll be dead."


REPLY: O and B...can I use this quote. It sounds like something Samuel Goldwyn Mayer might have said in his hey-day.

I think that could be a Maddenism too!

There is some great advice in this thread, being a new guy (to football) myself, I'd say wear the rulebook out reading it but also make sure you understand how to apply it. Make sure you keep asking questions as well, even if its something as trivial as how to call encroachment.

[Forksref]

I have learned best from experience, most of which is bad. If I got something wrong and realized it and reviewed it in my mind, I NEVER get it wrong again. It is etched in my mind. The worst thing would be to repeat the mistake. I had one that we blew in a state championship game. Fortunately, it had no bearing on the outcome of the game. A few years later I had the exact same situation and I was 110% certain of my call. The coach tried to tell me differently, but no way. I was totally confident that I had it right. No way was I going to blow it again, because I studied the rule and became expert in that situation. It's a good feeling to be certain about a call because you have experience with it. Learn from the mistake and it will make you a better official.