Linesman Duties

[swkansasref33]

Hey guys,
I am officiating my first HS game tomorrow night, and was wondering if you could tell me what my duties are as the linesman handling the chains. I have officiated the local youth tackle football league for 4 years, and have been a white hat all 4 years. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[MJT]

It depends on the level you are working, cuz that determines the age/experience of the chain gang, which determines how hard it will be to work with them.

1. Tell them not to move after any play til you or the R tell them to.
2. We blow three quick whistles any time we have a flag down to alert the chain crew to NOT MOVE.
3. Go over to the sideline and mark the new spot on all first downs.
4. Tell them to drop the chains/box and get out of the way before any players get to the sideline when they are coming that way.
5. Tell them to "pay attention" and that their job is "important to the flow of the game" if they are HS kids.
6. If you have a measurement, you take the clip out and out it down.
7. Tell them again to NOT move unless you or the R tell them to after every play.

This is short and to the point, but should get you started.
Good luck!

[Welpe]

If the chain crew is made up of inexperienced people, you may want to at least jokingly ask before half-time if they will be back for the second half. We had a chain crew not bother to show up after half-time during a JV game on Friday.

[With_Two_Flakes]

MJT has pretty much nailed the key points for you.

The only things I can think to add to that are that I always start and end the pregame talk to them with an emphasis on safety - drop the sticks and run if a play comes their way.

I also make sure they have a little extra reaction time by running the chains 6 feet off the sideline. I always set up a new 1st on the sideline, but then have the crew slide back 6 feet. A useful extra benefit of this, is that it helps keep the coaches back out of my way when the chains are in front of the team area.

A final thing I say to make them feel part of the crew is I ask 'em to cover my £$% by refusing to move if they can see a flag and I mistakenly tell them to move. Sadly a lot of guys simply forget to give multiple peeps on their whistles when they throw a flag, so I ask the chain crew to help me out by adding 3 more pairs of eyes to look for flags.

Finally, I use whatever time I have before kickoff to run them through a few practice 1st down setups to get them into a rythm.

[HLin NC]

when they pull them out, tell'em to turn them off.

Tell the box man that he's not to roll over until you signal.
Tell them you will come all the way to the sideline on first down to give the spot, the rest to spot off your heel or toe, whichever you use.
Make sure you are straight on where you want the clip on the chain. Most newbies want to clip the middle of the line.
Do not talk to the players or coaches, no rooting openly for your team, particularly in the team box area.
Any problems with sideline, tell you and you will take care of.

[Tom.OH]

Originally Posted by Welpe

If the chain crew is made up of inexperienced people, you may want to at least jokingly ask before half-time if they will be back for the second half. We had a chain crew not bother to show up after half-time during a JV game on Friday.

Had this happen in a 7th grade game one time. The chain gang didn't come back because detention was over!! We had the home team round up a new crew of adults.

[MJT]

So how did it go swjansasref?

[swkansasref33]

Well, the first game got called with 4:08 to go in the 4th cuz of lightning,and a torrential rain, with the home team up 21-0. the 2nd game got postponed for now, and may end up being cancelled or rescheduled. Im hoping for the first option, because they still payed us for both games! One other question though. What are my keys other than the TE?

[HLin NC]

You should be reading through your end to the tackle-does he charge forward to run block or does he pull up to pass block?

[GregBar]

Your key on pass plays will be the 2nd receiver closest to you in a 6 man crew. On run plays you watch the tight end or linesman nearest you and they will give you a good idea of where the play is going.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by GregBar

Your key on pass plays will be the 2nd receiver closest to you in a 6 man crew. On run plays you watch the tight end or linesman nearest you and they will give you a good idea of where the play is going.

6 man crew? Where are they running 6 man crews for JV? Lucky bastages.