New official advice

[Sonofanump]

Also find a mentor, I am curious of your location.

I'll PM you to find out if I can help you out.

[MJT]

Here is what I post for all new guys who ask. Some of this has already been mentioned, but worth it again.

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, the NF board, http://www.nfhs.org/scriptcontent/va...?ubb=forum;f=9, and The Official Forum, http://forum.officiating.com/forumdi...id=4&daysprune, are great sites 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

[Tom.OH]

Ref08,
Welcome to our group. Here in Ohio you will need to take a 25 hour class (classroom and on field training) before you can start. Go to the OHSAA website and then to the Officials section. You'll find local associations listed there. Pick out the closest to your home and contact them, they will guide you through what you will need to do to become registered. The classes usually start in July and last 5 weeks or so. There may be a listing in the local newspaper with the class, thats how I found about the class I took.
Good Luck and have fun!!

[Sonofanump]

Ref08- You have mail.

[SWFLguy]

Spring ball will be here in May. I will be going into my 39th season (32 in CNY and 7 here). I really look forward to it.
There probably are no associations/groups that can't use new officials. The first part of the rules book you really want to work on are the definitions. Try not to let yourself get wrapped up in the nuances of the rules in your first year or so.
For example---knowing the difference between a fumble and a muff is important. In a game you need to be able to explain what you saw happen to the Referee and let him deal with the details of things like penalty enforcement etc.
Hope you have fun !

[prosec34]

I've been in it for four years now, with last year being my first on the varsity field.

I can tell you without a doubt the most important thing you can learn now, in order to move up, is to master the mechanics of the job. You can know all the rules you want, but the veterans judge you by whether you look like you belong on the field. That means knowing all the little nit-picky stuff, like what you have to do when there's a fumble on your side of the field, what your duty is when a measurement is performed, etc. The NFHS official's manual should be your bible, so to speak, but understand that your association may vary from that standard.

But, I'd study the heck out of that and at least familiarize yourself with the rules. And then I'd work every single scrimmage that was available to me. And never turn down an assignment. Be eager to hear sage advice, and become buddies with a few mentors.

[Bob M.]

REPLY: I agree with prosec34. Learn the rules and latch onto the Mechanics Manual. But be aware of one thing: There are two dimensions to proper mechanics. In general, the Mechanics Manual concentrates on one dimension of technique--it tells you what to do. The other dimension is the more difficult one to learn, that is learning how to do it. For this second dimension, watch the NFL or D1 officials on television. (Yeah, I know...a week late.) Sure, their mechanics are different, but watch how they move, how they signal, how they communicate, how they cover the goal line. Watch how they synchronize and communicate with each other when there's a pass deep into the corner of the endzone. Watch how they clean-up when the ball leaves their area of responsibility or goes away from them. Watch how they mark a forward progress spot. When do they come in hard; when do they stay back. When do they look for help across the field for a progress spot. Watch especially how they officiate immediately after the ball becomes dead. Heads are on a swivel scanning the area for dead ball action. Watch how all officials close down on the dead ball spot when the play ends (the "accordion"). Watch how they handle a play that goes into a bench area. There's a whole bunch of "supplementary material" that can be gleaned from watching a pro game as an extension of the classroom.