newcomer question

[vbzebra]

Forgive me for the following lack-of-intelligence question, but.....

I'm a basketball official looking to begin football officiating as well. Will be doing youth and probably sub-varsity this year. Classes haven't started yet (a couple weeks away still), but I was just wondering how the learning of positions goes. Basketball officiating positions are interchangeable throughout the course of a game. In the football classes, are we taught a certain position for the year (i.e., umpire, line judge, back judge, etc.)? Or do we learn ALL the positions?

Also, as a first year football official, are there "ranking/experience level" positions? for example, I KNOW newbies aren't the "referee"...are they put in position of backjudge or linejudge, etc? I'm sure all these questions will be answered in my class, I was just curious. thanks!

[parepat]

Good question. You will most likely not be taught specific position in depth. You will be taught the rules and some basic mechanics. During the season you will likely work many different positions. My advice to you is when you show up, let the others know that you are new. There is an unwritten rule that the position assignments are decided by seniority. If you work with some good guys, they will try to make you comfortable by asking you where you want to work. Try and work as many different positions as possible. Take any criticism from fellow officials constructively. If you do, you'll learn quickly and feel more confident in all the postitions. Good luck.

[HLin NC]

Its going to depend on your local association. I'd venture to guess that most officials start out "on the wing" - normally LJ- as that tends to be the position of least trouble to start. You must be able to communicate well as you are the conduit for the crew to your sideline. You also must not be too sensitive.

If you have "good wheels" or if your area uses 5 man mechanics and not a lot of passing, you might try back judge. BJ is VERY involved in the kicking game, which is the easiest area to screw up so beware....

There are some who believe that throwing you in at Referee in youth FB makes you learn the rules and enforcements faster. For a first year guy, I find that extreme but some think it works.

If you think you'd like to be in the middle of all the action, then umpire is something you might like. The U is talking to players all night long.

Give them all a try if you like. The needs of your association can be considered- if you want to be a BJ and they need BJ's then your chances of moving up faster increase. Though I'm primarily a Linesman, I've worked all 5 one game or another, one time or another. It doesn't hurt to be well rounded.

[Ref inSoCA]

Everywhere is different.

Here, you would get a heavy dose of mechanics and philosophy and would work Head Linesman almost all of the time unless you were clearly an Umpire. You would work 4 youth games every Saturday.

[vbzebra]

Thanks for all of your help! Its greatly appreciated and I'll definately remember it when the classes start!

[ODJ]

Originally Posted by Ref inSoCA

Everywhere is different.

Here, you would get a heavy dose of mechanics and philosophy and would work Head Linesman almost all of the time unless you were clearly an Umpire.

You mean large and slow?

[Sonofanump]

Originally Posted by HLin NC

There are some who believe that throwing you in at Referee in youth FB makes you learn the rules and enforcements faster.

I agree with this philosophy. Referee is the easiest live ball position. You are fresh out of class, so your rules knowledge is going to be ahead of your mechanics and getting used to the flow of the game. The umpire can help if you need enforcement or signal help.


For new basketball officials going into football, I preach to take that dam whistle out of your mouth!

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by ODJ

You mean large and slow?

The Snickers® sticking out of the back pockets gives it away every time.

[Texas Aggie]

As far as training goes, we try to get everyone ready to work the wing positions -- HL and LJ; mostly HL. The majority of the games you work around here your first year will be 3 man crews, with a few 4 man and possibly a couple of 5 man, mixed in. That means you can do HL in every game, if you want. And you need the experience of working with a chain crew regardless of their level of competence.

However, once the season gets going and you have, say, 15-20 games under your belt, you may want to experiment with other positions. I'll let a rookie blow (work R) in a 3 man or 4 man game if he wants -- usually for the B team game. Guys let me do that my first year and we all shared the belief that you need to figure out what's going on in all positions to improve. I blew several high school games my first year. With JV games, though, the coaches want things to move along so its better that an experienced R work that position.

Around here, if you want to work as a U, regardless of your size, you can. Obviously, you won't in 3 man games, but when I show up for a freshman or JV game and someone wants the U, I'm really happy, because I don't like the position. Pretty much the same with HL. Our varsity games have assigned positions, but not the subvarsity ones. As far as BJ goes, some guys want to work it and others don't care. On a JV game, I'd rather a 1st year guy NOT work it because there are a lot of goofy things, especially on kicks, that happen and have to be dealt with fast.

As a basketball official, you have the ability to put things together in your head fast, and you have (hopefully) good whistle control. At least, you're going to be better than the average first year football guy. That means you may progress at certain positions like back judge faster. Plus, there's the issue of being in shape. If you can run well, I like to have fast guys on the wings, particularly the HL because he's left (in a 5 man crew) on the wing on a field goal attempt. If its blocked, he can help the R who's caught up in traffic cover the GL.

[jjrye22]

Our new guys never get R in the first 2-3 years.
Generally we work with 5 and 6 man crews (7 in the higher level games, but the new guys aren't usually in on those games), and they are normally started LM/LJ on a 5er, or FJ on a 6er. Some will start as U, but they tend to be people who used to play (maybe just a preference for being on the field itself?)
In the first year our people don't really get that much exposure to other positions - I went 7 years before they stuck me back as SJ and BJ. I know quite a few who have never been U (scared of the action).

[Welpe]

Our association seems to prefer having their new guys work at umpire and I believe this is a good approach because it keeps new guys in the middle of things and it requires them to know penalty enforcements. Most of my games were at U though I did a handful at HL. They will put guys with a few years of experience in at R for youth games and veterans usually work at BJ for Varsity.

I really enjoy working at U and being right in the middle of things on every play. It feels like home to me as I was a center and linebacker in high school. I even had half of a tackle on a running back last year.

Working the wing is not bad either...at least when the volume on the coaches is turned down low.

[zebra2955]

Around here a lot has do to with the level games. In youth we have them learn all (We work 4 man in youth). With four games a day one game at each. We will have them ref the youngest and rotate from there. Even the veteran officails do this just to keep them seeing things from all perspectives.

And I agree with sonofanump take that whistle out of your mouth. I also officiate basketball, and this helps a ton.

[vbzebra]

Originally Posted by zebra2955

Around here a lot has do to with the level games. In youth we have them learn all (We work 4 man in youth). With four games a day one game at each. We will have them ref the youngest and rotate from there. Even the veteran officails do this just to keep them seeing things from all perspectives.

And I agree with sonofanump take that whistle out of your mouth. I also officiate basketball, and this helps a ton.

Sounds good....makes breathing and running so much easier!!

[Sonofanump]

The whistle does not end the play, the play ends itself. Some plays do not need whistles at all and only the covering official should be on it. Think of it as a dead ball tool instaed of ending a play like in basketball.

[Bob M.]

REPLY: Just a quick comment on Texas Aggie's thoughts about basketball officials joining the ranks of footbal officials. I agree wholeheartedly that any officiating experience prior to working football is an advantage. Basketball, IMHO, is probably the most difficult game to officiate because of the need to make those split-second decisions that Texas Aggie referred to. Add the that the need to determine the flow of the game and process that in your mind, and it becomes a difficult task. Also, just as in football, basketball has its own philosophies that need to be integrated with your knowledge of the rules so that you can officiate "with the book" rather than just "by the book."

However, there are a few adjustments that even a great basketball official needs to make in order to be successful on the gridiron: (1) In basketball, decisions have to be made extremely quickly, (2) Each decision (as opposed to 'non-decisons') is accompanied by a whistle--a quick whistle. In football, things need to happen at a more 'leisurely' pace. Decision making on potential fouls can take 2 or 3 seconds so that the official can assess the foul, determine its effect on the play, and then decide whether an opponent was put at a material disadvantage. The flag doesn't need to come out immediately in most cases (exception being LOS infractions like false starts). And...(this is a big one)...the decision on a foul is not accompanied by a whistle. That's where a different kind of whistle control needs to be learned.

But I agree with TA that having had officiating experience should be a great advantage for anyone looking to get out on a football field.