New Official Pop & High School

[BGroovy]

Hello all, I am a new official in the Long Beach, CA area. I am excited to start my season next week in pop warner and look forward to hopefully getting some high school games in this year. Anybody have good tips for a newbie ? I am working on becomming a white hat and would like any tips on becomming a good offcial.

[TXMike]

Why do you want to be a white hat?

[With_Two_Flakes]

Ask the other folks in your Association as many questions as you can think of. The only dumb question is the one you are too afraid to ask. They will be happy to help you, they want you to develop into a good official.

I train a lot of new guys and do some on-field assessments too. The most obvious thing I see with newer guys is their movement. Either they are moving too much when they should stay put, or vice-versa. Or they move with the wrong technique, turning their body too early to run along the sideline when they should be shuffling side to side keeping their body-shape facing the field to keep all the action in front of them.

Hopefully someone from your local Officials Association will take you under their wing and mentor you. If you can get an experienced official to come watch you for a game or two and get your movement right then you are well on your way.

[BGroovy]

Great! Thanks for the info Flakes. I am apart of the Long Beach Unit and they seem really willing to help you grow into a good official. As for the question about why I want to be a white hat, I will try to anwser that concisely.

For a few years now, I have grown to love the game of football. It is an exciting game to watch and be apart of. I enjoyed officiating basketball but had an interest in football. After some research and speaking with other officials, I decided to start learning the rules more in depth. I understood basic calls but as I began to dive into the rule book, I found out I had alot to learn. Whenever I do something, I want to know all the ins and outs. I always looked up to officials because I know how they can be the most hated on the field. Its a tough job, but somebody has to keep the game in tact. I want to become one of those officials who has a great understanding of the game and hold the integrity of officiating like all the other great ones. After evaluating all the positions, I feel that a Referee is the position that I would excel at. I know it may take many years to master it but I am willing to do what it takes to become a great college official someday. I know that was kind of long, but when your passionate about something you want to do, it becomes one of the most important aspects of your life.

[OverAndBack]

Slow down.

The game moves fast, and you need to hustle, but don't be too quick to blow your whistle or throw your flag. Make it be there, and if it takes an extra second or two before you make a signal or blow that whistle, it can save you minutes on the back end either explaining what you did or cleaning up the mess.

Relax. Stand up straight. "Walk worthy" is what they say here in Arizona. Part of it is presence - if you look and act like you know what you're doing, people will believe that you do. And, eventually, you will.

Ask a lot of questions. Read as much as you can. Watch games, but watch the officials. Watch plays online.

In the end, nothing prepares you like reps, and youth games are probably the best for that because you can get a boatload of them in one day and if strange things are going to happen, they're going to happen at that level.

Parents are the wild card, but don't listen to them. Most of them are idiots.

[TXMike]

Originally Posted by BGroovy

For a few years now, I have grown to love the game of football. It is an exciting game to watch and be apart of. I enjoyed officiating basketball but had an interest in football. After some research and speaking with other officials, I decided to start learning the rules more in depth. I understood basic calls but as I began to dive into the rule book, I found out I had alot to learn. Whenever I do something, I want to know all the ins and outs. I always looked up to officials because I know how they can be the most hated on the field. Its a tough job, but somebody has to keep the game in tact. I want to become one of those officials who has a great understanding of the game and hold the integrity of officiating like all the other great ones. After evaluating all the positions, I feel that a Referee is the position that I would excel at. I know it may take many years to master it but I am willing to do what it takes to become a great college official someday. I know that was kind of long, but when your passionate about something you want to do, it becomes one of the most important aspects of your life.

Hopefully you do not have the mistaken impression that the only official on the field who has to have a great understanding of the game is the white hat. EVERY official should have the same level of understanding. It is a huge mistake for guys who are "only" flanks, umpires or deep officials to assume they have a white hat to rely on so they do not have to really understand the game.

[BGroovy]

Great info guys! No, I understand everybody has to be knowledgeable from Referees, umpires, to flanks. I am going to learn all positions. I think that would be best to do.

[waltjp]

It is not uncommon for someone on the crew other than the Referee to be the 'rules expert'. When you're starting out you most likely be working a set positon so you'll have to be fairly proficient at all positions, which means knowing the rules that an official in that position is most likely to encounter. Kicking game and fair catch for the back judge, for example.

The best advice is to work as many games as you can. If you get the chance try to observe a few games too. Watch the officials and pick out the ones who do a good job. Most of them will be happy to share their knowledge with you. Just remember to be receptive to criticism as well as praise. Keep in mine, those that only praise you aren't giving you anything to improve upon.