How to get started?

[slickpitt]

First off just want to say hello... obviously new here, just stumbled across this forum from a google search. So I apologize if this isn't the right spot to post. Name is Clay, 30 yrs old, live in NE Oklahoma. Anyway...

I've been wanting to get into officiating football for a while now, but just never got serious about it. After talking things over with my wife and surprisingly getting full support, I've decided to make a serious effort to get into it. I'm really just not sure where to start. I'd like to get my ducks in a row so I'll be ready for the 2009 season. I'm assuming that there would be some sort of testing/certification to go through. I would think they would want to know you knew what you were doing before they let you on the field. Any suggestions on where to start? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, I eventually would want to officiate HS and maybe even college games at some level, but understand starting small in youth leagues and such is probably smart/required. I like to think I understand rules and such, but am humble and realize I have a lot to learn. So any advise on a path to get to that level would also be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[JamesBond]

Clay,
Welcome! Try contacting an official in your area and see if he can hook you up with the local association. By me, the association had a school that you had to attend in the spring and they work you up from the Junior high levels through to varsity. You could ask the local high school athletic director how he gets officials and they could probably put you together with the association. Or go to a high school game and ask the officials after the contest. Good luck.
007

[bcl1127]

First thing I would do is contact your state's High School Athletic Association to see how certification in your state works, and if there is a class or something that one of the local associations put on.

I think that youth football is a great way to get started, as many times you are scheduled many games in a day and you really see just about everything in those games. I know around me there are some leagues that require you to have a high school license, but there are others where you can go to a clinic or meeting and work games.

You need to get a copy of the Federation Rules as they are different than what you are used to seeing on TV on Saturdays and Sundays.

My wife was the one to push me to do this as well and I thank he all the time. It is a lot of fun to do and you meet some really good people along the way. It is also a great way to get my lazy behind outside and moving around. The kids always seem to stay the same age, and I just keep getting older and slower!

[kdf5]

Also, try contacting the Oklahoma school association. Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association

[aschramm]

I'll share with you what I did. I contacted our state (Wisconsin) high school athletic association last fall because I did baseball as well for the first time this year. It costs us $20 for a basic license plus $10 for each sport we officiate. With that $10, we get the rulebook, casebook, and officials manual, plus the tests for each sport. Then look into local officials associations. They usually offer training programs and clinics, or combine with another association to have one. This served two purposes for me: a.) it gave me proper training for each sport (although the football one was more brief than baseball), and b.) it gets you contact information for assignors and other officials. Especially in football, if you get to know a few crew chiefs they can provide you with a bunch of games. Youth games are a great places to start, anywhere between 2-6 games on Saturdays.

Being a former football player in high school, this is something I really wanted to do to stay involved with football, and also give back to the game itself.

Look through your rulebook constantly (people on this board will constantly tell you to READ RULE 2!), and try and find the differences between pro/college and high school rules, as these are the rules that coaches will get most upset about, thinking you are applying the rules or enforcements incorrectly.

[JugglingReferee]

People wishing to take up tackle football officiating in Canada should visit www.bearef.ca

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

People wishing to take up tackle football officiating in Canada should visit www.bearef.ca

Bit of a long ride for someone from Oklahoma.

Welcome, Clay. I hope you'll stick around.

[Forksref]

Once you get introduced to some of the local guys, find a referee/crew chief and ask if you can accompany them to home and away varsity games next fall. This is great experience where you can sit in on pre-game, half-time and post-game talks as well as walk the sideline during the game. There is no substitute for experience and this is a great way to get some. We "adopted" an official last year and he has already done some varsity games this year.

Keep coming to this forum and the NFHS Forum to absorb as much as you can:

NFHS Forum: Football


Find out when there are camps/clinics next spring and summer.

It's a great hobby!

[Texas Aggie]

Every state or locality does it differently. I checked out the Oklahoma City metro officials site, and I'd encourage you to do the same. Then see if you can find a similar organization in your area. I'm in Texas, but it appears after going on the OSSAA site, you work things much different there. I think you've already received some good comments, but I'll add a few here:

1. See if you can find a jr. college or small college (preferably some place where nobody will show up to watch) game to go to and get there an hour and a half before kickoff. Then go down toward the field and see if you can visit with one of the officials (they are often on the field an hour prior to the game and a few have absolutely nothing to do) and get some info from him. You might even call the AD and ask if its OK to visit the crew's pregame meeting -- he'll need to ask permission from the crew chief, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

2. If 1 doesn't work, try a HS game where nobody will attend. I say all this because if there's no one there, you'll have a better chance getting someone's attention.

3. Anyway, the info you need is a) who do you call to get registered with the state; b) where is there a local association you can get trained through and games assigned through; and c) when do they start next year.

I wouldn't worry about most of the other stuff. Pee-wee, at least in my area, is often assigned by guys already in the chapter and they prefer to assign guys they know. Most of us (in my area) didn't start at the pee-wee level; we started in the chapter that assigns jr. high and high school games and then found the pee-wee games in our individual areas. I don't even work pee-wee, and really the only reason to do it is for the money. You won't get much experience that will be helpful, except maybe riot control skills.

I'd also venture to games coming up and try to watch the officials. Pick one of them and watch what he does for several plays. Then watch another one, and so on. You'll start to notice things you didn't before and you'll have the basis for questions to ask later. The more specific your questions are, the better you'll learn from the answers.

Oh, and to the extent you aren't already there, get in shape. Start a running and weight training program and start eating right. If you've already started, keep it up. And when June rolls around next year, start going out in the evening and being on your feet. You might have to stand for 3.5 hours straight in August and early Sept. for your games, so the better condition your legs are in by then, the better off you will be.

I think you can worry about everything else later.

[slickpitt]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I got in touch with the local High School AD who gave me the contact information for the person that assigns officials for the Tulsa area. Gonna give him a call this evening and see what he says!

[OverAndBack]

Good luck! We can always use people who are serious and who want to do well.

Know that it is a challenge, but it can be very rewarding (mostly because of the people you'll meet) and an interesting way to stay involved in the sport from a different perspective. And, if you're lucky, you might have some small influence on the lives of young people. Which ain't bad, either.

[prosec34]

I'd suggest you get the NFHS case book in addition to the rule book. Going through the case book will give you a great introduction to what's going on with NFHS rules.

Mechanics are the big thing you'll need to master quickly. Thus I'd go see as many high school games as I could before the season ends. Just sit and watch what the officials do, especially the wing guys (linesman and line judge). Take notes on what you see them do. In fact, I'd suggest you ask the assignor if he could put you in contact with the referee who will work a particular game so that you can attend their pregame meeting. That way, you can hang around them after the game and ask questions as to why they're doing certain things. You'll make a great first impression acting so interested in such details.

And when you finally get a chance to be on the field, hustle. Act like you're always being watched by someone you want to impress, because you never know when you are.