HS Varsity Crew Sizes

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

I think the biggest challenge with working 5-man during the year and then going to 6-man in a state finals is the mechanics are different for the short wings and the deep wings aren't used to working those positions. Coverage is probably better but you have to know what your keys are and how the mechanics work in order to do it effectively. My concern would be if the crew members could effectively learn those mechanics in a short period of time.

When I worked my first college scrimmage, I had a hard time getting used to reverse mechanics on turnovers, staying at the LOS on passing plays, and goal line coverage once we started getting close to a score. You can pre-game all that stuff but on the field, instincts take over and if you aren't used to it, it will take some getting used to. I'd hate to have to "get used to it" during a state finals game.

I am not saying it is ideal to work from one mechanics to another. I am saying that in football, there are not the drastic movements that would make it impossible to work with more officials. This is not a situation like basketball or baseball and you completely change the movements of the officials. Even the coverages do not really change that much, because it is good in football to have several eyes on a particular play. Now you have just added angles. That is why on a DPI you might have a certain official on certain calls because they have a much better angle. In those other sports I mentioned, all your responsibilities change when you add officials. Actually from what I understand your responsibilities in football with 6 and 7 officials decrease.

Peace