Mental check lists for umpires.

[nvfoa15]

Mike,

As a former umpire (now referee) I heartly concur with your pre snap mechanics. As a matter of fact, that is a section in my pre game conference with my crew (we use the crew concept for varsity games).

As far as who to "watch" on running plays this is a two fold operation. First, you must key on the OL to determine if the play is a run or a pass. Which OL/DL combination you key on for any particular play is up to you (I would vary as much as possible). If the offense or defense complains that the other side is holding, clipping (I know clipping is allowed in FBZ) then I will "watch" that section. The second and, to me, the most important part is to percieve the point of attack and key on the blocks around the ball carrier from the inside out. On my crew we employ the diamond configuration on running plays: the U has action around runner from the inside, the wingman has action around the runner from the outside, BJ views action infront of the runner, and the R views action behind runner. The offside wingman cleans up behind the U. We are most conserned with fouls at the point of attack and are prone to "preventative officiate" fouls away from the ball (except unsprotsmanlike). As soon as the ball becomes dead hussle to the dead ball spot to prevent any "rumbles in the jungle". Players are less likely to commit "in the pile" infractions when officials are on top of them.

Good luck!