Man, If I had a nickle for every time this question has been asked. Including the time's I have asked it :)

• Get as many games as you can. There is no substitute for experience.
• Stick with it. Even veterans miss a call from time to time.
• Listen. Listen to the people that have been there before and even peers.
• Share. Share your experience with others (especialy situations you think you handled poorly) and get suggestions on how to handle it in the future.
• Get as many games as you can. oh said that one already :)

Hang in there guys.

As a more general observation:

It is really quite amazing - the game really does "slow down" the more you do it.

You are going to come out next year, and you will *immediately* notice that the stuff you had to think about last year comes much more naturally, and hence your brain will be freed up to think about stuff you didn't think about at all the year before. Stuff like point of attack before it happens, tendencies, things like that. When you first start, it seems like it takes all your concentration just to remember where to line up, how to control your chains, adminsitrative things like that.

Soon that will all be second nature, and you will be focusing on the players instead of the administration and mechanics. That is why excellent consistent mechanics are so important, IMO. They need to be second nature - and they will be.

For me, this continues even now, although the *big* difference was the transition from the first couple years to years 4ish or so, as far as how much the game slowed down.

It is very, very cool actually. It is a great feeling when you see things that you didn't see before, and the game all starts clicking together. Give it time.

You also start realizing the things that don't matter, or don't matter as much, and can start filtering that stuff out, giving your mind more ability to focus on the key action of the play.

Just remember next year, though - you don't know as much as you think you do. ;) My first day of rookie class, the head of training pointed to the second year guys and said "those guys right there are the most dangerour men we can put on a football field. They THINK they know what they're doing!" Officiating is something that you'll still be learning things about until the day that you retire. The moment you think you know it all and don't need to learn anything else is the day you may as well retire.

Once piece of advice I give to new officials in my association is to take one thing away from each game. It may be learning something that you need to be doing. It may be learning something that you SHOULDN'T be doing. It may be something you see someone else do, or something that you stumble upon on your own. But every game you do presents at least one opportunity to improve your work. Look for those opportunities and take advantage of them.

Don't be afraid to ask your crewmates for feedback on the job that you did. That veteran WH may have a valuable piece of advice for you that will make the light bulb go off. At halftime of every game and at the end of every game, even now, I still ask my crew "do any of you guys see anything for me? Is there something I;m doing that I shouldn't, or something i'm not doing that I should?"

You also need to know who you're asking, of course - asking a fellow rookie for feedback probably won't be as valuable as asking one of the grizzled vets. :)

Most of all, enjoy the ride. I had never been on a football field in my life (except a for pickup games in college) when I stepped on the field for my first scrimmage. I do softball in the spring, and if my wife told me I could only do one sport for the rest of my life, it would be football.

Your comments are exactly why I think coaches would benefit from spending some time as an official. No matter how much you have played or watched football, the game is entirely different when you are officiating it. It is not impossible to do it well but it does take time and experience.

I remember my first play and remember thinking, "Wholly crap!! What am I doing?". The others have given you great advice. Continue to listen.

OK, I understand that "holy crap" is crap that has somehow become sanctified, but what is "wholly crap"? Is this the same thing as "Swiss crap". I am pretty sure I have never had one of these.
Bisonlj, I am just messing with you so please don't get offended.

"Wholly crap" is 100% pure.

"Swiss crap" is holey.

Thank you for playing. ;)

Just trying to cover all homonyms and homophones as quickly as possible, Byron. I know the difference. Thanks for letting me play. Just to cover all of the bases, "holly crap" would be most painful:D

No offense taken. Mis-type on my part. Reminds me of when my wife says we can wear clothes with holes to church becaue they are "holey".

I grew up on a farm. I know what "wooly crap" is. Does that count?