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First and foremost, have a good pregame with your crew each and every game. Cover what you feel is necessary, positions, foul reporting, etc. Make sure you get your crew to report each foul in football terms, spot of the foul, condition of the ball, team COMMITTING the foul, etc. Don't assume anything, even if you saw what you think was the same foul.
Make sure your umpire hears you clearly, and try to get him in on the discussion with the captain. If you get something wrong (yardage, enforcement, etc.) he should gently get you to correct yourself ("Would you repeat that?" is a signal that you've got something wrong). And before you turn to give the final signal while the umpire marks off the penalty, communicate clearly where he will be spotting the ball. (e.g., "I'm on the 22, I'm going to the 37." or "I'm on the 18, inside the twenty. I'm going to the nine.") That will save you both the problem of going the wrong way, or marking off too much or too little yardage.
As Referee, don't be too anxious to watch the game. Stick with your area of responsibility. You may not know if that long pass was complete or intercepted, but someone in your crew will. You need to know if the passer was roughed. There's no need to rush.
You're an experienced official. It's the same game from a different perspective. What did you see in your other referees that you liked or disliked? Try to start building your "Referee Character" from there. Depend on your crew, lean on your umpire. And enjoy the game.
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Wed Nov 27, 2002, 01:16pm
Linear Mode
