new Kickoff procedure question

[Forksref]

Originally Posted by Reffing Rev.

I personally feel that coaches should have to take the same test we do...and I would say they must pass all of the qualifications to be an official in order for their team to be eligible for the post-season. Now I will probably work with an official or two during some JV games this year who won't know about the rules changes either because he isn't in the room while watching the rules.

In our state, ND, only the head coach is required to take the test and he is not required to pass it. Thus, we have a pretty low requirement and it shows when we have coaches complaining about rules they have never seen. I did a workshop last night and I went over the rules changes. The coaches were interested in what I was presenting, which was encouraging. I told them that the better they know the rules, the greater their team is prepared for the games and this could be an advantage for them. Coaches are super busy this time of year so it would take a mandate by the state to get them to put some time into the rules.

Also, when I read the new requirement for free kick alignment, I laid the responsibility on our BJ, but in the manual, the R is responsible for the alignment. I'd say some preventive officiating by the BJ would take care of the problem.