Football Officiating Axioms

Quality Fouls Don’t be technical, Let them play Stay on top of UNS and Safety issues, always lean toward minimizing safety risk of the players See everything you call but don’t call everything you see Don’t reach for your flag unless you intend to use it….Remember, when you put your flag on the field, your integrity is linked to it

Dead Ball Officiating Be a GREAT Dead Ball official, over 80% of the game will be “dead ball” status….always stay with players until they are back with their teammates….especially in the opposite team box Observe players, most of the time you can see “issues” starting to develop Always consider preventative officiating, fix issues early with communication skills if possible

Don’t Ball Watch Be deliberate in ruling on a fumble and get a bean bag down You have to see the ball and player to rule on a fumble, we should never have 4 or 5 bean bags on the ground Count players EVERY down, DO NOT mirror the “11 players” signal, if you did not count then do not signal Don’t look back if you feel you may have missed something, We must focus on the next play Its great to “self evaluate” but don’t be over critical of yourself, no one is perfect but the key is to learn from our mistakes

The “Must” list You must have excellent people skills-Being courteous and learning how to communicate with coaches will help you to “manage” their behavior and the sideline Be mentally and physically prepared to work your game A great pregame usually leads to a smooth game, a poor pregame ALWAYS leads to games with some type of issue Always hustle, never walk when you can jog and never jog when you can run Crisp ball movement and keep smooth pace Display Integrity, Courage and Poise. Let the “tight” situations reveal your true character….this will build your reputation as an official with coaches and your peers---- They may not always “like” you, but they will respect you And above all else…..Keep Hustling!!

ALWAYS---FOR 48 MINUTES + FOCUS CONCENTRATE COMMUNICATE (coaches, players, crew) BE HONEST----WITH YOUR CREW AND COACHES HUSTLE COUNT PLAYERS BE AWARE OF THE CLOCK STATUS BE COURTEOUS YOU ARE PART OF A CREW, WE ALL SUCCEED OR FAIL AS ONE UNIT…..BE SUPPORTIVE OF YOUR CREW GIVE IT 100%----DON’T CHEAT THE GAME OR ANYONE INVOLVED BY GOING THRU THE MOTIONS….LEAVE IT ALL ON THE FIELD EVERY PLAY, WE WILL ALL OFFICIATE OUR LAST PLAY AT SOME POINT, HOW DO YOU WANT YOURS TO BE REMEMBERED???????