Agenda – Attendance – Check your attendance and make sure it’s accurate! Weekly Bull – Instructional Video – Calibration Video – Mechanics Test
Clinic Attendance & Attendance Overall – It has been outstanding…even better than last year when we had a great year of attendance. “80% of life is showing up!” – Woody Allen (haha) We had 104 attend the line of scrimmage meeting with Steve Hoslett from the Mountain West. Outstanding discussion of how screwing up the little things can result in a huge mess! Concentration, consistency & composure! Bob D’Angelo has offered some notes from the session and I’ve attached them to this Bull.
Equipment and Uniform Vendors – All of these vendors can be found on our webpage at www.sdcfoa.org. Special thanks to Victor Hawthorne whose company was selling Honig’s uniform and equipment last week, and will be back selling again this week!
Mechanics Test (3-Man, 4-Man & 5-Man) for Certified Officials – This test will focus is on our new mechanics this year plus a quick check to make sure you know who has what responsibilities on each type of game situation (time out, measurement, penalty, free kick, scrimmage kick, etc.) I know you’ll “Kill” the exam. We all know that every official will miss 2 questions because they hurried or mis-read the question. 98% is like a perfect score! 100% means you’re a really good and careful test-taker! I hope you’ve all dug into the Mechanics Manual and are familiar with its contents.
2nd Year Officials – You will be taking the Mechanics Exam on 8/14, next week. This gives you another week of classroom instruction and study.
1st & 2nd Year Officials – You will get your first look at live action, next week, Thursday 8/15 at Francis Parker High School. Your instructors will announce the time and other important info in your classrooms. Please go directly to the field in your full uniform so we can see how you look in your full uniform.
Referees and Veterans Working With New Officials – Just a reminder to our veterans, please be positive and compassionate with our newest officials. Their development comes, in a great part, from mistakes. So, please, stay positive and constructive. Find some positives and compliment them on those things they’re doing well. Then blend in just a couple (maybe just two) things to work on. One of the very best things you can do is point out something to work on in the first game, and then be able to compliment them on their improvement in those specific areas!
Certified & Crew Scrimmage Uniform – The high school scrimmage uniform for all certified officials (not 1st or 2nd year) will be the same as for warm weather youth football including black socks. Bob Hood still has black socks!
Back Judge Clinic – Wednesday 8/14, two of our finest Back Judges (Ted Schiess and Joe Magnuson) will be presenting on: Weekly Routines, Pre-Game, and SDCFOA mechanics for your position starting at 7:00 pm in the auditorium. This should be a highly inter-active session touching on a wide-variety of topics related to preparing yourself to work effectively with your crew before and during the season! We will also be discussing run zone coverage in 5-man mechanics, proper positioning and vison patterns, dead ball and pre-snap mechanics. Bring your mechanics manual and your Pre-Game Check List! US Veteran Patches – As soon as they arrive from Sacramento, Bob Hood will come around to the classes to offer US Veteran patches to all who have served our country in the armed services. We proudly display the patch over the pocket and under the American Flag. Please limit your request to 3 per veteran (maybe 2 short sleeve shirts and 1 long sleeve shirt.) Again, thank you for your service!
Kick Catch Interference – KCI is a live ball foul during the kick. It has the following special enforcement options to the receiving team: R may accept the results of the play (decline the penalty); R may accept an awarded fair catch after enforcement of a 15-yard penalty from the spot of the foul; or R may choose to have the 15-yard penalty enforced from the previous spot and a replay of the down.
Food for Thought:
If a kick is in flight, and there is no fair catch signal by any R player, and while the ball is still in flight the kickers interfere with the receiver (KCI), then the ball is loose and picked up by another R player who advances for a TD. What options does the receiving team have? R will have to decline the foul in order to get the TD. Why can’t we tack it on?
Excessive Contact to a Defenseless Receiver (punt returner) – Now we have R receiver back to receive the punt and just after he first “touches” the kick (does not possess the kick) he is “blown up” by a kicking team player in a manner that is judged to be excessive contact to a defenseless receiver. The ball bounces back and is recovered by a K player. What are the penalty options? What are the options if it is recovered by a Receiving Team Player? Now the Receiver actually catches and possesses the ball as he’s blown up (continues to hold onto the ball and is downed immediately.) Now what are the penalty options for the Receiving team?
Weather Delays – As you know we follow the Guidelines on handling contests during lightning or thunder disturbances on page 104 of the rule book. Clarification from NFHS reminds us that coaches or game officials cannot shorten the halftime or warm-up period. However, both coaches could agree to shorten, or even end, the second period during the delay, and then the third quarter could start after the delay as soon as the mandatory warm-up period is completed.
“The first flag sets the bar for the rest of the game.”
– Greg Burks, Big 12 Supervisor of Officials
This common sense quote is consistent with our philosophies which can be found on pages 79-80 of our manual. Those philosophies must be read, reviewed, and mastered by all officials when preparing for the season, and each week’s games. Furthermore, post-game and crew self-evaluation and the use of game video can help us as we calibrate our judgment with our association’s collective judgment. This process is described on pages 84-86 of our manual. Only through preparation and study will we be ready to “set the bar” at the proper level for each game.
Important Dates:
Mechanics Test – This Wednesday 8/7 – You will pass!
Rules Test – Wed. August 21 – 50 questions based on the Summer Study Guide plus NFHS Qualification Exam (first 60 questions have been sent out…entire set of questions plus answers will be sent next week.
