No Meeting This Week – We will meet next week 10/26 at Santana. Final elections will be held in all certified classes.
Catch/Muff/Fumble and First Touching – I saw two games this week where the BJ was delayed on his ruling of the action by the receiver and/or kickers. Good time for all BJs and LJs to review catch/muff/fumble and first touching. Catch – we’re slow to rule so as not to blow an inadvertent, kick has ended. Muff – the ball is live, kick has not ended, and either team can recover (kickers may not advance). Fumble – kick has ended, either team may recover and advance. First touching – kick has not ended, R can advance after 1st touching, bean bag indicates the spot of first touching (unless K has blocked or pushed R into the ball). R has the right to take the ball at the spot of first touching unless R has fouled after first touching or a penalty is accepted for any foul committed during the down.
Positioning of BJ – Position slightly behind and to the side of the deepest receiver on the same side of the field as the HL. You should be at least 7 yards wide but no more than 12 yards. You should be 3-5 yards deeper than the receiver (I’m seeing some who are getting close to even with the receiver….move back. Also, if field position has you pinned to the sideline (2 receiver sets can do this – as well as punts from the hash mark where the receiver is at the hash) this may require you to take a position on the other side of the receiver (between the receivers or 7-yards to the LJ side). If we don’t adjust we could have an initial position at the sideline and at risk of not covering a punt that goes toward the other hash mark. Use good judgement and common sense.
Flanks Pre-snap Signaling – Remember we are signaling the location of the widest player on the LOS. If the widest player on your side is a tight end, so be it, he is your widest receiver and would require no signal as he should be on the LOS. You would just acknowledge the opposite flanks signal if he/she has one.
Ball Mechanics – I’m liking what I see from our umpires! You are making your crews more effective and more professional looking with your hustle. The game tempos have improved and our referees are more in charge of the tempo. Thank you for your hustle and hard work umpires!!
Back Judges – Stay Involved and Active – Are you helping get the old ball out on all free kicks and punts? This allows the umpire to focus on getting the new ball via the ball boys, flanks, or sideline (hopefully not the center!). BJ’s should also be involved in every major penalty by either holding a spot or covering a flag. Every major penalty!!!
Disciplining Officials – The SDCDOA will not discipline officials by removing them from their scheduled games for errors in judgment or implementation of the rules. A mistake like that must be learned from and removing officials from the game would take away a critical opportunity to learn and show improvement. The Association does have the right to implement progressive discipline should a member’s character and/or behavior become a concern for the association, schools, teams and players.
Refreshments – If you are thirsty at halftime of any game, be prepared to pay for your halftime refreshments. They are not part of the game fee or our contract with the CIF. So, PLEASE, don’t assume that you get refreshments. Comments like, “Make sure it’s one of the cold Gatorades” can easily be interpreted as arrogant and demanding. Remember, these funds are used to pay for school athletics and we are being offered something that is taking money from their profits. Thank you!
Delay of Game – Just for the humor of it, what do we do when the homecoming fireworks shoot toward the visitor’s stands and set the hillside on fire? Real story from two weeks ago! We passed on the delay of game penalty when the fire fighting delayed the start of the second half - LOL
Never Re-Assign Yourself and Keep Your Availability Current – If you are unable to work an assignment, never re-assign the game yourself! Turn the game back in by declining in arbiter or call Tom or your youth assignor. Only our assignors can assign games. Period! Update your availability as playoff games are coming up.
Clock Awareness – We are doing much better as an association. The quality of the timers provided to us does make a huge difference to the game but we must continue to be vigilant in immediately checking the status of the clock right after signaling. The covering official(s) may need to complete their dead ball officiating until the colors separate before also checking the status of the clock. Keep up the great work!
From Andy Castagnola - I just want to thank all the youth and freshman referees who work with our first-year officials for extending our instruction program out onto the field. You do a great job of giving time and instruction to the rookies and we deeply appreciate the extra time you donate to our newest members. Thank you for your patience and proper guidance.
Intentional Grounding – With the referee committed to protecting the QB and ruling on roughing, it is virtually impossible for the referee to see all of the essential elements of an intentional grounding call. I remind you that it is our mechanics that the flanks, umpire, or even BJ help by either 1) point at an eligible receiver if the receiver was in the area of the incomplete pass, or 2) run to the referee to report that there was no eligible receiver in the area of the incomplete pass. The referee will accept this information and blend it with his own view of the play, and the QB, and judge whether we have intentional grounding or not. Only the referee makes this call!
UT Article by Kevin Acee – Thank you to Kevin Acee and Darrin Bonk for the nice article on Craig Wheilihan. He is a great representative of who we are and what we do for the game! This can help us as we begin to recruit for next year. Don’t be afraid to start reaching out to new prospects and direct them to our website and the New Officials Information under the General Information tab.
CA State Bowl Championship Assignments – Congratulations to the following officials for being accepted to work the state championships. This is a great honor for our association and we continue to get more and more officials involved. This year we are sending 4 to the games in Sacramento (we sent 2 last year) and we have a total of 12 officials working!
Working a Regional and Open Div. Final at Sac. St. - Ed Zapolski (R), Scott Countryman (SJ)
Working a Regional and Div. II Final at Sac. St. - Greg Covington (HL), Jacob Wittler (LJ)
Working a Regional and Final in So Cal - Zack Marble, Mike Duggan, Matt Starr
Working a 5-man Regional in So Cal – The San Diego Crew:
Jeff Phillips
Fletcher Calvert
Brian Mills
Brian Bortness
Victor Hawthorne
Working a 5-man Final in So Cal – The San Diego Crew:
Jeff Phillips
Fletcher Calvert
Zack Marble
Mike Duggan
Matt Starr
