SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION - THE WEEKLY BULL – October 26, 2022 Final Meeting this Wednesday - Bull, Calibration, and Instructional Video, – Final meeting of the regular season this Wednesday. Please join us at the Crew Chief Meeting prior to your regular crew meeting. Here is the invitation: SDCFOA Crew Chief Meeting - Open to All Oct 26, 2022 6:00 PM Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88052584918?pwd=ZlBjRVRndU5GZmFVTHVwUk5ac012Zz09 Meeting ID: 880 5258 4918 Passcode: 837224 One tap mobile +16694449171 Make Up Meeting Will be Wednesday 11/9 – If you need to make up a meeting or you need to take a test, please log on to the zoom make up meeting at 7:00pm. I will be sending out the Make Up Zoom Invite just before the meeting. Meetings and Tests – Officials who have not met the requirements for meetings or tests must write a letter/email to the board describing why they should be considered for a one-year exemption from the requirements and be eligible for the draft. The letter/email should be sent to Steve Coover who will present it to the board. Do You Have One of the Awards? – If you do, let Bob Hood know that you will be bring it to the banquet. Due to Covid, I had the SKULL in my garage for two years! Banquet Stories – Our Banquet will be on November 2nd and we need stories. See Bob Hood or email him your video or story of our fun-loving mistakes from the 2022 season. We need a few more!! Also, remember to attend as you’ve already paid for your BBQ dinner with your 2022 registration dues payment! The SD Youth Football Fund - Game check weekend is over and Matt Starr’s crew is the winner with a contribution of $2,260 and will get a free after-game meal this week! If you have a late contribution, please contact Mike Gunzelman. SD Youth Football Fund Golf Tourney – Just a few slots left so contact Mike downing, or Ed Blick at http://www.sdyouthfootballfund.org/ Final Weekend of the Regular Season – Some of us will end our season soon and I sincerely hope that the season has brought you some rewarding experiences, a few laughs, and some lasting memories. Maybe you’ve even made a few new friends along the way. The 2023 season will be here soon and we can do it all again! Don’t forget to go out and support our fellow officials as they work playoff games. Always a fun evening learning and critiquing. Final Games for the Teams and Players– This is usually a challenging weekend of high school football to officiate. In many cases the teams are competing for league championships and/or playoff qualification or seeding. The intensity will be high, the stakes high, and the demands on accuracy high! Be prepared for this excitement and pressure. Have a great week of preparation, then go out with your crew and execute. Same can be said for teams that are wrapping up the season with no hope of going to the playoffs. Seniors will be playing hard and juniors will be stepping up to prepare for next year. Keep this all under control. Have a plan. Don’t be surprised by the excitement of these final games. Playoff Assignments – Tom Ables has emailed all of the semifinals and finals playoff assignments. Soon to be announced will be the All-Star game crew. Congratulations to all who’ve received an assignment and we know you’ll represent the game, the CIF, and our association well! Work hard and have fun! 7-Man Mechanics Zoom Meeting - Wednesday, November 16 7:00pm – This Zoom meeting is mandatory for all officials who are working a semifinal of final. Tom Ables and I will share the latest info on this year’s many playoff venues and game details. Crew preparation and logistics will be discussed. Tempo – We’ve done very well with this as a whole. We’ve completed our dead ball responsibilities, hustled to get the ball and chains ready for play and kept the game moving with accurately timed periods leading up to kick offs and the completion of time outs. Referees are no longer waiting for the box to be set, rather winding quickly as the box arrives. Get the teams out! Keep the pace moving and the kids will benefit in the quality of their play. Slowing the tempo will cause many unexpected negative consequences including poorer play and fewer opportunities for the kids. A brisk, consistent tempo will keep the teams focused and playing their best. Always hoping for fewer fouls! Pre-Game Conference – Let’s do everything possible to conduct these two conferences near the start of the 30 minute warm up period. In the playoffs we ask crews to be out 45 minutes before kickoff and that gives us even more opportunity to conference with the coaches before they get involved in running team offense and defense. Start these as soon as you can. Injured Player and Official’s Time Out – As much as we want to error on the side of safety, we need to be cautious on declaring a player injured and taking an official’s time out for an apparently injured player. Let’s always give the player a chance to “recover” and continue to participate, especially if the play clock is not affected. We have the luxury of time to allow the athlete to recover. Now, if the player ultimately cannot get up and continue, we take the official’s time out when the play clock is affected. We all know that if the player is seriously injured we stop it immediately, as we do when a player exhibits signs, symptoms, and behaviors consistent with a concussion. Otherwise, take your time and be patient in stopping the clock. We don’t want to decide to have a mildly injured player out for an important down and the coach complain that the player was OK. Penalty Enforcements – Again, no short cuts. Umpires you drive this proper mechanic. Do not march off the enforcement alone, for any reason! HL (or LJ if emergency) must accompany the Umpire. Umpire check back with LJ who is normally holding the enforcement spot just to get his nod or signal of proper enforcement…then put the ball down. LJ can then move to the new LOS. Weekly Instructional Video – Just a reminder to read the notes associated with the video each week. Some important concepts are covered and reinforced along with some tips for accuracy and consistency. Thank you for your weekly effort! Video – We had our absolute best year of video review. Honest evaluation of our calls and judgments are so important to our individual and collective improvement, but don’t forget to review your spots and your mechanics. It all adds up to the best performance possible. CIF Championship Passes – Information will be coming via an additional Bulletin. Special tickets for SDCFOA will be $5.00 and as usual parking will also include a parking ticket. Playoff Fees – Official in the preliminary rounds and the semifinals will be paid by the schools and charged to game expenses. Officials working the CIF Championships (finals only) will be paid by the CIF directly. Here is a list of the playoff fees: Preliminary and Semifinal Rounds (paid by schools): Referee $95.00 Other Officials $93.00 CIF Championships (paid by CIF directly): Referee $105.00 Other Officials $105.00 Chain Crew: Semifinals (paid by schools) $46.00 CIF Championships (paid by CIF) $51.00 Great Mechanics Helps to Sell Your Close Call – We had an example of a critical 4th down play in which the team needed the close call to go their way in order to not lose the game. On this play at the sideline, the official was in perfect underneath position approximately 6-8 yards right down the sideline straddling the sideline. Ruling was feet down but the ball moved as the player fell to the ground attempting to complete the catch. When reviewing the call, there was no video evidence as the Hudl video is not that clear or close up, but the mechanics of the official makes it clear that he was in perfect position to rule on the play. Ruling on the field stands…Great job!
