SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION - THE WEEKLY BULL – October 5, 2022
No Meeting This Week – This week is week #8 of the season and it sure seems to be flying by. More rivalries and more league battles! Keep up your fitness routine, study a rule, talk with your crew chief on the phone or via zoom, and evaluate your crew’s work from last week. Set your own goal, and set a crew goal!
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 2021 season. We need a few more!! Also, remember to attend the banquet as you’ve already paid for your dinner with your 2021 registration!
Banquet Raffle Prizes – If you have access to some cool stuff for our raffle at the banquet, please consider donating it. All raffle proceeds go to our Association operating budget and help keep our annual dues down. And thank you, in advance, for the crew donations to the raffle. Winning a crew gift makes the banquet an even more special event!
Golf Tournament – This year’s golf tournament will take place on Wednesday, November 2nd at Admiral Baker GC. Shotgun start tentative for 12:00 noon. $125 covers golf and cart. $145 gets you that plus drink tickets and a chance to win lots of great prizes at the raffle. You can enter a group or play as an individual. Golfers of all abilities and their guests are welcome. Raffle prize donations are also encouraged and appreciated. Register at www.sdyouthfootballfund.org. or contact Ed Blick, Mike Downing, or Mike Gunzelman with questions. The flyer is attached.
Game Check Weekend – It’s fast approaching – October 14-17. Crew chiefs get your crews organized for this important effort. We do so many great things with this fund. Let’s keep last year’s momentum going. The crew with the highest crew contribution will be getting a free dinner after the last regular season game. You can go to sdyouthfootballfund.org for more information or to actually donate, we are all set up. You can also contact Mike Downing for additional information, docdowning@aol.com or text/phone at 619-888-6430.
Players Properly Equipped – Have you noticed the clean faces on the PPR? We are winning - teams had players identified in pregame and those same players were sent out when they tried to play without legalizing their uniforms from warmups. Good job of sending them off! Guess what, they started wearing their equipment properly!
React or Process - Instructions to timers should always include some guidance regarding the timer observing the signals of the game officials. Timers should not react to what they see such as an incomplete pass, or a step out of bounds, etc. Timers need to process what they see and stop the clock accordingly after seeing officials signal. The extra fraction of a second is appropriate. Process is important, and same for us as officials. Anticipate the play, never anticipate a call. Quick whistles or signals when for example we see a knee down, a quick reaction, will only lead to an inadvertent whistle or an incorrect judgement at some point. See the play, PROCESS what you see and then whistle, then signal as appropriate.
Catch/Recovery – Be slow! Past videos have shown officials quickly judging possession and the ball subsequently continuing to be loose. These plays call for demonstrated control of the ball.
Counting Offense and Defense –Primary responsibility for counting the offense lies with the Referee with back up by the Umpire. Primary responsibility for counting the defense lies with the Back Judge with support from the Line Judge. Every play! If we miss even one, there is no explanation possible. Be consistent. Thank you.
Flanks Pre-snap Signaling – Observers are complimenting flanks for their use of signals to communicate the legality of the formation. That is optional for us in San Diego, but use them if and when necessary. Work this out with your partner opposite you!
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 partly because of the 40-second play clock in addition of the incredible hustle of the umpires. Thank you for your hustle and hard work umpires!!
More on the Umpire – In addition to the hustle we’re seeing, the umpires are now more involved in the game due to their pivoting following all passes. This week I observed an umpire penalizing an illegal block in the back which could have gone unnoticed by the flank and back judge. Way to pivot…and great job of officiating the blocks, catches, or illegal hits after you pivot.
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!). If the new ball comes in properly, we should have the old ball on the ground with the BJ ready to take it out as the new ball arrives quickly. Flanks, get that new ball in! BJ’s should also be involved in every major penalty by either holding a spot or covering a flag. Every major penalty!!!
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!
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.
Game Clock – Reminder, at the beginning of our dead ball routine we must all check the game clock for accuracy. When we are questioned about game time (maybe the clock continued to run when it wasn’t supposed to) and we don’t have an answer we lose our credibility with fans, players and coaches. Much of this happens inside of 5 minutes in the half or the game, but you can’t just turn on and off this responsibility. You have to do it each and every snap. Finish observing the action of the players at the end of each play, then a quick look at the clock to check its status. Have a plan each week on how you will communicate with the clock operator so we can quickly reset the game clock if necessary. Resetting the game clock can demonstrate our thoroughness and our professionalism.
From Earl Totty, Tom Ables, Gary Gittelson and Tim Podraza – A great big “Thank You!” to all the youth and freshman referees who work with our first-year officials for extending our instructional program out onto the field. You do a great job of giving time and instruction to the rookies and we deeply appreciate it. That extra 10-15 minutes after the youth game means the world to them as you reinforce the lessons the game presented your crew. Thank you for your time, patience, and proper guidance.
