{"id":14175,"date":"2023-01-01T16:00:54","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T21:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/articles\/6-elements-of-your-officiating-anatomy\/"},"modified":"2023-01-01T16:00:54","modified_gmt":"2023-01-01T21:00:54","slug":"6-elements-of-your-officiating-anatomy","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/articles\/6-elements-of-your-officiating-anatomy\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Elements of Your Officiating Anatomy"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>he human anatomy is an intricate structure consisting of 11 systems and containing more than 37 trillion cells. Officiating requires the use of many of those body parts and in most cases, those parts must coordinate with one another. Here are 7 elements of your officiating anatomy.<\/p>\n

1. Eyes<\/h2>\n

Almost everyone would\u00a0likely name the eyes as the body part\u00a0most important to officiating. A college\u00a0official who had received good ratings\u00a0was phased out when it became public\u00a0knowledge that he had a glass eye.\u00a0The eyes detect light and convert\u00a0it into electro-chemical impulses in\u00a0neurons. Visual acuity is the ability\u00a0to distinguish fine detail and that\u2019s\u00a0exactly what\u2019s needed to determine if\u00a0a restriction has occurred when two\u00a0linemen are engaged.<\/p>\n

Most fouls cannot be called\u00a0properly unless the whole act is\u00a0observed. Perhaps the best examples\u00a0are illegal blocks. To call a block below\u00a0the waist, the official must see the\u00a0initial contact. If he doesn\u2019t, the official\u00a0may not know if the blocker started\u00a0with legal contact and then slid on the\u00a0opponent\u2019s body. If the official doesn\u2019t\u00a0see the initial contact on a potential\u00a0block in the back, he may not know if\u00a0the opponent turned on the blocker.<\/p>\n

2. Ears<\/h2>\n

Hearing the sounds of the\u00a0game is useful, if not essential. There\u00a0is some benefit to not being able to\u00a0hear what comes out of the team box,\u00a0but overall a deaf official would be\u00a0at a disadvantage. The umpire must\u00a0know if the defense is interfering with\u00a0the snap count. Perhaps the most\u00a0important use of auditory perception\u00a0is dead-ball officiating.<\/p>\n

If opponents linger, officials should\u00a0move in promptly to address it. When\u00a0you can\u2019t get to two players who have\u00a0squared off before they part, go to\u00a0the guy who is most upset and ask\u00a0him the nature of the problem. He\u2019ll\u00a0usually complain of being punched or\u00a0sworn at. Tell him you\u2019ll take a closer\u00a0look. If he started it, he knows he\u2019ll\u00a0be watched. If he didn\u2019t, the foul can\u00a0usually be spotted the next time. The\u00a0fact an official is asking for details\u00a0seems to make all the players aware\u00a0the officials are tuned in to what\u2019s\u00a0going on and monitoring it closely.<\/p>\n

3. Mouth<\/h2>\n

The mouth is used for communication, especially with crewmates, and that is an essential part of officiating. However, improper use of the vocal cords has besmirched many an official. \u201cSpeak when you are angry, and you\u2019ll make the best speech you\u2019ll ever regret.\u201d Those words are commonly attributed to author Laurence J. Peter, known for The Peter\u00a0Principle<\/em>. Coaches can get away with\u00a0it; officials cannot.<\/p>\n

The regretful words can be uttered either during or after the game. As a general rule, the less you say to players, the better off you\u2019ll be. However, some communication is not only necessary but desirable. Building rapport with the participants is part of good officiating. Under no circumstances, though, should officials fraternize, criticize, coach or threaten.<\/p>\n

Last season, a local official was\u00a0admonished because he tried to\u00a0caution a player by saying, \u201cDon\u2019t be\u00a0a dumbass.\u201d The player mentioned\u00a0it to his father, who was an assistant\u00a0coach and then his mother got in on it\u00a0and soon there was a controversy.<\/p>\n

Some officials have found success\u00a0appealing to a player\u2019s ego. \u201cYou\u2019re\u00a0too good of a player to act like that\u201d\u00a0can result in a player calming down.<\/p>\n

4. Arms<\/h2>\n

Like the mouth, the\u00a0arms are used for communicating.\u00a0Signals must be clear and be concise.\u00a0Rushing or dawdling with signals is\u00a0not very effective. By rushing, you\u00a0communicate poorly; by dawdling,\u00a0you keep the game from moving.\u00a0A common error in signaling is\u00a0excessive repetitions. In most\u00a0cases, once is enough and two are\u00a0acceptable. Recently, a crew from a\u00a0smaller association received a very\u00a0poor rating on a playoff game. Upon\u00a0further review, the crew actually had\u00a0called a decent game, properly getting\u00a0forward progress. Apparently, what\u00a0had turned off the observer was the\u00a0hunched-over signaling on incomplete\u00a0passes by the wing officials. Instead\u00a0of signaling decisively while standing\u00a0erect, they signaled while moving and\u00a0waving their arms like ape men.<\/p>\n

Some calls need to be sold. Close\u00a0calls need a little extra emphasis to\u00a0communicate to everyone clearly.\u00a0But selling a call is like raising your\u00a0voice \u2014 sometimes it is necessary\u00a0and effective, but do it too often and\u00a0people get angry or turned off. Sell a\u00a0call only when necessary. You don\u2019t\u00a0want to appear that you\u2019re caught up\u00a0in the emotion of the game.<\/p>\n

In one instance, a runner was ruled down when the ball became loose and was recovered by the defense. In the ensuing confusion, the chains moved and didn\u2019t get back to the correct position and that went unnoticed by the head linesman. The video revealed the head linesman merely signaled the number of the next down while the back judge nonchalantly pointed at the spot where the runner was down. If the call had been properly sold (the video also revealed it was indeed a fumble), the chains likely would not have moved.<\/p>\n

5. Legs<\/h2>\n

To get the call right, an\u00a0official must get to the proper position.\u00a0That is what mechanics manuals are\u00a0all about. In most cases, angle is much\u00a0more important than distance. That\u00a0usually requires movement. That\u00a0includes the back judge on running\u00a0plays moving as his buffer begins to\u00a0dissolve to restore his separation while\u00a0keeping a watchful eye on the runner\u00a0and the nearest potential tackler,\u00a0and the referee keeping pace with\u00a0a quarterback who rolls away and\u00a0covering the near sideline when the\u00a0quarterback approaches it.<\/p>\n

Beware of overusing your legs, the\u00a0so-called \u201cfalse hustle.\u201d That refers\u00a0to energetic movement during liveball\u00a0coverage that serves no purpose\u00a0other than to demonstrate the official\u00a0can move rapidly. The real problem\u00a0with false hustle is no officiating is\u00a0accomplished while the official is\u00a0showing everyone how fast he can\u00a0run. When the runner breaks open\u00a0for a long run, wing officials should\u00a0focus on the blocking to see if any\u00a0defender is illegally restrained from\u00a0catching the runner. Blindly racing to\u00a0a goalline that will be covered by the\u00a0back judge may look good but serves\u00a0no officiating purpose.<\/p>\n

6. Brain<\/h2>\n

The five senses \u2014 sight,\u00a0hearing, smell, taste and touch \u2014 are\u00a0part of the nervous system and collect\u00a0information about our environment\u00a0that is interpreted by the brain (the\u00a0latter three senses are of minimal\u00a0value to officiating). We utilize that\u00a0information based on previous\u00a0experience, subsequent learning and\u00a0by the combination of the information\u00a0from each of the senses. Each sense\u00a0provides different information which\u00a0is combined and interpreted by our\u00a0brain. Here is an example.<\/p>\n

A player tackles a receiver in a\u00a0straight line away from the covering\u00a0official. It appears the tackler first\u00a0makes contact with his shoulder, but\u00a0the crack of helmets crashing is clearly\u00a0heard. The sound should spur the\u00a0official to reconsider what he saw. If he\u00a0determines the position of the tackler\u2019s\u00a0head was consistent with a targeting\u00a0foul, the flag should be thrown even if\u00a0helmet contact was not observed.<\/p>\n

The post 6 Elements of Your Officiating Anatomy<\/a> appeared first on Referee.com<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The human anatomy is an intricate structure consisting of 11 systems and containing more than 37 trillion cells. Officiating requires the use of many of those body parts and in most cases, those parts must coordinate with one another. Here are 7 elements of your officiating anatomy. 1. Eyes Almost everyone would\u00a0likely name the eyes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14175","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/14175"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/14175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}