{"id":26457,"date":"2022-08-16T16:48:15","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T20:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/articles\/onfield-meetings-short-simple-complete-2999\/"},"modified":"2022-08-16T16:48:15","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T20:48:15","slug":"onfield-meetings-short-simple-complete-2999","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/articles\/onfield-meetings-short-simple-complete-2999\/","title":{"rendered":"Onfield Meetings \u2013 Short, Simple & Complete"},"content":{"rendered":"

M<\/span>uch has been written and said about\u00a0the importance of perception in\u00a0officiating. Image is everything, as the\u00a0saying goes and that is true not only of the\u00a0officials comprising a crew but the crew as a\u00a0whole. Little things that crews do and fail\u00a0to do can create in the minds of coaches,\u00a0players and observers the belief that the\u00a0crew is in command of things \u2014 or\u00a0conversely, confused and perhaps in\u00a0over its head.<\/p>\n

One thing that football crews\u00a0often do that can foster a\u00a0negative impression is to have\u00a0conferences that go on too long\u00a0or involve officials with\u00a0nothing useful to offer. How\u00a0many times have you seen\u00a0games in which multiple\u00a0officials converge to discuss\u00a0what may be something as\u00a0simple as a false start and to\u00a0prolong the discussion to the\u00a0point that everyone gets antsy?\u00a0To be sure, when more than one\u00a0official has a flag down on a play,\u00a0all of the calling officials must get\u00a0together to compare notes; what\u00a0I\u2019m talking about are crew\u00a0conferences when only the\u00a0referee and calling official need\u00a0to be involved, crew conferences\u00a0that are needed but involve five\u00a0people when only three have\u00a0something meaningful to\u00a0contribute and meetings that go on\u00a0endlessly because those involved are talking over each\u00a0other, too excited and the like.<\/p>\n

If, for example, only the head linesman has a false\u00a0start before the snap, he can quickly communicate that\u00a0to the referee and umpire, the umpire can immediately\u00a0march off the penalty and the referee can give the signal\u00a0and, if applicable, microphone announcement. There\u00a0doesn\u2019t need to be any preliminary signal by the referee\u00a0or any other officials involved in the discussion; in fact,\u00a0there really doesn\u2019t need to be much discussion at all.\u00a0The procedure in college ball is for the linesman to give\u00a0the referee a visual false start signal, which the umpire\u00a0will see; all the referee needs is the player\u2019s number (if\u00a0he doesn\u2019t already know it) and then makes an\u00a0announcement while the umpire marks off the five\u00a0yards. Bing, bang, done. If others besides the linesman\u00a0have a flag down, they will converge with the referee\u00a0and the umpire to determine whether it is a false start\u00a0or defense in the neutral zone (offside). But again, they\u00a0do their thing and get on with it.<\/p>\n

The same thing applies no matter the foul(s) and\u00a0number of officials with flags. We need to be sure that\u00a0everyone understands what has been called and what\u00a0the enforcement is, but we do it expeditiously and\u00a0without officials with no flags down involved in the\u00a0discussion.<\/p>\n

If it is appropriate at whatever level you work for\u00a0calling officials to give visual signals, it sure can help\u00a0the referee to get things clarified and enforced with\u00a0alacrity. One example is the one above, in which the\u00a0linesman has a false start; his giving me the visual\u00a0signal eliminates the need for a lengthy discussion. If a\u00a0deep official has defensive pass interference and, after\u00a0he throws his flag, he gives me the appropriate signal\u00a0and points to the defense, the tumblers of my mind\u00a0start immediately working. As I run downfield to meet\u00a0him I already know what he has called and I can\u00a0calculate whether the foul is a spot foul or we will\u00a0enforce the 15 yards (because that is how interference is\u00a0enforced under NCAA rules). That eliminates a lot of\u00a0talk and possible confusion, saves a ton of time and\u00a0helps us to look crisp and in control.<\/p>\n

In line with that, I do not give options to the captain\u00a0if the choice is clear. That wastes time. If, for example,\u00a0the offense gains six yards on a running play so that it\u00a0will be third and four, but there is holding in the\u00a0backfield, no consultation is needed to know the\u00a0defense wants the penalty enforced. Once I get the foul\u00a0and its location and the number of the fouling player \u2014\u00a0the umpire will know that as he will be with me when\u00a0the calling official reports that information \u2014 the\u00a0umpire enforces the penalty and I give the\u00a0announcement. NFHS mechanics don\u2019t allow for that\u00a0lack of consultation, but the idea is be as brief as\u00a0possible.<\/p>\n

Being thorough but expeditious helps to move the\u00a0game along and creates the impression that the crew is\u00a0on top of things. Contrast that with the situation in\u00a0which there is a lot of discussion involving a lot of\u00a0people. The referee starts to leave and do something but \u00a0then he returns and there is more discussion, with officials\u00a0pointing here, there and yonder until finally something is\u00a0done. The reality may be that the crew knows what it is\u00a0doing, but the perception will be otherwise and there can\u00a0be a snowball effect with doubts cast on things the crew\u00a0does or calls down the line.<\/p>\n

Lest anyone misunderstand, let me stress that I am not\u00a0advocating speed at the expense of accuracy. Sometimes\u00a0conferences are necessary and it will take a while to sort\u00a0things out. Ultimately, our goal has to be to get things\u00a0right. I am simply saying that multi-official conferences\u00a0should be held only when they are necessary; they should\u00a0be reasonable in length, meaning that everyone who talks\u00a0must do so calmly; and they should not involve officials\u00a0with nothing to offer. If you don\u2019t have a flag down or\u00a0something meaningful to offer, stay out of it.<\/p>\n

Having said all of that, it is essential to ensure that all of\u00a0the pieces of the puzzle are put together at one time and\u00a0before the referee does anything. Last season our crew had\u00a0a game that began with an onside kick. On the goalline, I\u00a0saw a flag from the back judge and then saw the side judge\u00a0point to indicate that the receivers recovered the kick. The\u00a0back judge told me he had offside on the kickers; the side\u00a0judge told me he pointed the wrong way and the kickers\u00a0recovered. Fine. I announced the penalty, noted there\u00a0would be a rekick and ran back to the goalline. Tweet,\u00a0tweet! In comes the field judge to ask why, if the receivers\u00a0recovered, we\u2019re not adding the penalty to the spot of the\u00a0recovery. I told him the side judge pointed the wrong way\u00a0and the kickers recovered.\u00a0Off goes the field judge, only\u00a0to tweet, tweet and come\u00a0running in again to ask\u00a0whether the kick went 10\u00a0yards or the receivers should\u00a0get it at the spot of illegal\u00a0touching. That meant I had\u00a0to get the side judge\u00a0involved to ask him about that; he said it did go 10 yards.<\/p>\n

When we finally rekicked, with 14:55 on the clock in the\u00a0first quarter, we had pretty well convinced the two coaches\u00a0that we had no clue what we were doing. The Keystone\u00a0Cops looked more organized and in command than we\u00a0did.<\/p>\n

First, kudos to the field judge. My rule is that even if\u00a0you\u2019re the one guy on the crew who thinks something is\u00a0not right, stop the game and ask the question, for you may\u00a0save the entire crew from disaster. But my main point is\u00a0that we did not take our time from the start to be sure we\u00a0had all the necessary information assembled and that all of\u00a0us were on the same page before anyone enforced or\u00a0announced anything. The play was a little confusing andthere was a lot going on, but there is no excuse for it\u00a0having led to all of the discussions, meetings, etc., that\u00a0ensued.<\/p>\n

The next time you work a game, spend time in the\u00a0pregame discussing the notion of having conferences only\u00a0if clearly needed, limiting them to the people with relevant\u00a0input to offer, having people talk calmly and not over one\u00a0another and ensuring that discussions end with all pieces\u00a0of the puzzle put together and all crew members singing\u00a0from the same song sheet. Handling business in an\u00a0expeditious, crisp and organized fashion will go a long way\u00a0toward creating the impression that the crew knows what it,\u00a0is doing, which can save its bacon when the tough times\u00a0come.<\/p>\n

The post Onfield Meetings \u2013 Short, Simple & Complete<\/a> appeared first on Referee.com<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Much has been written and said about\u00a0the importance of perception in\u00a0officiating. Image is everything, as the\u00a0saying goes and that is true not only of the\u00a0officials comprising a crew but the crew as a\u00a0whole. Little things that crews do and fail\u00a0to do can create in the minds of coaches,\u00a0players and observers the belief that the\u00a0crew is […]<\/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-26457","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/26457"}],"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\/26457\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}