then all we’d have to do is make about a little over half or our calls correctly (Quarterback) or 1/3 right (baseball). NBA players are hot if they hit over 50% from the field. I mean you can get in the MLB Hall of Fame if you hit .300 lifetime! ECan you imagine if football officials only got 1 of every 3 calls correct? Ever wonder why officials (in all sports) are held to such lofty standards NOT imposed upon the respective coaches or athletes? I’d be interested in your comments on that topic please!

In some sadistic way, I like the pressure of always being right. While we are foolish to believe we will ever achieve true perfection, it is both challenging and humbling to attempt to “get it right.” I guess that’s why we do what we do.

Here is a great article where Mike Pereira, NFL VP of Officiating; discusses how NFL officals while paid as if they are “part-time” devote full-time hours in terms of weekly preparation and dedication to their chosen “part-time” avocation.

Here’s a link to the article: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090104/SPORTS/901040528/1002/SPORTS

Until next time,

Be the best on the field

Todd Skaggs

Picture this: you have in the room a group of veteran NFL, NCAA officials and NCAA conference supervisors. They are at your beck and call. They will share any and all information with you, all you have to do is ask.

• What information would you like to know?
• Who would you most like to talk to and why?
• What questions would you ask these guys?

Please post those comments and you can help me on this book project.

By the refs, for the refs.

and believe me, what a tremendous source of information he is. We started our interview at 10 am and 96 minutes later I had filled my legal pad with 10 pages of notes! (Thank you Dick!)

Dick Honig may just be one of the true “household” names in football officiating. Whether it is from his 31 years of field experience most recently in the Big 10, his influence on European football officiating, his current guidance in the ACC, or more commonly at Honig’s Whistle Stop. You can check out his website for all you officiating supplies at www.honigs.com.

Dick recently retired from on-field officiating after a 41-year career. He officiated games throughout the United Sates and in eight European countries. Dick worked in many officiating capacities simultaneously. He spent 31 years as a football official with 22 years in the Big Ten Conference and nine years in the Mid-American Conference. He also spent 20 years as a basketball referee in the Mid-American Conference. He worked over fifteen bowl games, and concluded his career at the 2004 Sugar Bowl.

Dick also sponsors the Great Lakes Collegiate Football Officiating camp in April at Michigan State University. Check out this link for more info on attending: http://www.honigs.com/browse_products.asp?Cat=2&Sub=60

Dick provided a wealth of knowledge and you can trust that this book project will be better as a result.

Todd

On Monday I had the pleasure to interview Jim Jackson with the Ohio Valley Conference for my project. Jim’s been at the helm of OVC Football Officiating since 2007 after spending six years in the Sun Belt conference as referee. You can read more on Jim at http://www.ovcsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=31152&SPID=2453&DB_OEM_ID=6200&ATCLID=728569

You can check out the OVC website here http://www.ovcsports.com/

I gained valuable insight from Jim regarding the importance of video review in both the preparation of Division I crews as well as using this media to improve individual official performance and ability. I never realized the amount of preparation that a Division I white hat assumes in getting his crew ready for the week’s game.

Another terrific insight from Jim: Call it a fraternity, fellowship, comraderie – regardless, that intangible of a community with a common passion. Its largely why we do what we do. Jim said most people could count 5 or 10 true friends in their circle, but through officiating he was able to count around 200 people as close friends. If you happen to know Jim and are in that circle, know Jim Jackson is grateful for each and every one of you.