Wow! This weekend has been a whirlwind of football at all levels. I worked a University of Charleston scrimmage Thursday in West Virginia, a Western Kentucky scrimmage Friday in Bowling Green, KY. Saturday, I actually had a Football Trifecta – youth, high school and college football in a single day! I worked a University of Louisville scrimmage Saturday morning, observed a rookie official I’m mentoring in his youth games Saturday afternoon then on to a varsity high school contest to open the season Saturday night. Walked off the field at 12:36 am. To top things off, I’m headed down to Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, KY for a Mid-South scrimmage on Sunday afternoon! Lots of football in 4 days. Insane yes, but we do love football, don’t we?

As I stood on the sideline in Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium on Saturday morning working deep on Big East Head Linesman Tommy Walsh’s sideline (who is the guest on an upcoming Referee Nation Podcast episode) I reflected back on how fast things have moved over the past 18 months. It really seems like yesterday I was trying to swallow butterflies before a Charleston spring scrimmage in my first NCAA game ever!

Moral here is just like the Boy Scouts: Be Prepared. You just never know what might happen.

Live in the moment. Enjoy your place in officiating the next time you step on the field. Only a select few people will ever experience football from our perspective. And what a great place to be. Live in the moment.

Check out the latest NCAA Bulletin sent out last week. Right Click to down load the file.

Take a look at this video shot on my back deck where I answer the second most popular question. See if you can spot my special guest star who makes a surprise visit!

Right Click this link to Download

The NCAA changed the ruling on Wedge Blocking this year. As a result the CFO has released a video detailing this new change.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

~Larry Elder~

Whether you’re a rookie football official who is ready to take the field for the first time, or you are a NCAA college official who been around the  block a time or two already, there’s one critical factor to your success that needs constant tending and updating. And that’s your goals.

Everyone from NFL Referee Mike Carey to the twenty-year-old high school official has dreams and wishes. But until you put a timeline, milestones and measurements to your dream, you’ve got nothing – at least, nothing of value.  Sure, a dream is a nice story to think about when you’re falling asleep at night, but dreams don’t get you varsity games, state playoffs, or college scrimmages.

I put this special series of blog posts together because I see too many football officials of all levels getting stuck – not because they don’t have good ideas; not because they lack motivation or smarts; not because they’re won’t roll up their sleeves, but because they simply don’t have good, smart goals. They haven’t set goals and designed strategies that will help them get from where they are today to where they’re dreaming about being tomorrow. Often, the only difference between those who make it happen and those who don’t make it happen is a person’s willingness to set their goals. Period.

You wouldn’t hire a contractor who didn’t have a blueprint for your house. You wouldn’t get on a plane with a pilot who didn’t have an accurate navigational plan to where he was taking you. And you wouldn’t want a barber who didn’t know what your hair was supposed to look like when he was done cutting it. So why would you try to move forward in your officiating career without concrete goals?

If you’ve never set specific goals before, or you’ve had trouble defining your goals in the past, never fear.

Through these blog posts,  I’ll teach you:

1. why goals are important
2. what makes a good goal
3. how to keep on track, and
4. when to give up the ship.

Now, let’s get going…its all geared towards helping you Be the Best On The Field.