Brad Allen is a Referee in the ACC. Brad shares some tips on becoming a better Referee and what it takes to be a good ACC crew chief. Join me for a look at a week in Division I football officiating from the white hat perspective.
Brad Allen is a Referee in the ACC. Brad shares some tips on becoming a better Referee and what it takes to be a good ACC crew chief. Join me for a look at a week in Division I football officiating from the white hat perspective.
My good friend, Shane Livensparger at OfficiallyFit.Net has something all Profootballreferee.com readers should pay attention to. Shane has created the No Excuses Challenge for sports officials world-wide and has a big giveaway to the winner to boot. If you missed Shane’s recent Referee Nation podcast (Episode #37) you can listen to it here:
>Click Here for RN #37
Shane has put together a 6 week program at no cost to you, to help get your butt in gear and achieve those fitness goals we all set, but sometimes don’t pursue.
Listen to a brief 5 minute call here:
If you want more info on Officially Fit No Excuses Challenge, click here. There is a short 2 minute video from Shane that describes the Challenge and the prizes. This is good stuff here.
I’m putting out a bold, in-your-face, gut-check challenge to all Profootballreferee.com readers! Join me in taking this challenge! I’m taking my photos today and will upload them to the site this weekend. We all need a little accountability to get over the hump. This is good stuff from a fitness professional (who is also one of us) that you can use over and over again. Regardless of your level – beginner to Ed Hochuli — this program will work for you.
You all know how I feel about fitness and appearance. I wrote an entire chapter in Forward Progress I’m not the only one. EVERY conference supervisor I’ve ever spoken to rates this as the #1 factor in getting hired at ANY level.
So don’t sit on the sidelines and watch. Get in the game!!! Forward this on to your fellow officials everywhere.
You can get all the details at www.officiallyfit.net/noexcuses
Seriously, take those before shots this weekend and let’s do this together! It all starts here, this weekend. NO EXCUSES!
Shane Livensparger is the Owner/Operator of Officially Fit and also a Certified Personal Trainer with ACE (American Council on Exercise). I’ve known Shane for over a year and have been asking him to create a Pre-game Stretching resource for sports officials.
Finally, its here.
You can check it out at www.profootballreferee.com/stretching
Along with personal training, Shane has been a practicing EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) in the state of Florida since 2005. As an EMT, Shane volunteers his time training the surrounding communities in teaching CPR and First Aid. Between the knowledge in the Medical and Fitness community and his professional experience as an umpire in Minor League Baseball he has realized the importance of a regular fitness program that needs to be implemented in every Sports Officials routine.
Shane knows full well the importance of fitness, appearance and physical conditioning in his world of professional baseball umpiring.
When it comes to these topics, you should pay attention Shane and his Officially Fit team.
They are the real deal AND they know sports officiating.
Best of both worlds.
Here’s the link again to get more information on Officially Fit and Shane’s new stretching e-book:
www.profootballreferee.com/stretching
This episode of the Referee Nation podcast is sponsored by www.assignr.com.
Roy Potts is a veteran football official and a current SEC back judge. From little league to DI Bowl Games, Roy has seen it all in his career. Roy took some time this week to share his journey with me as well as a few tips for those of us who wish to reach the same level some day. Listen and learn.
This episode of the Referee Nation podcast is sponsored by www.assignr.com.
Jack Childress is the Coordinator of Football Officiating for the Southern and South Atlantic conferences. Recently retired as a referee in the ACC, Jack brings a wealth of passion and experience to his current role. Jack has touched countless officials over the years and is bringing his innovative Core Concept to the halls of football officiating.
A few other insights from Jack: Don’t pick the pepper out of the fly crap. The letter of the law or the spirit of the rules. Those are just a few highlights from an incredible 45 minutes spent with Mr. Childress and I’m certain you will find informative and valuable.
This episode of the Referee Nation podcast is sponsored by www.assignr.com. Working the middle can be intimidating for some. Other’s just say now way! But select officials, the U is the only position to work. Jim Shaw, a Big Ten Umpire and veteran college football official, is this week’s guest on the Referee Nation podcast. Jim shares his insight on being the best football official at all levels, what it takes to make it at the Division I level and some specific tips for the Umpire position.
I first met Jim at the OAFO clinic where he was a clinician and he put on such a good session, I just had to have Jim as a guest on the show.
This episode is sponsored by Assignr.com, a web-based referee scheduling tool, designed to make the process of assigning sports officials drop-dead simple.
Are you willing to say yes? Its a common situation…the conference supervisor ask you to work a game and it’s the first time you’ve had a chance to really step up. The timing is terrible. You will disappoint someone regardless. What if you are injured? Have to drive 8 hours to the game site? Have to work the next day? What will your answer be? Maybe? No? Wish I could?
Those questions may approach you, or some just like them and you need to be prepared to say YES to them all. This podcast is about taking advantage of the opportunity that presents itself regardless of your “reasons why I can’t.”
Conference USA Back Judge Kenny Long from Hurricane, WV shares his story, some solid advice on advancement and how a misplaced dumbbell almost tripped him up on his climb to officiate football at the DI level.
Enjoy and Be the Best on the Field.
Todd
Football Film Review and the iPad now go hand in hand. This week’s episode features Big East Back Judge Jonah Monroe and the developer of a new iPad application called Replay Booth. Jonah shares his officiating story as well as the history behind this really cool application for football officials. The application is available on the iPad and the Droid.
For more information visit www.profootballreferee.com/replaybooth
Join me as Mike Boone, a Mississippi based football official, and I discuss the topic of film review and dig into his strategy to obtain, distribute and break down his game film. You will hear exactly how Mike has accomplished this task AND how valuable having the film has been to his improvement and advancement.
For more information on game film review, get your copy of Forward Progress where I cover the topic in depth. Visit www.forwardprogressbook.com and get your copy today.
To buy the book, please visit www.thethirdteam.com
NJ offers some great advice for aspiring football officials AND gives us the history and story behind his wildly successful web-venture, ZebraWeb.org. ZebraWeb.org is a multi-faceted resource for sports officials, assigners and supervisors world-wide. NJ also discusses the importance of video review in this podcast and shares a resource for all things video. This is a MUST HEAR podcast so check it out!
Stuart also shared a great video editing software tool that’s available at no cost online. The VLC Media Player allows you to clip plays for editing, assembling and making longer videos. Visit VideoLAN VLC Player for more information.
To get your copy of Stuart’s 2011 Pre-Game Outline, visit www.pregameoutline.com
Stan Weihe - far left
This episode is sponsored by assignr.com, a web-based referee scheduling tool, designed to make the process of assigning sports officials drop-dead simple.
For those that picked up a copy of my book, you will notice the photos in the back came primarily from the BRFOC. In other words, think about the networking and introductions you can make to top conference supervisors at all levels.
The keynote speaker this year is Gerald Austin, former NFL referee and current supervisor of officials for the Conference USA. Listen to Dan and I discuss the Blue Ridge camp history as well as how to plan your camp experience.
Visit www.brfoc.com to register or for more information.
This episode is sponsored by assignr.com, a web-based referee scheduling tool, designed to make the process of assigning sports officials drop-dead simple.
When You Are Through Learning, You Are Through….
| George has also written several books on football rules , most notably “Judgement Calls” ,Rules Difference, Better Officiating and the “Reddings Study Guide”. He is also a contributing editor to Referee Magazine and has also written numerous articles on baseball and basketball rules. George is a retired Army officer and a 1969 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. Residing with his wife Joan in Colorado Springs, George works for Verizon Business. New NFHS Study Guides are available each year and the NCAA Study Guides are available every two years with an updated version hitting the stands in June of 2011. For more information on the NCAA or NFHS Redding Study Guides, contact Double S Distributors PO Box 2537 Denton, TX 76202 Or email Steve at steve@doublesdistributors.com This episode is sponsored by assignr.com, a web-based referee scheduling tool, designed to make the process of assigning sports officials drop-dead simple. |
  
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This episode is sponsored by assignr.com, a web-based referee scheduling tool, designed to make the process of assigning sports officials drop-dead simple.
This episode is sponsored by assignr.com, a web-based referee scheduling tool, designed to make the process of assigning sports officials drop-dead simple.
Countless officials have gotten their start in the Heartland under Larry’s tutelage and many have risen on to greater heights at the DI and NFL levels. Many more still yet to make their mark. All, however, who cross through Larry’s conference will be both trained and prepared. Larry Snyder runs the Heartland DIII conference like its an BCS DI conference and because of his tireless dedication to and pursuit of excellence, we are all better football officials as a result.
In this interview Larry and I discuss what it takes to officiate college football and we delve deeper into Larry’s philosophy on recruiting new prospects.
Also, you can see the letter Larry mentions by clicking here.
Coordinators and Supervisors are often asked about becoming a college football official. No different for Steve Furniss, Coordinator of Football Officials for the Ohio Athletic Conference. As a matter of fact, Steve is very passionate about the subject. So much that he developed a presentation to use in recruitment and educational opportunities. Steve also shares his views on moving up the ladder from high school to collegiate officiating. Its a great interview and I’m sure you’ll pick up a few tips on how to prepare yourself for the transition. I’ve also included a link to download Steve’s presentation as well.
Click here to download the presentation in PDF format
Click here to download the presentation in PowerPoint.
Big 12′s Reggie Smith’s football officiating career has moved quickly through the ranks but don’t believe for a minute that there hasn’t been dedication, hard work and a bit of good fortune behind it. Listen in as Reggie describes the basis for his success and how each of us can learn from his rise from the Philly youth leagues to the Big 12.
How do you study football rules? Gary McCarthy, a field judge in the Northeast-10 conference, and I crossed paths on my blog almost a year and a half ago. Gary was a newer college official and I wanted the perspective from someone who had just moved up to compliment the crusty veterans I had been interviewing. I asked if Gary would contribute and he agreed. The original interview was over an hour long and during that time Gary revealed a rules study technique of which I had not heard. I asked if Gary would get on another call for the Referee Nation podcast and share this technique with you. Here we go…
There was a severe storm in Alabama the day this was recorded and the front 15 minutes were cut off and lost. This podcast picks up in the middle of the interview so the normal lead in is missing. Still great information from one of today’s top football referees. Steve has had a stellar career officiating in two NCAA BCS Championship games.
Join me as I discuss Agility and Flexibility with Roanoke College faculty, Dr. John Creasy and Jim Buriak. These gentlemen are experts in the field of sports fitness and training and have developed proven methods and routines to assist football officials with respect to flexibility and agility.
The professors share their tips and secrets on how to prepare and train like a world class athlete. Their advice is priceless and can give you the advantage you might need to separate yourself from your officiating competition. Amazing and fascinating information – Jump Right In!
If you are interested in attending a webinar on the subject of Agility and Stretching for Football Officials, please visit www.profootballreferee.com/agility.
Just enter your name and email address and I will place your name on the waiting list. I’ll notify you of the date and time we schedule John and Jim for the training session.
Tony Josselyn is a Back Judge in the Southeastern Conference and I spent an hour with him recently discussing his career and philosophies on football officiating.
Tony shared his concept of the Mental Rolodex and how he uses visualization techniques to put himself in the correct frame of mind just prior to the snap. You’ll also hear why his score of 93 on his first SEC rules test “wasn’t good enough!”
Tommy Moore discusses why you need to bring your A game regardless of what level you officiate. As a deep wing official in the Southwest Conference to 12 years in the NFL then on to the replay booth, Tommy Moore has seen it all in football officiating.
There are times as we climb the ladder of football officiating, I think its important to stop, reflect and smell the artificial turf. Each of us love being a football official and I find it invigorating to talk to officials on the front end of their journey.
We’ll continue to reach out to members of our Crew and highlight them from time to time. This is the first (of what I hope to be many) Crew Member Spotlights. Remember why we love this gig…and enjoy.
This podcast will how to choose a Football Officiating Clinic. The Tom Beard Football Officiating Clinic is held at Howard University in Washington, DC. Listen as I discuss with the Clinic leaders how to select a camp, how to prepare for attending a camp and how to get the most out of this unique training experience.
Camps and clinics are a critical component of the overall development of your advancement and officiating career. There are many camps from which to chose over the United States. These training opportunities allow you to received instruction from some of the world’s greatest football officials. They also allow you to network and build relationships with those same officials. Some are expensive, some take several days to complete. Some are better, some are worse. So how do you find the right camp?
First you need to do some research in order to make a good decision about what camp fits your goals and developmental needs. Determine how much time and money you have available to devote to the camp environment. What are your immediate officiating goals?
There are basically two kinds of camps: teaching camps and exposure camps. Both are valuable and have their place, but you need to understand the difference so your experience is both rewarding and beneficial.
The off-season is devoted to development of your officiating skills. Early on in your career, your first consideration will be instruction in fundamentals. Finding a camp that teaches the essentials is paramount. In exposure or “try-out” camps, there are opportunities to meet conference supervisors and other key decision-makers but less focus on the basics. The expectation is that you have a solid foundation of the essentials and are ready to take your skills to the next level. There will certainly be teaching but it tends to be more focused on the details of this craft.
There are often multiple talent scouts at the exposure camps and they serve as a great vehicle to showcase your officiating skills in your attempts to climb the ladder. They are definitely a valuable component of every aspiring official’s career but your number one priority is to address the developmental needs you had at the end of the previous season. Get your game ready for that next level and there will be a proper time and place for the exposure camp in your future.
I won’t attempt to recommend one camp over another. Rather, I’ll give you a checklist on how to choose a camp. If you will follow this simple method, you can use it to choose a camp or clinic for years to come.
In addition to the two previously discussed camp types, I want to point out two additional classifications: Classroom and Field Instruction. Due to the limited availability of spring football, some camps are conducted in a classroom-only mode. Others guarantee live snaps on the field at colleges and universities when teams are conducting spring scrimmages. Both can be valuable learning experiences and I wanted to point out this difference as we discuss our checklist.
Ø Who are the instructors?
The quality of the camp is directly proportional to the staff. You want to be taught by successful officials and from officials that have achieved those levels to which you aspire.
Ø Instructor to Student Ratio?
Just like in a normal class room, this ratio can have an impact on your ability to receive feedback and individualized attention. Ask about the number of clinicians and the expected number of trainees. Live play camps will typically limit the number of students in order to maximize the number of snaps and tailor the personal instruction to the student.
There is no right number, but realize your experience in a class of 50 students with one Big Ten umpire talking about chop blocks will be much different than having an NFL line judge standing behind you on the line of scrimmage discussing pre-snap duties.
Ø NFHS or NCAA mechanics?
There are camps that focus strictly on each and with that comes a different level of instruction regarding each levels rules and mechanics. Understand where you are in your officiating career and what your immediate goals are so that you chose the camp format that is appropriate for your needs.
There are fewer opportunities for live play at the NFHS level due to the restrictions placed on high school student-athletes. NCAA camps often coincide with spring training and offer the ability to officiate college level play. Fundamentals are taught at both levels and it should be easy for you to choose a camp that fits your needs.
Ø Is there video review?
There are many good camps with veteran instructors. But you may never see yourself on video. Ask about the availability of video review. Coordinating video during a camp experience is a monumental task and many camps do not offer this tool. But I believe it’s a necessary part of the optimal camp experience. Not only from your development watching your own video, but working with those NCAA and NFL officials on how to break down your film will accelerate your advancement and learning for years to come.
Ø Is there classroom instruction?
Some camp formats only offer classroom instruction and this type of camp is perfect for the less experienced official. Often the Field Training camps complement the training with the classroom to review play situations, film and other teaching points. Classroom only camps typically are one day in length and start off with a key-note speaker followed by breakout sessions by position and/or emphasis on a skill such as goal line plays.
Ø Will you receive written evaluations of field work?
Written critiques should be very helpful to identify some of your strong and weak points. Most often, camp instructors will see some small intangible need for you to improve upon that you may not have known. They will also provide excellent insight and advice on what to expect at the higher levels giving you a clear path on what you need to address as you seek advancement.
Ø Are there returning students?
Is there a waiting list? Does the website have testimonials from former students? Are there success stories where past students have been successfully advanced into higher levels? This is a true test of a camp’s quality and should not go unnoticed during your evaluation. Ask those questions of the camp leadership personnel.
Ø Cost?
Camps can range from $25 for a single day of classroom instruction to well over $1000 for 3 day clinic with live play and film review. Each can prove beneficial to every official and learning can occur in many ways.
Finding the right camp can reap rewards in your officiating career. Money and time can be wasted if your officiating goals and needs are not properly aligned with the mission of the camp itself. My intention here is to educate you to make an informed decision. The off-season camp should become an integral component in your development as an official and accelerate your progression and improvement as you pursue your officiating goals and dreams.
Camps can be a valuable resource for your improving your officiating skill set as well as providing opportunities for you to network with key decision-makers and gain much-needed exposure. As you progress in your officiating career, not only will your goals and needs change; so will your expectations of each camp environment. If you reach a point where you feel the camps you are attending are not providing value or honing your skills, you may need to seek other camps that can satisfy your expectations.
Finally, the camp environment is a great chance to associate with like-minded football officials. You will find that your mild obsession with football officiating may not be fully understood with your friends and family. Most won’t truly appreciate your desire to officiate football at the highest levels. People will continually question your desires and dreams. Some may even attempt to discourage you from pursuing those dreams. Camps provide you a unique opportunity to surround yourself with similar motivated people passionate about officiating football. This environment is conducive to learning and improvement. The people you will meet and associations you make will reach beyond the short camp schedule and provide you meaningful relationships in and out of the officiating community.
I have also developed a listing of spring and early summer football camp and clinics throughout the US. You can click here to down load the 2010 Referee Nation Football Clinic Guide .
Jim Augustyn, former Big Ten umpire and Arena League official is currently a regional supervisor of the Arena II Football League. Jim sheds some light on officiating Arena Football, how it prepares you for higher levels and what to do if you want to apply.
