This week’s Referee Nation podcast guest is Karl Richins. Karl is a former Big 12 Referee and founder of the Stars and Stripes Football Officiating Academy. Karl began is football officiating career in Idaho and now in Utah for 15 years. Karl worked in the Big Sky Conference 1998 and 1999 as a Side Judge. Hired into the Mountain West Conference in 2000 as a Side Judge by then Supervisor Bill Leavy. Karl moved to MWC Referee in 2003 and was hired as a Referee in the Big 12 by Supervisor Walt Anderson in 2008.


Karl’s post season activity includes:

January 1, 2003 – Cotton Bowl
January 1, 2004 – Outback Bowl
December 30, 2004 – EV1.Net Houston Bowl
January 1, 2006 – Cotton Bowl
January 1, 2007 – Gator Bowl
January 1, 2009 – Capital One Bow

You can also find Karl at his new website: www.mentorref.com and more information about his Academy at http://sasa.mentorref.com/about/

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ACC Head Linesman Troy Gray talks about officiating football in the ACC as well as providing insight on what takes place on the Line of Scrimmage. In this episode, you will find some advise from a seasoned Line of Scrimmage official, some advice to up and comers and maybe a war story or two. Enjoy!

Mike Cullen is a deep wing official in the ACC and a frequent clinician at several camps and clinics in the East. Mike give us some fantastic info on officiating in the ACC as well as a few tips on working deep.

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

Video or game film review is one of the key tools aspiring football officials need in their toolboxes as they strive to improve their officiating. Breaking down your game film consistently can accelerate your learning and improvement 4 times faster than without it.


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.

I recently had the opportunity to interview attorney and fellow author, Dick Lister on his recent release of his book, The Third Team. Dick Lister artfully illuminates what is normally the background and skillfully debunks many of the myths that surround the responsibilities of those privileged to be NFL officials. More than that, he takes the reader to a world unknown by many outside the profession—the world officials live in the other six days a week.The Third Team tells the stories from the inside and behind the scenes about who the NFL game official is, both off and on the field. Interviews with 25 former and current NFL officials, former coaches Tony Dungy, Herman Edwards, Steve Mariucci, and Jerry Glanville, along with network analyst and former player Matt Millen, among  others, provide a look into a world that is not known to the average fan.

To buy the book, please visit www.thethirdteam.com

This week’s podcast feature’s Zebraweb.org’ s founder NJ Cogliati. NJ is an active football official in the Colonial, Ivy and Patriot League in addition to current role as ZebraWeb.org’s founder.

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!

The Pre-Game routine is one known well by many a football official. Stuart Mullins, a referee in the Colonial, Ivy and Patriot Conferences shares some of his philosophy developed over his career as a wing official and referee. I first met Stuart last year where he was a clinician at the first Blue Ridge Football Officials Clinic Join me as Stuart and I talk leadership, video review, advancement and pre-game outlines.


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

Is the Umpire position your chosen spot? Want to talk serious umpiring skills from a top Division I umpire? Then Stan Weihe is your man. Stan is currently a Sun Belt Umpire who has worked a bowl game the past two season and is on the SEC supplemental roster. Great tips and information in this episode of the Referee Nation podcast.

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.

Its time to start thinking seriously about football officiating camps and clinics. The spring season is prime time to get out to a few camps and improve your skills. Dan Foutz is one of the founding organizers of the Blue Ridge Football Officials Clinic held in Salem, VA on March 12th. This is the second clinic and its packed full of veteran football officials for you to learn from and and network with. This year the camp will stop taking registrations at 130 campers and it will sell out FAST. There is an early bird discounted rate of $95 and as a past attendee, this is well worth the money if you can attend.


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 Demetriou discusses football officiating and rules study in this episode of the Referee Nation podcast. Currently a crew chief in the Colorado Springs High School Football Officials Association, George worked as a referee in the 4A State Championship game in 2003 and again in 2009. He is also past president of the Colorado Football Officials Association.

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.

Join me as Tony and I talk Sun Belt football and why he feels like a rookie football official after more than 30 years wearing the zebra stripes. Tony talks about moving up the ladder from the high school ranks to NAIA, DIAA to DI.

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.

There is nothing easy about being an SEC football official. Just ask Dean Waite, an attorney by day and a top-level deep wing on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference. Dean shares his story of how he has climbed the ranks and what football officials everywhere can learn from his story.


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.

Every aspiring football official could use a healthy dose of Larry Snyder. He’s an official’s official. Solid 12 ways to Sunday. Professional in every way. Passionate about football. Larry hosted the first clinic I ever attended geared towards becoming a college football official.


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.

Listen in as I interview Jeff Wigal, founder of the popular web-based assigning service found at Assignr.com. Jeff is a former sports official who channeled that experience into building a business around the local sports official assigner. You can find more information and a free trial offer by visiting www.assignr.com.

Big East Football Official Tommy Walsh discusses what it takes to stay on top of his game as a Big East Head Linesman. From the high school fields to Division I football, Tommy shares how he climbed the officiating ladder and offers advice on how you can do the same.

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.