My good friend Ron Diviney (from Texas where football is BIG and officials wear spurs) sent me this PDF which goes into great detail on stretching. Stretching is a fundamental component of my workout regiment as well as my pregame preparation.

I keep a large resistance bandwhich is about 4 inches wide and about 6 feet long in my bag. I use it to assist in stretching my hamstrings and glutes, shoulders and chest. You can find one at Amazon.com and you should definitely have one in your gym bag. If you want to see the one I have…click here

I continue to see officials use stretching techniques without a proper warm-up period which can do more harm than good often leading or contributing to injury.

Check out this article which does a great job explaining the proper way to stretch.

http://www.iahsaa.org/officials/Officials_Warmup_&_Stretching_Handout.pdf

Here is to better health, better fitness and better football officiating!

Be the Best on the Field,

Todd

Doug Rhoads

Have you ever thought about applying to the ACC? Well to get on an ACC crew, the competition is high and you must be at the top of your game. Typically only 1-4 positions open up each year. Turnover is minimal.

The following list is the evaluation criteria Doug Rhoads uses when considering candidates to his conference. This list would also be of value to anyone applying in ANY conference.

Thanks Doug!

1. Maintains Fitness Level

2. Knowledge of Rules and Mechanics

3. Effective communication: Meeting deadlines, explaining situations to coaches, etc

4. Professionalism: Be a problem solver, perform ancillary duties, be committed

5. Possess High Personal Qualities: Integrity, Ethics, Candor, Courtesy

6. Perform Officiating Duties with Consistency, Accuracy and Relevancy