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.

I left home at 9 am Monday morning to drive about 350 miles to attend my first WVIAC scrimmage of the 2009 season. I must say this one worked out better than my Charleston scrimmage did…I managed to get two hours of work under my belt topping the four plays I had my first go-around! (he he)
It was scorching hot Monday – temperature showed 91 degrees in the West Virginia mountains.

HOT! But despite the extreme heat, it felt really good to get some snaps and work 7 man mechanics for a few hours.
Since it was a Monday the crew didn’t hang around and socialize, most opting for a quick shower and head for the house.

So I followed suit and got on the road about 6:15 pm. A few stops and 5-1/2 hours later I arrived home in KY. EXHAUSTED!
So I’m getting ready for my opening NFHS game Friday night. I already  have my self addressed DVD mailer complete with a blank DVD ready for the Athletic Director.

My goal is to get game film from all 10 games this  year. In order to do that, I have to get Game #1. Wish me luck on that quest!

I saved the best for last — Stay tuned for a sweet deal to listen in on my next interview. I’ll be sending out the details on Thursday and giving you a chance to listen to me interview a prominent D1 Supervisor of Officials. You will all most certainly recognize this person. But Idon’t want  to let the cat out of the bag just yet. Remember to check  any email you get from me Thursday for the scoop.

Until then,

Be the Best on the Field

Todd Skaggs

So let’s quickly revisit Larry Synder’s list of “What It Take To Be A Great Football Official.”

Study Rules of the Game

• Rule Book
• Tests & Quizzes
• Ask Other Officials
• Quiz a Buddy
• Never Stop Learning

Study Mechanics of Game

• CCA Mechanics Manual
• Camps & Clinics
• Philosophy
• Attend area meetings/rules study groups (Do any of you do this now?)
• Surround yourself with better officials
• Its hard to soar with the eagles, when you are surrounded by turkeys.

Part Two

• Watch film – the single biggest factor to rapidly improving your learning and accelerating your advancement. Countless seasoned NCAA and NFL veterans have pointed out to me during their interviews that film review tremendously improved their abilities. In some ways you can consider watching film as a close substitute for snaps. Granted, nothing will take the place of live play, but watching film can definitely add a different perspective while adding to your experience level. Some have suggested that it can advance your learning by a factor of four! What this means is that you can shave three years off your experience level if you are trying to get promoted to a higher level. An aspiring motivated official with 4 years of experience (1 of which was heavy on film review) is similar to an official with 7 years experience (no film review). How do you think guys get into the NFL at age 34? You can bet they spent time in front of a TV reviewing film.

• Experience – How much is enough? Larry is very clear here. Get as much experience on the field as possible. This means youth league, spring and fall scrimmages, junior varsity games, varsity games at the high school level and then basically the same process at the college level. When making the transition to college, you will find conference supervisors are looking for those individuals that are willing to take the scrimmage and JV games. They want a prospect to have a few games under their belt before putting them on the field. There truly is no substitute for experience. I have personally stood on teh sidelines behind seasoned Division I officials just to ask questions, watch from that angle and get a feel for the speed and quickness of the game at the higher levels. Without a doubt, this helped me in my first scrimmage giving me a small comfort level (that is, until the whistle blew!).

• What You Have Control Over – This was the cornerstone of Larry’s list. I hear often, officials at all levels, complain that they can’t get the good games, they can’t get the supervisor’s attention, can’t get noticed and so on… You can probably name a few in your local associaiton or area too. So let’s look at that statement. What can we control? Well for one, I can control my ability to study and know the rules and mechanics of the game. I can use the rule book, study groups, practice or scrimmage activity to really and fully know the rules. I can stay in good physical conditioning. This will allow me to get into position, be quick and react in a timely manner. It will help me look athletic in my uniform. Let me be clear – The Division I conferences have a ZERO tolerance for officials out of shape or overweight. Coaches and players prepare year around for the season. The zebras are no exception. Just take a look at the NFL staff. The athleticism and physical fitness is at its highest level. Its that important.  Attend every learning opportunity you can. Clinics, camps, rules study groups, association meetings, scrimmages, film sessions. While not necessarily consistent across the board, learning opportunities still abound in various forms in every city, state or region. Whether you take advantage of them or not is another topic.

So that’s all for my comments on Larry’s philosophy. I personally know several officials that have been mentored by Larry and they are all performing at the highest levels today. They will all admit that the process wasn’t easy and often times the requirements were not what they wanted to hear. Yet the followed the path and Larry led them in the right direction.

This post is getting long so I’m going to save my next story for tomorrow. It’s about how I applied Larry’s philosophy to gain entrance into the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Be the Best on the Field!

Todd

 

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

I arrived at the stadium early as suggested by several, actually I was the first to hit the locker room. I had to find Coach Brohm to unlock the door and let me inside. Rumor had it that over 100 recruits and their families were on hand to watch teh scrimmage. Louisville closed the scrimmage to outsiders so the stands mostly empty.

My fellow officials began to arrive shortly after I did. It was rather chilly that day so we agreed to wear long sleeve shirts. Knickers had already been called earlier in the week. I had already shined my shoes the night before (a pregame ritual with me) so my uniform was in order. I also packed about 1000 butterflies in my stomach as well!

I hit the field with 8 other officials from the Big East (2), Sunbelt (1), Ohio Valley (2), Mid South (1) and two rookies (me included). Kavin McGrath, Big East HL and brother to John McGrath (NFL), was the organizer of the officials and had asked me where I wanted to work. My preference is the line of scrimmage but I also wanted to get a few snaps in at SJ/FJ too. Tommy Walsh made it almost to the field  before he realized he was missing a hat! Too funny.

One thing that concerned me was my lack of experience with NCAA mechanics. See that’s not something that’s easy to find, or to read up on. I did however, have a chance to review the rulebook and we covered the proposed 2009 rule changes prior to taking the field. So I followed John McGrath’s  advice: Get behind on of the veterans and ask questions. So I parked myself on the sideline behind Tommy Walsh from the Big East and did exactly that. Soaked it up.

Before I knew it, Tommy turned towards me and motioned me to the side line. Fortunately I had the Defense on my side so most of the coaching staff were located opposite of me. I still remember Tommy’s advice: “remember…they might be a little bit bigger, a little bit faster, but its still just football.” That helped calm my nerves…a little bit.

The first couple of plays were runs and relatively easy. The mechanics here are basically the same as high school. Then the Offense came out and lined up in the shotgun. Pass play. Something didn’t look  right on my side. Now Tommy had explaining how he counts players on his side of the ball. This was a little new to me so it took some time to process. I had been working on repeating my “SNAP, TACKLE, BACK” chant in my head while I counted  the players. Trying to gain some form of brain repetition with regards to football officiating. I also was learning my keys during  this time. But as I said before, something on this play didn’t look right but I must admit, the snap happened before I figured it out. Bad move.

You  see, rookie officials are not the only people on the field battling the butterflies. Seems WR’s have similar issues as well especially with regards to formations. The WR on my side was covering up the TE and upon the snap, guess what happened? You got it, they both released downfield. I missed it. No yellow flag on the ground to enunciate  the penalty. But the defensive coaching staff didn’t miss it!!! I then got my first taste of Big East ear-chewing, but you can bet I didn’t miss that again the rest of the day!

So I alternated with Tommy a few more series then Kavin McGrath came over from the LJ  side to work with me. Tommy moved back to Side Judge and I had the chance to brush up on the finer points of working the Line of Scrimmage from not one but two outstanding Big East officials. it was great just to be in an environment where I could immediately ask another official about a play, situation, possible penalty or otherwise.

So three hours later, the scrimmage came to a close. After the first few series, the butterflies subsided and I found I was really enjoying myself. It was a great experience, one filled with many learnings, some good laughs and a few mistakes from which I will not soon forget. When you are passionate about the game of football, surrounded by the comraderie of fellow officials and sharing the field with the best of the best, I couldn’t help but feel very fortunate for the chance to don the knickers in March.

August can’t come soon enough.