6th in a Series of 6 Fitness for Football Officials


By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

If you’re sick of fluffy weight loss workouts that aren’t giving you any results, then you will love this interview where Profootballreferee.com’s Todd Skaggs grills me on advanced Turbulence Training for Fat Loss methods.

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

So What Was It?

Gerald Austin’s interview was very informative. Gerald is the consummate southern gentleman although he did describe himself as a boy from the mountains of Western North Carolina. Gerald is a former NFL referee and the current supervisor of football officiating for the Conference USA. Gerald’s officiating career began as a high school student where he worked his way from the high school ranks of football and basketball ultimately finding a spot in both sports in the ACC.

In 1982 Gerald got the call from the NFL and retired from the field in 2008. Gerald officiating in three Super Bowls – one as a side judge and two as the white hat. He has also won the Art McNalley award given to individuals who exhibit exemplary professionalism, leadership and commitment to sportsmanship on and off the field.

So back to the original thought…7 seconds and 175 times per game. Gerald said this was one of the most important responsibilities of a football official.

CONCENTRATE

Yep. Concentrate. We went on to discuss Gerald’s philosophy of officiating. He mentioned that it had changed some over the years based on his mentors and their influences. I think we can all agree that our mentors have largely shaped the way we approach the game.

On very interesting note I’d like to share: Gerald said he often encounters officials that live for the big game or for the big call. They wanted to be the person on the goal line watching to see if the catch was inbounds and would decide the game. I guess if we are honest about it, we’ve all had those same thoughts at some point in our career.

But Gerald said he only wanted to manage the game, not be a factor. “The game is for the players, coaches and fans,” said Mr. Austin, a retired educator and school superintendent. “If we let the game be about ourselves we are not aligned with the spirit of the game.” I thought long and hard about those words. About managing the game. About not affecting the outcome. The philosophy behind why we are out on the field to begin with.

I’ve always said I loved officiating football because you get one of the best views in the stadium and you don’t care who wins. But what Gerald brought to my attention is a larger responsibility than personal gratification. Sure we like the lights, the band, the screaming fans, hard hitting players and the athleticism of football. But what is missed  on more than one occasion is the spirit of the game. The intent. The purpose of the game. Football isn’t about the guys in the stripes. Gerald said it best: Players, Coaches and Fans.

What do you think? Please shoot me an email at todd@profootballreferee.com and let me hear your thoughts.

Also be sure to reserve a copy of the upcoming book “Ready For Play” at www.profootballreferee.com/training

Until next time,

Be the Best on the Field

Todd Skaggs

PS: I’m working on a few posts about  spring scrimmages for college teams. If you have any questions or ideas on that topic, send them my way at todd@profootballreferee.com