The 6 Things you Must do to Prepare for your Football Officiating Season

1. Make sure your registration is current- whether it is for a state high school association or a college conference, make sure you have the proper registration or license to officiate that season.

2. Watch necessary videos- some levels and divisions of football will require you to watch a video that highlights new rule changes and points of emphasis for the year. Make sure to watch this early and often. (if it is actually an informative video, if not, go find a good one online. I recommend looking at the NFHS site for high school and CFO site for college.)

3. Take the test- you will almost always have at least 1 test you must take in order for you to be able to officiate that season. Open it early and print it out. Then you can slowly go through it writing things out to help you. If you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask, working through the test with the rule book and a fellow official can teach you a lot.

4. Review the rules- make sure you leave enough time before the season starts to review the rule book and case book. The rule book may help you some, but the case book will actually help you apply the rules.

5. Go to a clinic- it doesn’t matter if the clinic is required or optional, you should find one close to you and go every year. Just going and being around football talk will get your gears turning in your head to help prepare you for the season. If you don’t have a full season of games, the clinic is also a great spot to be to find crews that will use you to fill in for a game or two.

6. Check your uniform- make sure you have everything you need for your uniform about 2-3 months before the season starts. This will give you time to order things and return them if you need to. Even if you had everything last year, find it again and try it on to make sure it fits. 

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