Solving the Problem of Feeling like you Must See Everything
Many football officials, whether they are just thinking about becoming an official, new to officiating, or have been officiating for a long time, are concerned about making sure they see everything and never missing a call. There are a few things I have learned from my experiences, and from my dad, that I know will really help take some of that pressure off you. However, don’t get me wrong, sometimes that pressure drives officials to prepare more and more and can be used as a good thing. I will be covering topics such as studying and preparing to being in the right position and watching your keys and finally what to do if you think you may have missed a call. Hopefully you find this helpful and if you have any questions or clarifications, please reach out to me here.
The first step you can take to help you with that stress or worry about making sure you see everything in the game and make the right call, is to prepare to make sure you have the confidence that you belong on the field to make the calls. Someone who is not confident in themselves will not be able to throw the flag when it matters most. Make sure to read the rule book and case book along with any other books you may choose so you understand the rules. Focus on the rules that pertain most to your position on the field. Watch videos and any football on TV so that you keep getting plays in your head. If you are watching a Football game on TV, watch it as if you were officiating. Follow your key and practice not watching the ball. Finally, along these lines of watching as much football as you can, work as many snaps as possible. I know someone has most likely told you this, but it is true! The more snaps you see the more comfortable you will be. Additionally, weird things are bound to happen in a game, and the more snaps you work the more of this you have seen to help you prepare.
The second tip I have for you is to make sure you are in the right position on every play. Read the mechanics guide books for however many people are on your crew. If you don’t know what these books are, please read my blog here. By reading these books and practicing in scrimmages and practices, you will learn where you should be on every play and where you should be looking. If you are in the right position to make a call, and the call is close, most supervisors are going to trust your call because you were in position to make the best decision. When officials are out of position and a grader is reviewing a play, they see that. And when they notice you are out of position for a call, a lot of times they think, well he probably didn’t really have a good look at the play and is most likely wrong. Therefore, try to stay in position and if you are in position, officiate what is presented to you and you will be fine.
Somewhat along those same lines is that you need to always know who your keys are on every play. No one expects an official to be able to see the whole field on every play. (Except coaches may make you feel that way the way they yell at you for things that happened on the other side of the field.) As an official though, you must know what position you are working and who your keys are for however the play develops. If it is a run, who are you watching? If it is a pass who are you watching? When do you go from watching your man to more looking in your zone of the field? All of these are things you should be running through your mind and be ready to watch what you need to. Ultimately, after every play, you should be able to tell someone what your key did on that play, or what people in your zone did on the play. If a coach asks you a question, you are then better prepared to give an answer for why you didn’t throw your flag. The coach may still think it is a flag, but if you can explain your decision, the coach will be much happier.
Finally, what happens if you finish a play and think to yourself you may have messed that play up? For starters, you can’t do anything about it after the fact so you have to move on. You have to officiate every play individually and not let baggage form one play affect you on the next play. If you are thinking about what you may have missed one or two plays ago, I guarantee you are more likely to miss a call on the play happening in front of you. Finish the game one play at a time, and when you are done you can go take a look at the play and try to learn from it. Additionally, if a coach is yelling and screaming at you for either a flag you threw or didn’t throw, it’s okay to admit you’re human. When I say that, I mean it is okay for you to look the coach in the eye and say listen coach, I may have missed that one. I made the decision based on what I saw but I will look at it after the game. This usually calms the coach down and they appreciate just hearing you say you might be wrong. This may help you move on from the call and not have the coach reminding you after every play.
When worrying about getting every call right, make sure to remember that the players out on the field don’t get everything right, the coach doesn’t always call the right play and it is okay to be human. Heck, NFL officials even miss calls! Also, people with full time professions make mistakes in what they do and most of us officials are mostly officiating just for the love of the game. Don’t let yourself think its fine if I make mistakes, but acknowledge we are human and mistakes are bound to happen. Make sure to prepare in the absolute best way possible so that when you go onto the field, you come off happy with the game.
The first step you can take to help you with that stress or worry about making sure you see everything in the game and make the right call, is to prepare to make sure you have the confidence that you belong on the field to make the calls. Someone who is not confident in themselves will not be able to throw the flag when it matters most. Make sure to read the rule book and case book along with any other books you may choose so you understand the rules. Focus on the rules that pertain most to your position on the field. Watch videos and any football on TV so that you keep getting plays in your head. If you are watching a Football game on TV, watch it as if you were officiating. Follow your key and practice not watching the ball. Finally, along these lines of watching as much football as you can, work as many snaps as possible. I know someone has most likely told you this, but it is true! The more snaps you see the more comfortable you will be. Additionally, weird things are bound to happen in a game, and the more snaps you work the more of this you have seen to help you prepare.
The second tip I have for you is to make sure you are in the right position on every play. Read the mechanics guide books for however many people are on your crew. If you don’t know what these books are, please read my blog here. By reading these books and practicing in scrimmages and practices, you will learn where you should be on every play and where you should be looking. If you are in the right position to make a call, and the call is close, most supervisors are going to trust your call because you were in position to make the best decision. When officials are out of position and a grader is reviewing a play, they see that. And when they notice you are out of position for a call, a lot of times they think, well he probably didn’t really have a good look at the play and is most likely wrong. Therefore, try to stay in position and if you are in position, officiate what is presented to you and you will be fine.
Somewhat along those same lines is that you need to always know who your keys are on every play. No one expects an official to be able to see the whole field on every play. (Except coaches may make you feel that way the way they yell at you for things that happened on the other side of the field.) As an official though, you must know what position you are working and who your keys are for however the play develops. If it is a run, who are you watching? If it is a pass who are you watching? When do you go from watching your man to more looking in your zone of the field? All of these are things you should be running through your mind and be ready to watch what you need to. Ultimately, after every play, you should be able to tell someone what your key did on that play, or what people in your zone did on the play. If a coach asks you a question, you are then better prepared to give an answer for why you didn’t throw your flag. The coach may still think it is a flag, but if you can explain your decision, the coach will be much happier.
Finally, what happens if you finish a play and think to yourself you may have messed that play up? For starters, you can’t do anything about it after the fact so you have to move on. You have to officiate every play individually and not let baggage form one play affect you on the next play. If you are thinking about what you may have missed one or two plays ago, I guarantee you are more likely to miss a call on the play happening in front of you. Finish the game one play at a time, and when you are done you can go take a look at the play and try to learn from it. Additionally, if a coach is yelling and screaming at you for either a flag you threw or didn’t throw, it’s okay to admit you’re human. When I say that, I mean it is okay for you to look the coach in the eye and say listen coach, I may have missed that one. I made the decision based on what I saw but I will look at it after the game. This usually calms the coach down and they appreciate just hearing you say you might be wrong. This may help you move on from the call and not have the coach reminding you after every play.
When worrying about getting every call right, make sure to remember that the players out on the field don’t get everything right, the coach doesn’t always call the right play and it is okay to be human. Heck, NFL officials even miss calls! Also, people with full time professions make mistakes in what they do and most of us officials are mostly officiating just for the love of the game. Don’t let yourself think its fine if I make mistakes, but acknowledge we are human and mistakes are bound to happen. Make sure to prepare in the absolute best way possible so that when you go onto the field, you come off happy with the game.
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