Becoming a Prepared Football Official

If you are a new reader to Prepared Football Official’s blog, first welcome! I am glad you are here. Please take some time to read the About Me which can be found here and the Purpose page found here . You have also missed some early blog posts I posted. One of my favorite early blog posts was, “Why You Should Make the Leap and Start Officiating Football.” This post talks about many of the benefits that can come from you deciding to become an official. Some of the benefits range from communication and composure skills to test taking and teamwork. All things that can help you in all aspects of life. Take a look at this blog here . Another important early post was about one of the most important steps when becoming a football official, joining an area association. Being around other officials will not only help you learn the rules faster and better, but it will also help you get to know fellow officials so you can get some game assignments. Crews are eager to get some new blood out o...

Being a new official can be a very challenging thing, just like most new things. With officiating, you may have questions about the uniform, how to get games, where best to start and questions about the rules. The best thing I can recommend for new officials is to join an association or fellow group of officials. There are associations and groups all over the country, it just takes some internet searching or asking around to find it. Once you are in this group, you will find that they most likely have meetings every so often depending on the area and number of officials around. GO TO THE MEETINGS! The best way to become a more prepared official is to immerse yourself in the environment. You will find yourself slowly learning more and more just from being around the conversations, and when you are ready, jump in and contribute to them as well. When you ask questions or try to explain things to others, you will remember that out on the field. When you are at these meetings, ther...