Becoming a Prepared Football Official

For this third and final equipment post, I will be helping you know what clothes you need for your uniform to officiate football. I saved this for last since many times, people have the most questions on this part. However, before I get going, I wanted to tell everyone that earlier I strongly recommended you join your area officials association, you can read that post here . If you do, many times people have extra clothes or equipment they are giving away for free! Take advantage of that as just another reason to go to an association meeting. To start, you need some shoes. There are many out there and all different brands. Try to find a store in your area that sells them and try some on to see which are most comfortable to you. Also talk to other officials to see what their favorites are. With your shoes, make sure you have black socks. You will also need officiating pants. These are black with a white stripe down the side. College and High school officials where the same pant...

The CFO website , which stands for college football officiating, is a tremendous site for every official no matter if you are just starting college football, or a seasoned pro. The CFO website can also be good for high school officials if you are actively thinking about rule changes between the college and high school games. If you want a great book on the differences between college (NCAA) and high school (NFHS) I highly recommend the newest edition of “Football Rule Differences” by Paul Whiteside, George Demetriou and Jeffrey Stern. The book does a great job of breaking down all the differences in a way that makes sense. Find the most recent book here .  Anyways, back to the CFO website. They post weekly quizzes during the football season to help test your rules knowledge. They will usually post between five and ten quizzes during the offseason to keep officials fresh on the rules. But beyond the rules, they offer some of the best, or most helpful, videos out there. The vide...