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...

My name is Bill and I am a senior in College. I have been officiating football now for 6 years. In those six years, I have officiated pee-wee, JV high school, varsity high school, JV College, and varsity college football. Beyond my personal experience of officiating, my dad has also been an official for much longer than I have been alive. As a kid growing up, I would always watch my dad's football games on TV and talk to him after the game. My dad has taught me more things about officiating than I may have learned in a whole career of officiating football. However, many new officials do not have the experience of growing up around officiating.  Being a current football official who started very young, I understand first-hand what it can be like to start something new that you have never done before. Especially as an official where you have many eyes constantly watching and waiting for you to make a mistake. I have seen many young officials get scared off from pursuing officia...