Becoming a Prepared Football Official

For those officials out there eager to learn things beyond just the rule book, blogs are a great place to look. My recommendation to you is to go to football zebras blog. Once there search for the post called “Calm Signals: the sign of under-control officiating.” This post does a great job of explaining how we as officials communicate and show we belong in the stripes on the field with the signals we give. No matter if it is an incomplete pass, fumble recovery, or penalty enforcement, we as officials must also know our signals are being watched and reflect on us. As the post points out, there are some plays that are very exciting, to the point everyone is on their feet cheering. However, the official has to have composure and take the whole play in. They can’t look excited for a team and they must show through there signals that they have been there before and are a professional. However, like the post by football zebras accurately mentions, sometimes a big signal is necessary...

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...