When I attended Initial Qualification Training to become a Missile Launch Officer, I spent countless hours in the Missile Procedures Trainer. We called them “rides.” Those simulators allowed us to practice weapons system fault procedures, emergency procedures, including fighting a fire, and Emergency War Order procedures. I made mistakes. Lots of them. Some were critical. That was the entire purpose of the simulator. It was far better to fail there than to fail when the mission was real.
Before I graduated, I had to pass a check ride. Then I arrived at Minot Air Force Base, where I logged another half dozen simulator rides and passed yet another check ride before I was finally certified to pull my first 24-hour alert in a Missile Control Center.
My youngest brother followed a different path. He flew the F-15C Eagle and F-22 Raptor and now instructs in the F-35 Lightning II simulator. He once told me that even experienced fighter pilots, after completing pilot training, typically spend about 25 hours in a simulator before flying their first sortie in a new aircraft.
Think about that for a moment. Highly trained professionals spend dozens of hours practicing in a controlled environment before they are trusted with the real mission. They make mistakes, receive immediate feedback, and repeat the scenario until they get it right. Only then are they expected to perform when the consequences are real.
High school football officiating is obviously not nuclear command and control or fifth-generation air combat, but that does not mean it is easy. In many respects, the learning curve is remarkably steep. The difference is that new football officials rarely have the luxury of a simulator.
A few may work a scrimmage. Others may attend an on-field clinic or observe experienced officials. Those opportunities are valuable, but they cannot duplicate the speed, pressure, and unpredictability of a live game. For many new officials, their first true exposure to game conditions comes on opening night.
There is no pause button. There is no opportunity to rewind the play and try again. There is no instructor standing behind them ready to freeze the action and explain what should have happened. When mistakes occur, they happen in front of head coaches, players, parents, partners, and spectators. That is a demanding classroom.
If you are a new official, give yourself permission to learn. You are going to make mistakes because every official does. Some will be minor. Others will be significant enough that you will replay them in your mind all weekend. Those mistakes do not mean you are unsuited for officiating. They simply mean you are experiencing the same learning process every successful official has gone through before you.
Every veteran official you respect has missed a key, failed to flag a foul, misapplied a rule, or found themselves a step behind the speed of the game. The officials who succeed are not the ones who avoid mistakes. They are the ones who acknowledge them, learn from them, and return the following week determined to improve. Growth in officiating has never been about perfection. It has always been about resilience.
Veteran officials have an equally important responsibility. Remember what it felt like to work your first games without the benefit of a simulator. New officials are learning under real conditions where every mistake is visible. When they struggle, they need leadership far more than criticism.
Rather than dwelling on the consequences of an error, help the official understand what happened. Ask what they saw. Discuss where they were positioned. Explore what information they had and what they will do differently the next time they encounter a similar play. Those conversations build confidence, improve judgment, and strengthen the entire crew.
It would be wonderful if football officials could spend dozens of hours in a simulator before ever stepping onto the field. That simply is not our reality. Our classroom is Friday night, and our lessons often come one play at a time. Because of that, new officials must have the courage to persevere through their mistakes, and veteran officials must have the patience to mentor them through the learning process.
There may be no simulator for football officials. The next best thing is an experienced mentor who understands that mistakes are not the end of the journey. They are simply part of becoming a confident and competent football official.
Quiz
Read the quiz stem and then choose the best answer. (Choose all that apply.)
4/10 from the K-2. The score is Team K – 21 and Team R – 16 with less than 1 minute remaining in the fourth quarter. K45 muffs the snap in the end zone. To prevent Team R from recovering the ball, K45 kicks the grounded ball over the end line.
- The result of the play is a safety. Team K will next free kick from the K-20
- Team R may elect to enforce the penalty for the illegal kick. Following penalty enforcement, it will be 4/11 from the K-1
Review Rules 8-5-2c, 9-7-1, and 10-4-4a