Rules Knowledge is Perishable
Rules knowledge is like mastering a second language. When you’re immersed, hearing and speaking it every day, the words come naturally. When you step away, even for a short time, your vocabulary…
Rules knowledge is like mastering a second language. When you’re immersed, hearing and speaking it every day, the words come naturally. When you step away, even for a short time, your vocabulary…
Some fouls “scream,” but most times we deal with calls that aren’t obvious and require discernment. We call that “judgment.” Precise rules knowledge underpins good judgment. If we don’t know the rules,…
Press coverage is a defensive technique used by defensive backs (DBs) to tightly cover a wide receiver at the line of scrimmage. The goal is to disrupt the receiver’s timing, release, and…
This is the first Art of Officiating Ready for Play article in 2025! Since most are beginning to dig into the rules book and take state-mandated tests, I figured I’d start the…
Here is a Ray Lutz “Forward Progress” post from September 1, 2008 (Edited for clarity) In Colorado we use the NFHS procedure for resolving tied contests as written. Some State Associations have…
Ray Lutz shared an article by Jon Bible, a veteran football official from Austin, Texas in his October 27, 2010 “Forward Progress” post. (Edited for clarity) The late Woody Hayes, whose Ohio…
Here is a Ray Lutz “Forward Progress” post from September 7, 2009 (Edited and amplified for clarity) It is not only the offense that uses their hands illegally. There are four major…
The definition of a catch in the NFHS football rules book was clarified in 2015: Rule 2-4-1 – “A catch is the act of establishing player possession of a live ball which is…