Look for Reasons to NOT Throw the Flag
Officiating is not black-and-white. There are multiple shades of gray. There is a science to officiating (the rules book and mechanics manual) and there is an art to officiating (judgment). This website…
Officiating is not black-and-white. There are multiple shades of gray. There is a science to officiating (the rules book and mechanics manual) and there is an art to officiating (judgment). This website…
If my math is correct (and the internet gremlins don’t strike), this Ready for Play article will be published on August 8, 2024. Our association’s first varsity game in Colorado is August…
I’ll never forget my first inadvertent whistle. My mistake was during a first-round playoff game. I was the “youngster” on a crew of veteran officials, so I was excited and honored to…
Here is a Ray Lutz “Forward Progress” post from August 16, 2011 (Edited for clarity and rule changes) Here is a partial list of some plays crews have screwed up or were…
Here is a Ray Lutz “Forward Progress” post from September 9, 2009 (Edited for clarity) Forward progress is the number one job of wing officials. Last evening at our crew meeting, a…
Before I retired, I worked for a boss who was possibly the best supervisor I’ve worked under in 43 years of drawing a paycheck. He told the company’s employees, “There are lines,…
You’ll hear veteran officials talk about developing a pre-snap routine. Wing officials should progress through the same sequence of events before every snap. The pre-snap routine begins when a play ends (the…
Occasionally, I will share a play in which I made a mistake. This is a “fun” story to tell 15 years later, but it wasn’t fun for my crewmate at the time.…