Ready For Play

The Colorado Mechanics Manual provides multiple “When in Question” (aka “When in Doubt”) axioms that aid our judgment. Yes, we want fouls to scream, and we want the covering official to see…

I track a few high school football officiating social media sites. Recently, an official posted a play about a “questionable hurdle.” He said he was standing on the end line, saw it…

Early in my officiating career, I heard a veteran official describe an aggressive player who was on the edge of earning an unsportsmanlike conduct flag. He said he sent the player off…

(Note: This is my opinion. Please do not treat it as gospel. Everyone has a different high school officiating path. Choose your path, and then work hard to be the best (fill…

Officiating is a human endeavor, and we all have different philosophies, opinions, and judgments. Some officials (me included) have a high sense of justice. My “J” is very high on the Meyers-Briggs…

This paragraph appeared in a September weekly Colorado high school football coaches bulletin: “Unnecessary roughness is a judgment call. The best thing players can do is avoid putting the officials in a…