I subscribe to a few weekly newsletters. James Clear publishes the 3-2-1 Newsletter each Thursday, which reaches over 3 million subscribers. Here’s one of his quotes that I felt applies to us as high school football officials.
In many cases, you’ll find the only thing preventing you from learning is your ego.
No one enjoys feeling foolish, but attempting something new requires that you climb down from your perch and struggle as a beginner. You must ask questions that reveal your ignorance or attempt skills that make you look uncoordinated.
Learning demands the willingness to live in a brief state of discomfort. You must believe that looking like a fool for an hour will not ruin your reputation for life. (Endquote)
For new(er) officials: You’ll “fail” multiple times a game, and failing often is uncomfortable. But you need to give yourself permission to fail. Don’t beat yourself up over inevitable mistakes. Keep this in mind; even after you approach the end of your first season, you still have a steep learning curve. If you want to grow into a solid varsity official, you don’t want to push football officiating to the side until next August. Find a mentor with whom to connect with over the off-season. You can systematically review all the content on the artofofficiating.com website you can review. If you don’t have someone in your association with whom to connect, you can Email me at [email protected]. I’d be happy to help.
Mid-year officials: What one goal can you set for yourself in the off-season that may make you feel a little uncomfortable? Are you resisting wearing the white hat because you are not a rules expert? Do you want to remain at your position, but you know you could improve your rules book or mechanics manual knowledge? Fight the urge to be comfortable next season by settling back into your familiar position and routine. Become the “Swiss Army Knife” who can work multiple positions.
Veteran officials: I’ve found some veteran officials will avoid looking foolish in front of their peers at all costs. Instead of being transparent and genuine, they put up a façade. It’s as if any sign of weakness will somehow adversely impact their credibility. I would challenge you to risk appearing a little foolish by helping a new(er) official improve. The high school football officiating community is getting older, and we need to work hard to recruit and train our replacements.
From my experience, veteran officials who are willing to admit when they forget or misunderstand a rule or who share mistakes they make on the field are the most effective teachers and mentors.
If you are a leader in your association, pick out someone who has high will and high skill and see if he or she would be willing to be mentored to eventually replace association leadership. Actively recruit strong officials to move into the referee position.
Quiz
Thank you to Ben Marx, from Metro Minnesota, for sharing this quiz question.
Read the quiz stem and then choose the best answer.
4/15 from the K-18. K’s punt is first touched by K27 at the K-48. R7 bats the loose ball forward from midfield to the K-43 where K39 falls on the ball.
- Team K can decline R7’s penalty for illegal batting to keep the ball
- Team R’s penalty for illegal batting will be enforced from the K-48
- Team K will enforce the penalty for illegal batting from the previous spot. 4/5 from the K-28
Review Rules 2-16h, 6-2-5, and 10-4-2b