\'Hey Ref!\'

Teaching Players to Deal With Officials
by: Joe Hampton
Big 12 Referee
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I am convinced that during a 10 game football season, the coach and the players who understand the rules will win at least two more games than their opponents.

Therefore, if 20 percent of your season is predicated on knowledge, it is imperative to learn the basic rules of the game. There is a responsibility for coaches to share their knowledge and expectations with their players in order to give them an edge in competition.

My comments are not intended to take advantage of game situations or officials, but to allow coaches and their players to communicate with game officials in a fair, effective and professional manner.

Some coaches have the opinion that players should never communicate with the officials during a game, regardless of the situation. Even a smaller percentage of coaches believe there is no responsibility concerning player/official conversation.

For those who agree with me that communication between coach and official and player and official can create a fair advantage, I suggest coaches include some information in the form of a discussion with your team throughout the season. You may even want to bring in an official and discuss rules and situations with your team.

The following are tips your players can use. They are all keys to effective communication on the field between players and officials.

Learn the basic rules of the game. Sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. Players who know the rules and understand the intent of the game are more effective and will win more games. Necessary skills can be better taught if rules related to the skill are incorporated with the teaching technique needed to acquire that skill. (For example: in teaching offensive line play, rules regarding stances, movement, number of men on the line of scrimmage, etc.)

All coaches are interested in every advantage within the rules of the game. Coaches can create an understanding of rules and appropriate communication inside the actual game itself. This communication and understanding of the rules can become just as important as strength, speed and size.

An excellent reference guide for your players is the Collegiate Football Rules, a simplified illustrated rules book. It is published each year by the Collegiate Commissioner Association and may be purchased through most Conference Commissioner Associations. The National High School Federation also has official rules and case study guides available.

A basic understanding of these rules; dimensions of the field, equipment, definitions, timing factors, substitutions, live and dead ball fouls, and first and ten requirements are good places for coaches to start with your team.

Study the descriptions of major and minor fouls. Players on the field can improve their chances for success by understanding why officials call major and minor fouls. Listed below are a few of the most common major and minor fouls. What a player might say to the official will also be discussed and how that player/official interaction will improve their situation on the field.

Line of scrimmage. A player is on the line of scrimmage prior to the snap if his head breaks the plane of the line drawn through the waist of the snapper (center), after the ready-for-play signal is given and the snapper touches the ball. It is a good idea for the quarterback or defensive captain to let the head linesman and linesman know if any of their players are starting to "crowd the neutral zone" prior to the snap.

If a player jumps into the neutral zone quickly or simulates a snap, it is always a foul. Officials generally prefer not to call off-sides unless it is necessary or an advantage is gained. If coaches have their players help the officials line up their teams at the line of scrimmage, it will help with the flow of the game and fewer penalties will occur. Officials are inclined to respond to your help to avoid this foul.

Eligible receiver. To be legally in the backfield, an offensive player's head must not break the plane of a line drawn through the most rear part (other than legs or feet) of the nearest teammate on the line of scrimmage (except the snapper). Most officials will offer an extended foot to the wide receiver as they approach the line of scrimmage.

The receiver will line up on the line, or move to a position clearly one yard in the backfield. How can a wideout communicate with the Head Linesman or a Line Judge?

When the wideout approaches the wing official, probably the worst thing to say is "am I okay?" This is confusing to the official, and the official may respond with the wrong information to the wideout. Figuratively, the wideout could be referring to the previous play or situation and may be asking about his abilities or attitude.

Literally when the wideout asks "am I okay?", he is wanting to know if he is on the line of scrimmage, or in the backfield. The problem is when the official simply responds "yes" or "no". The question is not being answered and the appropriate response is not being given to the wideout. The wideout should simply ask "am I on/off the line of scrimmage?"

The official will extend one foot to show the line of scrimmage. Coaches instruct your wideouts to communicate this to the official before the game or during the first series of downs. This can save you headaches later.

Offensive line movement or alignment. An offensive lineman may not make any movements, at or near the line of scrimmage, that stimulates a snap. Once the guard or tackle lifts his hand from the ground before the snap, he has fouled.

If the offensive team is moving on the first sound from the quarterback, or as in some "crowd noise" situations, literally the lines move when the center snaps the ball. It is a good idea for the quarterback to alert the umpire and referee that their movement appears to be little "different" than a normal game situation.

As far as alignment is concerned, the shoulders of the interior linemen are to be nearly parallel (no more than 30 degrees) to the line-of-scrimmage. It is not uncommon on pass-blocking schemes or certain punt situations to have tackles with their "outside" shoulder turned to an illegal position or formation.

It is effective to ask the head linesman or field judge to remind the quarterback at the end of the play to correct the tackles. If the formation is used to an advantage, or continues after being told by officials, it will be a penalty until it is corrected. The situation such as the one described above can be corrected with effective communication between referee and quarterback.

Lines of communication. The two most important groups communicating on the field are the quarterback and referee on offense and umpire and defensive captain on defense. The best officiating crews communicate every play with players on the field.

The communication should be meaningful and not just "busy talk." Many coaches stop with the premise that the defensive and offensive captains sole purpose is to make "decisions" on the acceptance or declination of penalties, but that is truly just the beginning.

Most decisions are still made by the coach on the sidelines, signaling to the captains on the field. Communication between captains and officials can be crucial in the course of the game and could determine the outcome of the contest.

It is imperative to have captains who know the basic rules of the game and can clearly and effectively communicate their teams' concerns to the officiating crew.

Positions and major responsibilities. Football games are officiated with as few as two officials and as many as seven. Generally the higher the level of football, the more officials assigned to the game. The three basic positions are: referee, umpire and head linesman.

The Referee. The referee is in charge of the game and is responsible for the crew. The referee is usually on the same side of the field as the passing arm of the quarterback. In some conferences, it is the wide side of the field.

The duties of the referee include: signaling fouls, giving options to captains on penalties, observing the actions of the quarterback, punter, place kicker and holder in punting and extra point/field goal situations. Prior to the snap, the referee is responsible for counting the number of offensive players and any illegal action by the backfield.

On passing plays, the referee will assist in determining whether the pass is forward or backward, if the passer crossed the line of scrimmage, and also will be the primarily responsible for determining whether a pass was intentionally grounded.

The referee, not unlike other officials, has certain "keys" to watch on every play. For example, the referee would never get to see defensive pass interference because it occurs down field. When a coach or player questions the referee about defensive pass interference or gets upset thinking the referee missed the call, it is liking asking the field judge if the quarterback intentionally grounded the pass. The field judge focuses on receivers.

Obviously then, to effectively communicate when asking for clarification of a certain rules violation, it is important to understand the primary roles of each official. If a coach or player knows the officials position and general responsibilities, you will not only get the officials attention, but the official will be interested in what the coach or player has to say.

When a coach questions an official's call by yelling from the sidelines or a defensive player complains during the game, it's counter-productive communication. What should happen should sound like this, "Mr. Umpire, my coach wanted me to inform you that it appears on sweep plays particularly to our side of the field, the pulling tackle, No. 78, and guard, No. 65, when leading interference, are pulling down our defensive end and outside linebackers.

"Our defensive end and outside linebackers have been instructed to not just 'hold on the dance' with the blockers that are holding and creating a take down, but to do our best to separate from them. This is an area you and your crew need to take a look at."

It is important that the official responsible for the call know about the coach/player concern. The way the official receives this kind of game information can determine whether coach/player concerns are dealt with. The downside to having a player representative communicating with an official on the field is that it contributes to a negative atmosphere.

The coach who wants none of his players communicating with officials is better off than the coach who will allow several players to talk to the officiating crew. When several players try to communicate their concerns to an official, it could create ill-will between those players and the officiating crew.

There is a fine line between a complaining coach or player and asking for a more careful observation of plays that cause an unfair advantage.

The Umpire. The umpire is positioned behind the defensive linebackers. The umpire's primary responsibility is to observe holding, action on the center, ineligible linemen down field, ruling on tip passes, checking pass receptions on "curl" patterns directly behind him and ruling on whether the passer crossed the line of scrimmage before passing the ball.

For example, on pass plays, the umpire watches the interior lineman. The umpire looks for the center, guards and tackles as they drop back to block and protect the passer. As this occurs, the umpire moves up to the line of scrimmage, making it easier to watch his "keys."

The Head Linesman. The head linesman is on the line of scrimmage and usually is located opposite the press box side of the field. The head linesman's primary responsibility is the down box, line-to-gain and line of scrimmage at the time of the snap, observing offsides, crack-back blocks, holding, pass interference and forward progress.

Forward progress is usually determined by an official who is observing the play from the outside, looking in at the ball carrier. It is not uncommon for the forward progress of a play to be determined by an official from across the field who may have the best angle of the most forward point the ball carrier is entitled to.

Players can enhance their forward progress by keeping the ball chest or helmet high when they are tackled. When a player exaggerates the "spot" by extending the ball out in front of his helmet, or crawling or rolling forward, this will usually result in a less favorable spot by the official.

When a player simply leaves the ball on the ground or hands it to an official, this will result in a favorable spot, because the official can stay focused on the most forward point, instead of trying to run down a football and lose the spot of forward progress.

The other four possible positions are line judge, field judge, side judge and back judge. As indicated earlier, the number of officials is usually determined by the level of play.

The line judge has very similar responsibilities as the head linesman, but is located on the press box side of the field and does not have responsibility for the down box of the official line-to-gain marker. The field judge and side judge are positioned 18-25 yards down field and are primarily responsible for crack-back blocks on running plays, long running plays, pass interference and kicking plays.

The back judge is located in the center of the field and has the same primary responsibilities as the field judge and side judge. The wing officials on each side of the field are assigned to communicate with the head coach on all fouls reported against his team. This would include nature of foul, players number, spot of enforcement, yardage and next down. The captain on the field is entitled to the same information as the coach.

There is a high correlation between winning and understanding the rules of the game. As coaches and players learn the rules, they can become better communicators and express their concerns to the game officials. The more coaches and players understand what constitutes a foul and how those fouls will be interpreted, fewer penalties will occur during the season.

Knowing the rules of football with the ability to communicate effectively with the game officials will create advantages that are within the scope of the game. Coaches and players who focus on the game and leave the officiating to the officials always win a higher percentage of games, compared to those who become emotional and critique the officials on every play.

Coaches coach, players play and officials officiate. The key is to stay focused on what you can control, which is understanding, communicating and execution.

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