Date: March 1, 2010
The following are the major changes approved by the 2010 NFHS Football Officials Manual Committee for the 2010 and 2011 high school football seasons:
1. The Five-Man Mechanics come before the Four-Man Mechanics in the NFHS Football Officials Manual.
2. By state association adoption, officials have the choice of wearing white or black officiating shorts. The entire crew shall be dressed alike.
3. By state association adoption, foul weather, full length, lined black pants with a single 1 ¼ inch white stripe down each leg may be worn in place of the standard, all-white tapered knickers if worn by the entire crew.
4. The Back Judge shall carry two different color bean bags; one for marking the end of the kick and one for marking first touching.
5. The Back Judge and Line Judge bring approved game ball from each team to the coin-toss if footballs are being run off of both sidelines.
6. The Referee’s normal starting position be moved to one that is visible to the clock operator, approximately 10- yards deep and 5-yards wide of the huddle when marking the ball ready-for-play on scrimmage downs.
7. The Line Judge temporarily move to nine-yard marks (top of the numbers), as receiving team is lining up for a free kick. (Four-Man Mechanics)
8. The Referee’s scrimmage kick position be adjusted to 3-5 yards outside the tight end and 2-3 yards behind the kicker, on line judge’s side of the field.
9. If the football falls or blows off tee just prior to free kick, Back Judge sounds whistle to prevent action and moves to kicker to give instructions.
10. The Back Judge assists with relay of the football in side zone from wing official to Umpire.
11. The Referee’s position changed to 3-5 yards outside the tight end and 2-3 yards behind the kicker, on kicking-leg side on scrimmage kicks.
12. The Back Judge’s position changed to 10-12 yards wider than and 2-3 yards behind the deepest receiver on linesman’s side of field on scrimmage kicks.
13. The Referee’s position changed to 2-3 yards to rear and 3-5 yards to side of potential kicker, facing holder and able to see holder receive the football onfield goal attempts or trys.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
2010 Football Rules Changes
NFHS Rules Changes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bob Colgate
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (February 23, 2010) — Effective with the 2010 high school football season, any player who shows signs, symptoms or behaviors associated with a concussion must be removed from the game and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.
The concussion rule was one of 12 changes approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Football Rules Committee at its meeting last month in Indianapolis. The rule changes subsequently were approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
The previous rule directed officials to remove an athlete from play if “unconscious or apparently unconscious.” The previous rule also allowed for return to play based on written authorization by a medical doctor. Now, officials are charged with removing any player who shows signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion, such as loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance problems, and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.
“Given that the vast majority of concussions do not include a loss of consciousness, but that athletes often show obvious evidence of concussion, the NFHSSports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) strongly believes that officials must continue to be empowered to remove these athletes from play, thus protecting them from further injury,” said Dr. Michael Koester, chair of the SMAC. “Continued participation in any sport following a concussion can lead to worseningconcussion symptoms, as well as increased risk for further injury to the brain and even death.
“The safety of the athlete is of paramount concern during any athletic contest. Officials, coaches and administrators are being asked to make all efforts at ensuring that concussed athletes do not continue to participate. Thus, coaches, players and administrators should also be looking for signs of concussion in all athletes and should immediately remove any suspected concussed athlete from play.”
In addition to football, the new concussion language is being placed in all NFHS rules books for the 2010-11 season, as well as the “NFHS Suggested Guidelines for Management of Concussion.”
Among the other changes were four pertaining to equipment, two dealing with player conduct, one concerning penalty options on scoring plays and three others in Rule 3 dealing with periods, time factors and substitution.
“The NFHS Football Rules Committee continues to focus its primary efforts toward maintaining the highest level of player safety,” said Julian Tackett, executive assistant commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and chair of the NFHS Football Rules Committee. “This is evidenced by several rule changes related to equipment and concussions that were approved for 2010 following review by the NFHS SMAC. The rules of the game are in very good order and our members felt that no substantial changes were necessary beyond our emphasis on the health and welfare of the high school student-athlete.”
Among the equipment changes was approval of a new football glove/hand pad standard for the 2012 season. Beginning in 2012, gloves, which may be anchored with athletic tape and even though modified, must meet the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) test standards at the time of manufacture.
Other equipment changes include removal of restrictions on penalty-marker colored pads or gloves; revisions in the padding rule for guards, casts and braces; and clarification of the illegal player equipment rule.
In Rule 9-4-3k, the committee approved a clarification to the horse-collar rule. The wording in the definition of a horse-collar was changed to address situations when player possession was lost or the ball became dead by rule after the back or side of the jersey collar/shoulder pads were grasped.
“Under the previous rule, if the horse-collar occurred inbounds, but the tackle was completed out of bounds, in the end zone or after a loss of player possession, a horse-collar foul could not be called as the player was no longer a runner,” said Bob Colgate, NFHS assistant director and liaison to both the Football Rules Committee and the SMAC. “The wording was modified to ensure that a horse-collar foul could be called even if the runner no longer had possession of the ball or the ball became dead by rule.”
In Rule 8-2, six existing articles were refined and a new article created regarding fouls on scoring plays that have succeeding spot enforcement. Colgate said the changes now give both teams the same options when a non-player or unsportsmanlike conduct foul is committed during a down in which a touchdown is scored.
In other changes, the point differential rule by state adoption was modified to allow state associations to terminate a game at any point once the point differential is reached. Previously, the end of the first half was the earliest termination of a game by rule. In Rule 3-2-2, coin toss provisions were revised to state that no more than four captains per team can be on the field of play for the coin toss. In Rule 3-7-1, the committee revised the timeframe for replacing players from “immediately” to “within three seconds.”
Finally, the rules committee altered field markings in nine-, eight- and six-player football. All players who participated in the previous down and all substitutes must be momentarily between the 7-yard marks if they play on regulation 80-yard fields.
Points of emphasis adopted by the NFHS Football Rules Committee for the 2010 season include concussion recognition and management, heat illness and hydration, illegal helmet contact, assisting the runner, sportsmanship and public-address announcers, and NFHS Football Officials Manual.
Football is the No. 1 participatory sport for boys at the high school level with 1,112,303 participants in the 2008-09 season, according to the High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the NFHS through its member state associations. In addition, the survey indicated there were 759 girls who played football in 2008-09.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bob Colgate
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (February 23, 2010) — Effective with the 2010 high school football season, any player who shows signs, symptoms or behaviors associated with a concussion must be removed from the game and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.
The concussion rule was one of 12 changes approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Football Rules Committee at its meeting last month in Indianapolis. The rule changes subsequently were approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
The previous rule directed officials to remove an athlete from play if “unconscious or apparently unconscious.” The previous rule also allowed for return to play based on written authorization by a medical doctor. Now, officials are charged with removing any player who shows signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion, such as loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance problems, and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.
“Given that the vast majority of concussions do not include a loss of consciousness, but that athletes often show obvious evidence of concussion, the NFHSSports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) strongly believes that officials must continue to be empowered to remove these athletes from play, thus protecting them from further injury,” said Dr. Michael Koester, chair of the SMAC. “Continued participation in any sport following a concussion can lead to worseningconcussion symptoms, as well as increased risk for further injury to the brain and even death.
“The safety of the athlete is of paramount concern during any athletic contest. Officials, coaches and administrators are being asked to make all efforts at ensuring that concussed athletes do not continue to participate. Thus, coaches, players and administrators should also be looking for signs of concussion in all athletes and should immediately remove any suspected concussed athlete from play.”
In addition to football, the new concussion language is being placed in all NFHS rules books for the 2010-11 season, as well as the “NFHS Suggested Guidelines for Management of Concussion.”
Among the other changes were four pertaining to equipment, two dealing with player conduct, one concerning penalty options on scoring plays and three others in Rule 3 dealing with periods, time factors and substitution.
“The NFHS Football Rules Committee continues to focus its primary efforts toward maintaining the highest level of player safety,” said Julian Tackett, executive assistant commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and chair of the NFHS Football Rules Committee. “This is evidenced by several rule changes related to equipment and concussions that were approved for 2010 following review by the NFHS SMAC. The rules of the game are in very good order and our members felt that no substantial changes were necessary beyond our emphasis on the health and welfare of the high school student-athlete.”
Among the equipment changes was approval of a new football glove/hand pad standard for the 2012 season. Beginning in 2012, gloves, which may be anchored with athletic tape and even though modified, must meet the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) test standards at the time of manufacture.
Other equipment changes include removal of restrictions on penalty-marker colored pads or gloves; revisions in the padding rule for guards, casts and braces; and clarification of the illegal player equipment rule.
In Rule 9-4-3k, the committee approved a clarification to the horse-collar rule. The wording in the definition of a horse-collar was changed to address situations when player possession was lost or the ball became dead by rule after the back or side of the jersey collar/shoulder pads were grasped.
“Under the previous rule, if the horse-collar occurred inbounds, but the tackle was completed out of bounds, in the end zone or after a loss of player possession, a horse-collar foul could not be called as the player was no longer a runner,” said Bob Colgate, NFHS assistant director and liaison to both the Football Rules Committee and the SMAC. “The wording was modified to ensure that a horse-collar foul could be called even if the runner no longer had possession of the ball or the ball became dead by rule.”
In Rule 8-2, six existing articles were refined and a new article created regarding fouls on scoring plays that have succeeding spot enforcement. Colgate said the changes now give both teams the same options when a non-player or unsportsmanlike conduct foul is committed during a down in which a touchdown is scored.
In other changes, the point differential rule by state adoption was modified to allow state associations to terminate a game at any point once the point differential is reached. Previously, the end of the first half was the earliest termination of a game by rule. In Rule 3-2-2, coin toss provisions were revised to state that no more than four captains per team can be on the field of play for the coin toss. In Rule 3-7-1, the committee revised the timeframe for replacing players from “immediately” to “within three seconds.”
Finally, the rules committee altered field markings in nine-, eight- and six-player football. All players who participated in the previous down and all substitutes must be momentarily between the 7-yard marks if they play on regulation 80-yard fields.
Points of emphasis adopted by the NFHS Football Rules Committee for the 2010 season include concussion recognition and management, heat illness and hydration, illegal helmet contact, assisting the runner, sportsmanship and public-address announcers, and NFHS Football Officials Manual.
Football is the No. 1 participatory sport for boys at the high school level with 1,112,303 participants in the 2008-09 season, according to the High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the NFHS through its member state associations. In addition, the survey indicated there were 759 girls who played football in 2008-09.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Use Off-season to Get In Shape!
Its Spring Clinic Time at Profootballreferee.com and I can hear the grass growing. Following up our Fitness for Football Officials theme we have some great information on Football Officiating Camps & Clinics. I interviewed the leadership behind the scenes at the Tom Beard Camp in Washington, DC. You'll find this interview extremely informative and will help you in selecting the off-season camp of your choice. I have also included a download link to my 2010 Football Officiating Clinic Guide. It's the most comprehensive listing of Camps and Clinics available in one document.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Warm Up & Stretching Tips
Thanks to WNCOA member Charles Alison for this link:
Great topic for early season pre-game meetings!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Book Review - "Why a Curveball Curves"
My book review published today at Blogcritics. Some interesting topics in this book for officials.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
News Item: Rules Committee
The high school football rules committee will meet on Sunday, Jan.24, 2010. Watch for updates here!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Is Football Officiating Right for You?
[Todd Skaggs is the author of, Forward Progress: Confessions from a Rookie College Football Official.
Learn How to Get Noticed, Move Up and Improve your Football OfficiatingClick for Football Officiating Podcasts ]
Let’s take a close look at what happens at the very beginning of a football official’s prospective career. Let’s assume for the moment that you have never officiated a game of football in your life. Where do you begin?
Why football? There are several motivational factors at work here. Most common, is a love of football. You might have a friend or a family member that officiates and have discussed how to get involved with that person. Some associations advertise the need for new officials in print, radio and television venues. At the very basic level, you are simply interested in the donning the zebra stripes.
Let me be clear here…there is a growing need in every state, every community, and every youth league for football officials. The enrollment in youth sports continues to rise and the number of officials continue to decline (in all sports, not just football) so there is now, and will continue to be, a need for officials.
1. Gather information
The first step is to gather information on local football officiating opportunities. Some of this can be accomplished via the Internet. You can search the web for youth leagues and local officials associations. Many of these groups maintain informative websites which will provide contact information with the leaders of those groups.
Call your local high school athletic department. Speak with the athletic director or head football coach. They will certainly be happy to inform you of key members in the officiating community whom you may contact for more information.
I would also suggest that you reach out to your state’s high school athletics association. You can access this information on the Intenet. If you have trouble finding a local association or officiating resource, contact your state’s athletic office and they most certainly can point you in the right direction.
2. Exposure
The second step, and most often overlooked, is to get a good look at what officials do. Find a local official and ask to ride along with them to a game or association meeting. Don’t think you have to talk to a Big East or NFL referee in order to get a behind-the-scenes look at officiating. There are thousands of great officials at the high school level who have a passion for officiating. I guarantee you can find a willing person to discuss you intentions, gain exposure to officiating and help you get started on the right path. You just have to ask.
Attend a local youth league or high school football game. Make a point to meet the officials at half-time or between games on a Saturday afternoon. You will find this group warm and inviting, eager to talk to anyone interested in officiating football.
Call the coaches and administrators of youth leagues, recreational leagues, children’s leagues. Visit your local YMCA. Ask who assigns the officials for their games. You will find the right people who can get you started.
3. Ride Along
Once you’ve identified a local resource, take the next step and ask to ride along with them to a game. You can’t fully appreciate football officiating from watching college or professional football on television. A fan’s view isn’t sufficient when evaluating whether you’d like to become a football official. Spend a few hours on a Friday night and experience what happens at a varsity contest from the eyes of an official. You will view officiating from a different perspective, rest assured.
Listen to the band play, the fans cheer (or complain!), the press box announcer, the coaches and players interact; experience the true essence of a football game. You most likely could attend a Saturday youth league game and stand behind a wing (sideline) official during the game and ask questions between plays. Talk about perspective!
4. Officiate – Yes or No?
Now you might think that going to all this trouble just to get started officiating football won’t be worth the effort. My reply is: Football officiating is not for everyone. It is a demanding avocation and the decision to become a football official should not be taken lightly. The game requires football officials to be dedicated, prepared and reliable. Officiating requires thick skin and humility. You must be willing to learn the game of football from the eyes of the official, not the fan. What you see on Sunday with your favorite NFL team will seldom apply on your Sunday youth league game.
Having said that, the rewards of becoming a member of the officiating community are immense and well worth the effort. I’ve often used the word “fraternity” when describing my association. The camaraderie and fellowship which results when people come together combining the love of football and a passion for officiating cannot be adequately described in a few words. You just have to experience it from the inside.
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