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Maybe I spend too much time on the football forum, but this is one heck of a polite discussion about sports officials. Cheers to you all. Here's my 2 cents on a couple of your points: 1. Just like everything else in life, sports officiating requires a small amount of talent and a large dose of dedication. And of course, there is no substitute for experience. We have talented, dedicated and experienced officials from every sport in every corner of our state. While it is given that there are individual officials in every sport who stand out above the rest, I don't think it's fair to say that any particular region is good or bad as it relates to officiating as a whole. Some individuals are already very good at what they do, and some are gaining experience in their journey to becoming very good--no matter where they happen to live. And sometimes, maybe, a fan's perspective is too biased to accurately guage an official's performance. Sometimes, even, the folks in the bleachers may become "misinformed" about what's really going on down on the playing surface. (Thanks in advance for remaining polite after those last statements.) 2. The fundamentals of officiating transcend all sports: judgement, positioning, rules knowledge and officiating mechanics, with a varying degree of athleticism also required. Intangibles include the ability to communicate and manage people effectively. The emphasis on any one of the fundamentals is weighted differently for each and every sport: Soccer requires extreme running endurance with the added pressure of relatively simple rules judgement; Baseball is heavily weighted on positioning and consistent judgement (do I also have to mention that everybody's grandmother is an experienced closet umpire?); Football officiating requires years to master because the rules and mechanics are maddeningly complex (many fans don't realize that NFL, NCAA and highschool football rules are very different). And Basketball officiating is best done by those who've played the game, more so than any other sport, due to the quick judgement decisions required of the officials and the impressive athletic level of the average player. 3. It is reasonable to expect a relative competency level for highschool varsity sports officials. However, whether you cheer us or boo us, please remember that it is unfair to presume a proficiency comparison between a highschool sports official and a professional on a national TV broadcast. We participate for the benefit of the kids and are generally pretty good; they get paid well to be perfect (or they get fired). (Please be aware that a shortage of officials exists in a number of sports, so I strongly encourage all of you to consider joining the officiating ranks in whatever sport you choose. PM me and I'll show you how to participate.) offside

Because you're reading this thread, you're obviously interested in football rules, so... If you would like to become a football official, NOW is a great time to begin preparing for the '06 season. Rules study groups are forming now. (July is not too late to start, but January is better!) For more information see http://www.nkoafootball.org or http://www.khsaa.org/officials/officialinterest.htm Or simply PM me. offside

http://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/la-sp-hssanpedro15dec15,1,5331785.story ?coll=la-headlines-sports offside

I'm sure the video will be included in a few officiating training programs...

Here's the video: http://media1.dailybreeze.com/audiovideo/football.mov

...you wanna be an official? Lemme know.. offside

Please read the following newspaper column I copied from a football officials forum: _____________________________________________________________________ HEADLINE: Shawnee fails to get lesson in suspension Saturday, Nov. 26 By Berry Tramel The Oklahoman A 25-year teacher wrote me the other day. He's discouraged by the deterioration of the American classroom, and we both agree on the culprit. Bad parenting. He calls it the age of entitlement. "Educators/coaches fight this battle every day," the teacher wrote. "These young people feel like they are owed something because of the actions of their parents." Which brings us to the Class 5A state football semifinal between Shawnee and Tulsa East Central, which will not be played tonight, as scheduled. The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association has postponed the game after quarterback Tucker Brown and his family, which includes Shawnee coach Billy Brown, received a temporary injunction allowing Tucker Brown to play. It's a sad day when high school sports become my-lawyer's-better-than-your-lawyer. It's a sad day when Friday Night Lights become Monday Morning Courtroom. It's a sad day when we fail to teach youngsters there are consequences to their actions. There is no debate that Tucker Brown kicked a Tulsa Washington player at the end of a game last Saturday night and was ejected, resulting in a two-game suspension. Defenders of Brown have trotted out several reasons why he should be allowed to play against East Central: poor officiating, poorly written rules, provocation by Washington players. But prisons are full of people who were provoked. Poor officiating is a cop-out. And picking over the wording of rules seems a lawyerly move. "This is an absolute rule," OSSAA executive secretary Danny Rennels said. "There is no doubt about what happened in this situation. No one has refuted that the young man in question kicked an opponent. It's very plainly what the violation is, very plainly what the rule is." Shawnee's school system is complicit in the attempt to circumvent the suspension. It's one thing for parents or even a coach to go to great lengths to get a player eligible. That's to be expected. Unfortunate, but expected. It's quite another for the school to go along. Where is the Shawnee administration? The superintendent? This was a prime teaching opportunity. A chance to teach an entire community and a big chunk of the state that some things are more important than playoff football. More important than state semifinals. Things like honor and responsibility and accepting consequences. Oh well. That's an old-fashioned way to look at it. "This is what has perplexed and saddened me over the last 10 years as an educator and coach," wrote the teacher. "I have seen more and more parents resort to intervention on the part of their child in order to keep them shielded from the 'bad' things that happen to them because of their child's poor decision. "Parents need to be continually reminded how their actions now will affect their children later." In the grand scheme, the 2005 Class 5A football tournament matters little. A society of solid citizens matters much. "I don't know if this is an indictment of society or not," Rennels said. Not an indictment. Just a symptom. By all accounts, including here in The Oklahoman, Tucker Brown is a quality kid. But he made a mistake, he broke a rule, and it's no small rule. Rennels called it a "foundation" rule. "This fighting rule has been reviewed a number of times, by coaches, by administrators, as recently as three years ago," Rennels said. "They want this rule in place. They think it is very important that we not allow things to develop where it gets to the point of fights." Is it fair that Tucker Brown's momentary lapse of judgment could keep him from the biggest game of his life? Maybe not. It's not fair that a kid breaks his leg in October. It's not fair that every good, hard-working kid doesn't get to experience the semifinal stage. Sometimes life isn't fair. Sometimes, we'd be better off teaching our kids that very fact. _________________________________________________________________ comments? offside

Okay, I'll bite....Let's hear your "expert" evaluation. offside

As long as you're not on my chain crew... :thumb:

...HAH!, there's somebody with an approval rating lower than a football official! (I got my long-johns AND my sunblock packed--we don't trust THOSE GUYS either.) offside

Their obsession was excessive.

I don't know too many wing officials who care much for it either. (HUH? Somebody answer that phone!) offside

That's correct, 2 points. offside

I think you guys are taking yourselves way too seriously. I'm sure there's some horseplay that goes on in the stands, but I've never had a problem with an unruly STUDENT disrupting a game. I've certainly seen many a parent make an ugly fool of himself in front of a couple thousand children. Be a role model. The kids will follow your lead. offside

...George Blanda's soap is still in the official's locker room. j/k...it's a neat old stadium. offside