Now the fun begins

For anyone who has worked both High School and College Football, then I don't need to explain just how screwed-up your mind gets. I already find myself saying - oh crap, that's a HS rule. This is only my second season in the college rule book and I'm already feeling like I'm going to do something stupid.

For those who are not familiar with the 'distinctions' between the two systems, let me explain. In the Football Rule Differences 2007 book which outlines the differences between the two codes) there are 286 pages (after you exclude the index, table of contents, and other diagrams). Essentially, over 200 differences. Some are not that big of a deal - in HS you need shoes, but not socks. In NCAA you can kick barefoot but need socks otherwise. The number of panels on the ball, who can talk to the media. Simple things like that. Other rules are more complicated. In HS, no blocking below the waist except in the free block zone, but in NCAA, well this is a difference story depending upon who is doing the blocking, where it occurs on the field, and it which direction. This is blog entry in itself.

So, I paid my HS association dues ($75 bucks this year) and now have the 2007 HS books. I'm afraid to open them. I finally have what seems to be a fairly clear picture in my mind of what NCAA rules are and I'm going to cloud it all up with HS rules. The old timers tell me to not compare the two systems. But how do you avoid this?

My college mentor (who is a HS Crew Chief and a College White Hat) told me he worked HS for 15 years before he started college. When he first started college ball he said it was as if he never officiated before. It is a completely different game.