Day Jobs and Scrimmages

I missed the second controlled scrimmage on Thursday because of a crisis at work. My boss was on vacation and it was just one of those things I could not pawn off on any of my employees. I had to involve Sr. Management and the corrective action impacted about 40 people who had to work through the night until about 4:00AM. Not the ideal time to say I need to go a scrimmage -- see ya!

This really sucked, because I needed to get back on the horse after the crap-fest scrimmage on Tuesday. So many things I need to work on so they become more ingrained. Oh, well. The more I work this level the more I realize I don't know crap. Everyone told me this would happen, but you know, this would never happen to me!! I'm starting to get nervous.

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.

Test Results

I met the crew at 5:30AM. I'm tired and have information overload. A lot of great information was provided by several D1 officials covering holding philosophy, mechanics, DPI, etc.

Or association reps reported back from a meeting with the coaches. There seems to be an open dialog between the coaches and the staff regarding rule interpretation and he as a group will be enforcing them. I think this is great idea, although I expect to hear the same thing I hear in high school - last week they didn't call that.

This is a topic I like some opinions on. How do you ensure consistency between crews when it comes to judgement calls? Obviously by their very nature they are somewhat subjective. Does your association provide you with judgement guidelines?

During the clinic we took two tests - 30 questions each. The first was fairly easy and I only missed one (and an easy one too) Prior to the snap from scrimmage kick formation the SJ and FJ should identify the numbers of the two eligible receivers on their side of the formation.. Well, duh... but I got that one wrong.

The second test was on penalty enforcements and I did not do as well. I passed but with a caveat.

I explain more on this next time.