Weekly Bull 9/12/18

THE WEEKLY BULL – Sept. 12, 2018

No Meeting This Week – Don’t show up this week…no one will be there!!!  We will be meeting next week 9/19 and all certified will be taking the rules certification exam.  Second year officials will take the exam on Wednesday 10/3.  Spend some time this week and next by reviewing the summer study questions and the Federation Exam Part I that we attached to last week’s Bull. 

Observer Program – Items from the Observers:

• Fitness – there’s no in-season or off-season for this anymore. Your fitness can make a huge difference in your officiating mechanics and skills.  Get a solid nutrition program, and workout routine (including weights and aerobics) and stay with it!

• If there is a larger scale extra-curricular event starting, please see to it that you make some attempt to restore order. Hopefully it will be at the very beginning and will be an attempt to maintain calm and separate players.  Then, if it grows to something well beyond your scope of responsibility and safety, step back and take numbers.

• Back Judges – You are the referees on your side of the ball. Provide leadership to your flanks and work throughout the season to improve your work.

• Line Judges – Drive the crew as it relates to progress stopped and the line to gain. Communicate verbally and with a hand/arm signal across your chest indicating 1^st down or go up with next down if we’re short!

• Snap over the punter’s head – HL goes back and offers support (hopefully bracketing the players in with the referee) while the umpire goes to the line of scrimmage.

• Back Judges – do not officiate from a positon parallel to the receiver’s location. Stay deeper and look in from deep and off to the side.

• Run Zone Coverage – All crews review it this week. Emphasis is on the BJ getting off his initial key (if there’s no immediate foul or concern) and transition to zone #1 if the run is wide.  We want our BJs to have an opinion if a foul is called or not called by the flank official.  Video is showing that we are in need of our BJs to step up once or twice a game in support!

Horizon Prep 80 Yard Football Field – The use of an 80 yard field at Horizon Prep has been approved by the CIF.  I believe that makes Julian and Horizon Prep as the two 80 yard 8-Man fields.

Gopher Holes – I’m not kidding, if you’re playing on a natural surface in a rural community, please check the field for these and other hazards.  Reminds me of Caddy Shack!

SDCFOA Youth Fund at Work – Did you know that you/we’ve provided $40,000 in academic scholarship money to our student athletes since the 2012 season.  This does not include your considerable contributions to students and football community needs where we’ve donated large sums of money.  We are currently generating a donation to the Go Fund Me account for Coach Quamme from Mission Hills who recently passed.  Thank you for your generosity gentlemen.  We are a special group!  Game Check Weekend is fast approaching!