Weekly Bull 9/21/16

SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION, INC.

A Federal Non Profit Tax Exempt Corporation – www.sdcfoa.org

THE WEEKLY BULL – Sept. 21, 2016 

Make Up Meeting – If you need to make up a test, please join me this Wednesday night 9/21 at Santana in Room S4.  I will be there at 6:30 so take advantage of this opportunity. 

Thank You Mike Downing – Thanks to Mike and Cathedral Catholic, we have two meetings per year in the north county thus saving approximately 80 officials the extra drive south.  We all appreciate your organizing this meeting and the extra work it takes.  And thank you Robin House for pitching in and leading the meeting last week for Mike who was out of town.  Great job Robin House and Mike Downing! All remaining meetings will be at Santana!

Interested in Running for the Board of Directors? – If you are contact Greg Covington asap! 

Crew Donates Game Check – The fans, coaches, players and officials at the Francis Parker game experienced a tragic event last Friday as the timer, and faculty member) at Francis Parker suffered a heart attack during the game.  We have since learned that the staff member is scheduled for surgery and is expected to make a full recovery!!! I am also proud to report that the crew of Steve James, Bill Hammett, Ben Sherlock, Bill Wright, and Jake Minger donated their game check to the family of the stricken volunteer immediately at the game site.  Thank you, gentlemen, for your selfless act of kindness!

BJs Fund Raiser - BJ’s is now going to credit 20% of our food bill to our Charity Fund!  The flyer is attached to this Bull but I believe you can just take a picture of it on your phone and have it in the “wallet” of you IPhone.  Thank you Bob Hood for setting this up and thank you BJ’s management for the support!

What is Your Weekly Routine? –Some things you can have in your weekly routine are:

• Study of a particular rule including case book examples

• Read the Weekly Bull and view the Instructional Video

• Make a phone call to a crew member or crew chief

• Review your dead ball and pre-snap rountine

• Help evaluate last week’s game video

• Scout the next week’s teams

• Review our philosophies and axioms

• Work on your fitness and flexibility 

Drones – Another 5 shots during the PPR.  We had to stop at least one game for a drone in the stadium.  Please stay consistent with this ruing from the FAA and CIF – No drones in the stadium.

Center Tilting the Ball 90 Degrees – Just to correct myself, rule 7-1-2 allows the ball to be tilted 90 degrees by the center.  The ball may be snapped from that position.

Legal Equipment and Uniforms – We will continue to work to enforce these rules.  Gross violations will be subject to the player being sent out of the game and a 15 yard penalty charged to the head coach.  If pants can be adjusted so they cover the knees and the jerseys can be pulled down to cover the shoulder pads, we will have the players correct the problem.  If the uniform cannot be corrected it will be judged illegal.

Early Arrival at Schools – Some schools, like Del Norte, do not end their day until 3:30.  If you are meeting early, and you confirm the school is still in session, meet off campus at a restaurant, and then drive over after school.  I like that you’re meeting early but some schools cannot accommodate.  Check ahead with the AD.

Referees and Preliminary Signals – Please continue to give quick preliminary signals so all in stadium can see what the foul is – especially coaches.  DON’T WALK AROUND LOOKING FOR AN OPEN AREA!  Waste of time and you don’t look competent. Just a step away from anyone who’s directly next to you will suffice.  Once you’ve given preliminary THEN go to umpire with enforcement information.   THEN go to your new spot!

Keep Your Mouth Shut – Please continue to be careful not to make comments to innocent spectators who might turn out to be the coaches wife or a school administrator.  These innocent spectators are quick to report your comments to administration, the CIF or to the medial.  Keep all comments to yourself and save them for the locker room.

Keeping the Restricted Area Clear – We seem to be doing a reasonably good job with this thankless task.  Our focus is on the field, but for safety reasons, the restricted area needs to be clear at the start of the play.  So far so good!  One thing to keep in mind is that it is the same for both sides.  We are on the same crew, so do your crewmates a favor and do the same work for both teams.

Chain Crew & Timer – It is a bonus to officials and teams to have a mobile, well trained chain crew, especially if the tempo of the game is fast. Too late for this week, but schools having their clock operator and chain crews available for when the officials arrive on the field 30 minutes prior to kickoff is a must.  Having a chain crew, no matter how experienced, arrive at the coin flip is unacceptable. Tracking down a chain crew distracts from the official’s and coaches pregame preparation.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month – I want to remind all coaches that the SDCFOA supports Cancer Awareness Month and allow teams and individuals to wear pink during the month of October.  This year, you will notice our officials using pink whistle in an effort to be more uniform in their observance of this important event.

Taking a Knee – There was a discussion between a referee and a coach about this play as the game was winding down.  The coach knew that there is nothing in the rule book that prevents the defense from going after the ball when the offense takes a knee. This is precisely why a referee should ask the offense if they are taking a knee and offering that information to the defense.  If the defense indicates that they are going after the ball, then the referee must share that info back to the offense so they are ready to play football.  We are not coaching, just sharing information as we end the game.  Almost all teams do well in this situation.

Injury Time Out – Team personnel will be allowed to attend to any injured players and team support staff will be allowed to bring out water to the team.  Coaches must either be attending to the injured player or at the sideline (outside numbers) to address team or provide substitutes.  No coaches will be allowed to confer with the team inside the numbers.

Evaluations - September 23rd marks Week 5 of the high school season.  Per Board direction, all crews are to be evaluated after week five and again at the end of the regular season.  Each association crew chief is to rate the crew shortly after this weekend’s game.  If you are not working with your entire crew, make sure you rate that official(s) on another game.  All completed sub varsity games and AYF/Pop Warner games should already be completed.  Youth game evaluations must be up to date.  First and second year officials in particular need the feedback.  For those of you who have requested to be youth referees, failure to complete evaluations in a timely manner will affect future assignments.