USA Football

There are many other types of film you can watch during the week. If possible, review film of yourself. There is no better feedback than watching film of your work on the field. Be sure to critique your calls and no-calls. Does the film verify what you saw on the field? If not, ask yourself why you saw something different during the game. Also review tight plays out of your area. Would you have called something different if the play occurred in your area of responsibility? Visualize the play, your reaction, and your call. By doing that, you will have gained some experience even though you didn’t see the play in the game. You will be better prepared when you see a similar play in live action. You will also benefit from watching your mechanics and demeanor. We almost always look much different on film than we previously thought. What we thought was a crisp signal may look relatively sloppy on tape. We may think we are in better position for a call than we actually are. Watching your films will expose aspects of your officiating in need of improvement.

You should also regularly reviewing training tapes. Hopefully, your association or conference provides tapes. You should spend time watching the types of plays you are likely to see in the game. Don Carlsen, an 18-year NFL veteran and side judge on Ed Hochuli’s NFL crew, regularly reviews training film. As a downfield official, Carlsen watches tapes on pass interference, illegal contact, and catch/no-catch. Line of scrimmage officials may want to focus more on holding, formation, and fumble plays. In addition to local training tapes, take advantage of training sites such as USA Football, which provides training on several types of calls. Good videos are also available from the NCAA and internet sites such as Refstripes.com forum boards (http://www.refstripes.com/forum) provide links to solid high school training tapes.

Film study is not limited to your past games and training tapes. Good officials, especially referees, should spend some time previewing teams in their upcoming games. As Walt Anderson, an NFL referee with 11 years in the league, notes, “you don’t want to be caught off guard.” Anderson watches film of the teams in his upcoming game to prepare for what he will see. He looks for things such as formations (e.g., trips), speed of play (e.g., no huddle or hurry-up offenses), and trick plays. He, like many successful officials, feels that there is no such thing as being over-prepared. After talking with coaches, all crews discuss in pre-game what types of plays and formations they can expect to see in the game. Why not gain some personal knowledge of this information before game day? It can only make you better prepared if you have already reviewed this information.