Get Ready for Fall 2024
From: "Rich Kollen" - dayofgame@icloud.com
Subject: SCCFOA
Date: Friday, Septermber 08, 2023
The first week is in the books, and there were many competitive games. The weather was great, and we’re off to another exciting year of community college football in Southern California. I attended two games last weekend, and I would like to compliment the athletic directors at both locations for not allowing any unauthorized spectators on the field. This creates a better and safer atmosphere for players, coaches, and officials. Fans, alumni, and parents need to be in the stands! We are celebrating 50 years of Title IX. California community colleges, like all educational institutions in the United States, must adhere to Title IX regulations, which prohibit gender-based discrimination in athletics. This means that colleges must provide equal opportunities for both male and female athletes. I truly believe that the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) has done a wonderful job making college athletics available to our female students.
Officiating is very subjective and we’re trying to train officials in SCCFOA that when dropping a flag for a foul, make it big. The NCAA national coordinator of football officials uses the term “clear and obvious.” Either way, officials should be aware that a foul needs to be defendable when the coach sends me a video on Monday. If you CAN call it, but don’t HAVE to call it, don’t call it (except safety-related or unsportsmanlike conduct fouls).
At one of the games I attended, the coach was talking to officials coming off the field at halftime, and the prolonged conversation irritated the opposing athletic director. He came to me after the halftime to bring it to my attention. If you are going to talk to a coach after the first half, try to make sure you do it out of sight. Later in the game, the same Referee did an excellent job when he calmly walked a coach back to the sidelines after the coach came out to the top of the numbers during a timeout to discuss the previous play. The discussion took place in the appropriate area. Good job. Be professional and try to de-escalate the situation.
Many modern college footballs are made from synthetic materials, such as composite leather or rubber-like compounds. These materials aim to replicate the feel and performance of leather while providing greater durability and resistance to adverse weather conditions. Although the rule book provides that the ball must consist “of four panels of pebble-grained leather,” let’s not worry as long as the balls have the look and feel of leather. Synthetic footballs are generally more consistent in terms of performance and require less maintenance. SCFA entered into an agreement with a new brand of ball, Big Game. It will be the official ball next year.
I don’t know exactly how it started, but recently we’re seeing many teams using duplicate single- digit numbers. Our sports information directors (SIDs) in the SCFA do a wonderful job keeping the important stats that are used to promote our student-athletes to the next level. When teams have multiple single-digit numbers, it makes their job very difficult to keep accurate stats. If a student-athlete participates in one play during the season, they are charged a year of eligibility; just one reason it is very important that we know which student-athlete is participating. Duplicate numbers are not against the rules, unless (a) both players participate in the same down wearing identical numbers (Rule 1-4-2-a), (b) both players play the same position (Rule 9-2-2-d), or
(c) there are more than two squad members assigned or wearing the same jersey number (Rule 9- 2-2-e). Twice last weekend, teams were flagged for duplicate numbers in the game at the same time. Great job by these officials. I have been told that our SIDs will be putting forth 3C2A legislation prohibiting single-digit duplicate numbers in the SCFA. That is probably a wise decision.
Our game observers do a great job. They are all ex-officials who want to remain involved in the game. They send me weekly reports. I think their comments are helpful to our officials. They not only observe the game, but the field environment and game management. A few comments on the first week’s games:
35 yards beyond the line of scrimmage is too far for our Back Judges to line up. It may be OK in the NFL, but at our level, passers rarely throw a pass that long. 25 yards is plenty, and that helps you stay involved in dead-ball situations.
By rule, all players must have jerseys that completely cover their body from the shoulders to the waist. (Rule 1-4-5-a) We have been noticing many of our linemen’s jerseys barely fit halfway down, exposing a white shirt. This is a sloppy look, and we need to work to clean it up.
A ball carrier can legally hurdle a defender. (Rule 9-1-13) We had a flag on this action last weekend. It is a high school rule. It was properly waved-off, but if you are still working high school, please review the rule differences before a college game.
Counting was an issue in a couple of games. In one case, we had 13 players participating. This needs to be discussed in pregame this weekend. We have 7 officials and all need to count players on every play! There is no excuse for letting more than 11 participate.
Offensive Pass Interference is a 15-yard, previous spot penalty (Rule 7-3-8-b), but it was marked off 10 yards twice last weekend. Someone needs to be a crew saver on penalty enforcements. Get it right!
SCCFOA has a standard for officials coming to games…no shorts, flip-flops or tee shirts. Look professional. Slacks and a golf shirt look so much better.
We have encouraged our colleges to have a microphone available to the Referees on the field. It makes the game so much better for coaches and fans. Now that many of our colleges have complied with our request, we need to do a better job with our announcements. Giving incorrect penalty enforcement and numbers and leaving the microphone on after the announcements needs to stop. I would suggest Referees practice commonly called penalty enforcements. Practice giving a player’s number, down, and distance. This will help on Saturday.
As always, thank you for all you do for our student-athletes. Let’s have great games this weekend!
“People become leaders when they make the decision not to sacrifice their principles on the alter of convenience or compromise.” – Myles Munroe
Rich Kollen
Director of Football Operations
Subject: SCCFOA
Date: Friday, Septermber 08, 2023
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
2023 WEEKLY BULLETIN #2The first week is in the books, and there were many competitive games. The weather was great, and we’re off to another exciting year of community college football in Southern California. I attended two games last weekend, and I would like to compliment the athletic directors at both locations for not allowing any unauthorized spectators on the field. This creates a better and safer atmosphere for players, coaches, and officials. Fans, alumni, and parents need to be in the stands! We are celebrating 50 years of Title IX. California community colleges, like all educational institutions in the United States, must adhere to Title IX regulations, which prohibit gender-based discrimination in athletics. This means that colleges must provide equal opportunities for both male and female athletes. I truly believe that the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) has done a wonderful job making college athletics available to our female students.
Officiating is very subjective and we’re trying to train officials in SCCFOA that when dropping a flag for a foul, make it big. The NCAA national coordinator of football officials uses the term “clear and obvious.” Either way, officials should be aware that a foul needs to be defendable when the coach sends me a video on Monday. If you CAN call it, but don’t HAVE to call it, don’t call it (except safety-related or unsportsmanlike conduct fouls).
At one of the games I attended, the coach was talking to officials coming off the field at halftime, and the prolonged conversation irritated the opposing athletic director. He came to me after the halftime to bring it to my attention. If you are going to talk to a coach after the first half, try to make sure you do it out of sight. Later in the game, the same Referee did an excellent job when he calmly walked a coach back to the sidelines after the coach came out to the top of the numbers during a timeout to discuss the previous play. The discussion took place in the appropriate area. Good job. Be professional and try to de-escalate the situation.
Many modern college footballs are made from synthetic materials, such as composite leather or rubber-like compounds. These materials aim to replicate the feel and performance of leather while providing greater durability and resistance to adverse weather conditions. Although the rule book provides that the ball must consist “of four panels of pebble-grained leather,” let’s not worry as long as the balls have the look and feel of leather. Synthetic footballs are generally more consistent in terms of performance and require less maintenance. SCFA entered into an agreement with a new brand of ball, Big Game. It will be the official ball next year.
I don’t know exactly how it started, but recently we’re seeing many teams using duplicate single- digit numbers. Our sports information directors (SIDs) in the SCFA do a wonderful job keeping the important stats that are used to promote our student-athletes to the next level. When teams have multiple single-digit numbers, it makes their job very difficult to keep accurate stats. If a student-athlete participates in one play during the season, they are charged a year of eligibility; just one reason it is very important that we know which student-athlete is participating. Duplicate numbers are not against the rules, unless (a) both players participate in the same down wearing identical numbers (Rule 1-4-2-a), (b) both players play the same position (Rule 9-2-2-d), or
(c) there are more than two squad members assigned or wearing the same jersey number (Rule 9- 2-2-e). Twice last weekend, teams were flagged for duplicate numbers in the game at the same time. Great job by these officials. I have been told that our SIDs will be putting forth 3C2A legislation prohibiting single-digit duplicate numbers in the SCFA. That is probably a wise decision.
Our game observers do a great job. They are all ex-officials who want to remain involved in the game. They send me weekly reports. I think their comments are helpful to our officials. They not only observe the game, but the field environment and game management. A few comments on the first week’s games:
35 yards beyond the line of scrimmage is too far for our Back Judges to line up. It may be OK in the NFL, but at our level, passers rarely throw a pass that long. 25 yards is plenty, and that helps you stay involved in dead-ball situations.
By rule, all players must have jerseys that completely cover their body from the shoulders to the waist. (Rule 1-4-5-a) We have been noticing many of our linemen’s jerseys barely fit halfway down, exposing a white shirt. This is a sloppy look, and we need to work to clean it up.
A ball carrier can legally hurdle a defender. (Rule 9-1-13) We had a flag on this action last weekend. It is a high school rule. It was properly waved-off, but if you are still working high school, please review the rule differences before a college game.
Counting was an issue in a couple of games. In one case, we had 13 players participating. This needs to be discussed in pregame this weekend. We have 7 officials and all need to count players on every play! There is no excuse for letting more than 11 participate.
Offensive Pass Interference is a 15-yard, previous spot penalty (Rule 7-3-8-b), but it was marked off 10 yards twice last weekend. Someone needs to be a crew saver on penalty enforcements. Get it right!
SCCFOA has a standard for officials coming to games…no shorts, flip-flops or tee shirts. Look professional. Slacks and a golf shirt look so much better.
We have encouraged our colleges to have a microphone available to the Referees on the field. It makes the game so much better for coaches and fans. Now that many of our colleges have complied with our request, we need to do a better job with our announcements. Giving incorrect penalty enforcement and numbers and leaving the microphone on after the announcements needs to stop. I would suggest Referees practice commonly called penalty enforcements. Practice giving a player’s number, down, and distance. This will help on Saturday.
As always, thank you for all you do for our student-athletes. Let’s have great games this weekend!
“People become leaders when they make the decision not to sacrifice their principles on the alter of convenience or compromise.” – Myles Munroe
Rich Kollen
Director of Football Operations