Get Ready for Fall 2024
From: "Rich Kollen" - dayofgame@icloud.com
Subject: SCCFOA
Date: Friday, October 06, 2023
This week is a bit different since we will have five games on Thursday night and twelve games on Saturday. It’s the start of the second half of the season, and playoff and bowl games are on the line. Speaking of mid-week games, I remember in the early 60s there was a California Community College football game on local television every Friday night. I’d like to see someone work towards bringing back a TV contract to better showcase our student-athletes.
Anticipate the play, but don’t anticipate a call. If it’s third and long at the 50-yard line, you should assume the offense will be throwing a long pass. Deep officials should be ready for such a play. When inside the red zone, always think about offensive pass interference “pick plays.” Coaches know these are effective plays in shortened field situations. So, anticipate the play, but don’t pre-judge anything. Make sure all the calls are big and have a material effect on the play.
Under no circumstance should an official engage in an argument with a coach. When a coach is convinced that a call is incorrect, no amount of discussion is going to persuade him to change his mind. Arguing only inflames the situation and diverts your concentration from your job. Work on de- escalating, which may just mean walking away. That said, make sure you communicate in a calm manner when necessary.
I know there are numerous football officiating websites where officials discuss plays, looking for opinions from other officials. This is an excellent training platform. Please be mindful that anything you say or write on those sites can get back to our teams. A coach pointed out to me a reference by one of our officials on how out of control his team was during the game. I know this was an unintentional remark from the official, but the coach was offended by it. Remember, silence can never be misquoted. Social media is a great tool, but it can also hurt your career. Expect any posts to be read by everyone.
I've had a couple of coaches report to me that they have been told by Referees that if the coach wants to talk, he'll need to take a time out. I think a better explanation would be, “Coach, as soon as we get a break, I will come over and explain." There might be situations where the coach does want to take a time out, but don't put that suggestion into his thought process. This only makes the coach think that you are not communicative.
Did you know? Prior to the 1988 season, the NFL Referees switched from black hats to white hats. My guess is that the NFL and the NCAA wanted to be in sync on the uniforms.
One of our coach's biggest complaints is when officials say, “That’s not my call.” Rather, let’s try saying something like, “Coach, that was not my responsibility on that play, but I will get you the information as soon as I can talk to the other official.” Then, GET IT. Another concern of our coaches is when an official has a 15-yard penalty, and then has the wrong number. This is something our newer officials at this level need to learn. Speaking of numbers, I see too many officials calling a foul and immediately taking out their game card to write down the player’s number and time. That should be the last thing you do in the process. Communicate efficiently and effectively with the Referee and any other officials involved. You should be able to remember a player’s number until the next break in the action.
We have at least four of our colleges that have very good video boards. At no time should officials ever use that board to make or change a decision. Game administrators, although I don’t think there is an official policy, it is a dangerous situation to show controversial plays or questionable calls repeatedly. One time should be enough. Please don’t use the boards to embarrass players or officials.
Our officials work very hard with communications and sideline control. The first line of defense is to keep the coach in his coaching box, commonly called the white. If he wanders out, remind him to go back to the coaching box, and you will come there to talk. We had a situation last week when an emotional coach arguing a call made it to the middle of the field, and no flags were thrown. After reviewing the play, the coach was 100% correct. Maybe the officials knew that and gave him a bit of wiggle-room. However, this is a bad look for our game, and we need to penalize it when needed. Make sure you look at the Points of Emphasis in the Rule Book this week, especially the Sideline Control section. Don’t let a coach get that far from the box. Walk him back.
There was a situation last week when all but the Referee had the incorrect down. The Referee went with six other crew members and, unfortunately, we gave a team five downs. There is no defending this to a coach. At our level, if there's ever a question on downs, since every one of our stadiums has a telephone to the press box where live stats are being taken, call the press box if necessary. It would have saved the crew. Go to the phone and ask the stat person what the correct down is. That said, it should go without saying that everyone should know the down.
Speaking of live stats, all of our sports information directors (SIDs) are in the press box and use a program called Stat Crew. This is a computerized program that automatically processes penalty yards. If officials on the field march off 14 or 6 yards on a penalty, the stats crew must manually adjust it in the program. It isn’t an easy process. I have recently had a few SIDs call me to report that officials are incorrectly enforcing penalties. As a reminder, the Umpire walks off a penalty, and either the Head Line Judge or the Line Judge should be there to double-check the Umpire's enforcement.
When we have a touchback on a kickoff, officials must ask the receiving team coach where he would like the ball to be next put in play. We number spots on the field, 1 is the hash closest to the press box, 2 on the nearest goal post, 3 middle, 4 on the far goal post, and 5 being the hash furthest from the press box. REMEMBER, the coach has his option of where to place the ball after a touchback. (Rule 8-6-2) Get into the habit of asking a coach prior to the kickoff where he would like the ball on a touchback. Be prepared that he may tell you to ask another coach (typically, the offensive coordinator).
With the inclusion of illegal blind-side blocks into the Rules Book, it is now rare to have a forcible block in the back in the open field. If a player uses his hands to block his opponent in the back, that would properly be a block in the back (legal or illegal, depending on the situation). If, however, it is in the open field, and the illegal block in the back is forcible with anything but the hands (such as a shoulder), we should typically have a foul for an illegal blind-side block. That is a 15-yard penalty, versus the 10-yard penalty for an illegal block in the back. (Rule 9-1-18) Note that if the action also meets the elements of targeting, it would be an illegal blind-side block with targeting.
As always, thank you for your hard work and dedication to this great game!
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
Rich Kollen
Director of Football Operations
Subject: SCCFOA
Date: Friday, October 06, 2023
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
2023 WEEKLY BULLETIN #6This week is a bit different since we will have five games on Thursday night and twelve games on Saturday. It’s the start of the second half of the season, and playoff and bowl games are on the line. Speaking of mid-week games, I remember in the early 60s there was a California Community College football game on local television every Friday night. I’d like to see someone work towards bringing back a TV contract to better showcase our student-athletes.
Anticipate the play, but don’t anticipate a call. If it’s third and long at the 50-yard line, you should assume the offense will be throwing a long pass. Deep officials should be ready for such a play. When inside the red zone, always think about offensive pass interference “pick plays.” Coaches know these are effective plays in shortened field situations. So, anticipate the play, but don’t pre-judge anything. Make sure all the calls are big and have a material effect on the play.
Under no circumstance should an official engage in an argument with a coach. When a coach is convinced that a call is incorrect, no amount of discussion is going to persuade him to change his mind. Arguing only inflames the situation and diverts your concentration from your job. Work on de- escalating, which may just mean walking away. That said, make sure you communicate in a calm manner when necessary.
I know there are numerous football officiating websites where officials discuss plays, looking for opinions from other officials. This is an excellent training platform. Please be mindful that anything you say or write on those sites can get back to our teams. A coach pointed out to me a reference by one of our officials on how out of control his team was during the game. I know this was an unintentional remark from the official, but the coach was offended by it. Remember, silence can never be misquoted. Social media is a great tool, but it can also hurt your career. Expect any posts to be read by everyone.
I've had a couple of coaches report to me that they have been told by Referees that if the coach wants to talk, he'll need to take a time out. I think a better explanation would be, “Coach, as soon as we get a break, I will come over and explain." There might be situations where the coach does want to take a time out, but don't put that suggestion into his thought process. This only makes the coach think that you are not communicative.
Did you know? Prior to the 1988 season, the NFL Referees switched from black hats to white hats. My guess is that the NFL and the NCAA wanted to be in sync on the uniforms.
One of our coach's biggest complaints is when officials say, “That’s not my call.” Rather, let’s try saying something like, “Coach, that was not my responsibility on that play, but I will get you the information as soon as I can talk to the other official.” Then, GET IT. Another concern of our coaches is when an official has a 15-yard penalty, and then has the wrong number. This is something our newer officials at this level need to learn. Speaking of numbers, I see too many officials calling a foul and immediately taking out their game card to write down the player’s number and time. That should be the last thing you do in the process. Communicate efficiently and effectively with the Referee and any other officials involved. You should be able to remember a player’s number until the next break in the action.
We have at least four of our colleges that have very good video boards. At no time should officials ever use that board to make or change a decision. Game administrators, although I don’t think there is an official policy, it is a dangerous situation to show controversial plays or questionable calls repeatedly. One time should be enough. Please don’t use the boards to embarrass players or officials.
Our officials work very hard with communications and sideline control. The first line of defense is to keep the coach in his coaching box, commonly called the white. If he wanders out, remind him to go back to the coaching box, and you will come there to talk. We had a situation last week when an emotional coach arguing a call made it to the middle of the field, and no flags were thrown. After reviewing the play, the coach was 100% correct. Maybe the officials knew that and gave him a bit of wiggle-room. However, this is a bad look for our game, and we need to penalize it when needed. Make sure you look at the Points of Emphasis in the Rule Book this week, especially the Sideline Control section. Don’t let a coach get that far from the box. Walk him back.
There was a situation last week when all but the Referee had the incorrect down. The Referee went with six other crew members and, unfortunately, we gave a team five downs. There is no defending this to a coach. At our level, if there's ever a question on downs, since every one of our stadiums has a telephone to the press box where live stats are being taken, call the press box if necessary. It would have saved the crew. Go to the phone and ask the stat person what the correct down is. That said, it should go without saying that everyone should know the down.
Speaking of live stats, all of our sports information directors (SIDs) are in the press box and use a program called Stat Crew. This is a computerized program that automatically processes penalty yards. If officials on the field march off 14 or 6 yards on a penalty, the stats crew must manually adjust it in the program. It isn’t an easy process. I have recently had a few SIDs call me to report that officials are incorrectly enforcing penalties. As a reminder, the Umpire walks off a penalty, and either the Head Line Judge or the Line Judge should be there to double-check the Umpire's enforcement.
When we have a touchback on a kickoff, officials must ask the receiving team coach where he would like the ball to be next put in play. We number spots on the field, 1 is the hash closest to the press box, 2 on the nearest goal post, 3 middle, 4 on the far goal post, and 5 being the hash furthest from the press box. REMEMBER, the coach has his option of where to place the ball after a touchback. (Rule 8-6-2) Get into the habit of asking a coach prior to the kickoff where he would like the ball on a touchback. Be prepared that he may tell you to ask another coach (typically, the offensive coordinator).
With the inclusion of illegal blind-side blocks into the Rules Book, it is now rare to have a forcible block in the back in the open field. If a player uses his hands to block his opponent in the back, that would properly be a block in the back (legal or illegal, depending on the situation). If, however, it is in the open field, and the illegal block in the back is forcible with anything but the hands (such as a shoulder), we should typically have a foul for an illegal blind-side block. That is a 15-yard penalty, versus the 10-yard penalty for an illegal block in the back. (Rule 9-1-18) Note that if the action also meets the elements of targeting, it would be an illegal blind-side block with targeting.
As always, thank you for your hard work and dedication to this great game!
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
Rich Kollen
Director of Football Operations