Good offseason clinics in the PA or MD area

[camarodw92]

I'm a new official (2nd year) and I have discovered that I love this and I would like to learn as much as I can and move up as many levels as possible. What's the best way to do this and what are some good clinics to attend to make this more of a career?

[FLAHL]

Welcome to officiating Camarodw.  Hope you feel the same way 10 or 20 years.

I can't help with clinics in your area, but here are a couple of suggestions:
1) Get a copy of The Redding Study Guide to NFHS Football Rules by George Demetriou.  It's much easier to read than the rule book and contains hundreds of example plays.
2) Watch the Aloha clinic videos.  You can find them on YouTube by searching for "Aloha Clinic Football."  There are multiple videos for multiple years and all are good.
3) Find a mentor.  Hopefully some 20 year veteran in your association will be receptive to answering questions and giving his perspective on plays, rules, mechanics, etc.
4) Study in the off season.  Don't just forget about football from Thanksgiving until August.
5) Read the rule book, even though it's not exactly a page turner.  What we do is much easier and much more fun when we actually know how to apply what's in the book to what we see on the field.
6) Does your association use HUDL?  It's a film-sharing service for high schools.  If so, watch other officials work.  Most of our films are taken from the press box, so the HL shows up clearly on every play.  R & BJ don't show up nearly as often, but you can still learn a lot here.
7) Read this message board and ask questions.

Good luck.

[bossman72]

I'm a new official (2nd year) and I have discovered that I love this and I would like to learn as much as I can and move up as many levels as possible. What's the best way to do this and what are some good clinics to attend to make this more of a career?

There aren't many geared toward high school officials, but there are some good clinics in the area (in no particular order)

--Tom Beard (Baltimore)
--Liberty Bell (Philly)
--Lehigh Valley (Allentown?)

[TampaSteve]

There aren't many geared toward high school officials, but there are some good clinics in the area (in no particular order)

--Tom Beard (Baltimore)
--Liberty Bell (Philly)
--Lehigh Valley (Allentown?)

What he said. - agreed.
I THINK though Lehigh & Beard are purely geared towards college, aren't they?

[VALJ]

There's also the Blue Ridge Football Officials Clinic (http://www.brfoc.com/).  That's geared to both HS and college officials.  No on-field work, though.

[Ralph Damren]

Our best clinic ever....possibly could be yours ,too.......

Several years ago, a good friend who was also a D-1 white hat called me. He was working the U-Maine Thursday night season opener. His crew was required to arrive the day before and spend that evening watching their previous game and the games of both teams. Where this was the season's opener, there was neither of neither and he volunteered for his crew to put on a clinic for us.
  (1) I contacted a local coach who agreed to use his team for the clinic;
  (2) Our chapter was asked to come in game dress;
  (3) the NCAA guys shadowed our officials thru several game situations;
  (4) after two hours of work, the NCAA guys gave a team pass to the game,thanking them
       for their work, and free passes to any of our who could answer :
        "Harvard 6, Yale 1....how so ?"
  (5) We then treated the NCAA guys to supper at our local favorite spot - NOTE - NCAA guys
       can't partake of adult beverages on pregame night, so the tab was reasonable and the best
       investment our chapter ever made.

Many of you are probably in an area of a D-1 school and ,prior to their season opener, may be able to find a crew who would be as amicable.

Our following week's chapter meeting was consumed with what everybody learned from the clinic, and ran way over in length.

#4 is Tuesday's trivia tester ...who's got the answer ?

[bama_stripes]

#4 is Tuesday's trivia tester ...who's got the answer ?

They made the extra point but missed the touchdown!   

[Ralph Damren]

They made the extra point but missed the touchdown!   

BUZZ....sorry, 'Bama  -----This is only a hypothetical, so research won't help.

HINT #1 : This could NOT occur in NFHS.

[ajsowada]

  (4) after two hours of work, the NCAA guys gave a team pass to the game,thanking them
       for their work, and free passes to any of our who could answer :
        "Harvard 6, Yale 1....how so ?"

I'm going to guess that Harvard was forced to forfeit to Yale after the game began and had scored 6 points to that point.  Harvard got to keep the points scored for statistical purposes, but 1-0 is the NCAA forfeit score and Yale was credited with the win 1-6 in this case. 

[Ralph Damren]

I'm going to guess that Harvard was forced to forfeit to Yale after the game began and had scored 6 points to that point.  Harvard got to keep the points scored for statistical purposes, but 1-0 is the NCAA forfeit score and Yale was credited with the win 1-6 in this case.

BUZZ - thanks for trying, ajsowada, but nope .

HINT #2 : Hard to believe this could occur by a player with Ivy League intellect .....IE....a "bone head" act put the 1 up .

[Legacy Zebra]

It's the rare 1 point safety! It's only happened something like 6 times since the NCAA put it in the book in the 80s. But it's never happened in the way that would make it 6-1. So for this situation, Harvard scores a touchdown to go up 6-0. On the try, the kick is blocked and Yale scoops it up and tries to return it for 2 points. But just before Yale gets to the goal line, they fumble the ball and Harvard recovers. On his own power (i.e. no forward progress or momentum), the Harvard player carries the ball across his own goal line where he is tackled. Harvard is now responsible for the ball being behind it's own goal line which makes it a safety. Because the safety was on a try, it is only worth one point. The score is 6-1 and Harvard will now kickoff from the 35.

If you google "2013 Fiesta Bowl 1 Point Safety" you can see how the offense scored a safety. Of course in that situation the 1 point was equivalent to making the kicked PAT. There was also one in the 2004 Texas A&M-University of Texas game that shouldn't have counted. There "kick" that was recovered by A&M in the field of play and then downed in the end zone was actually the illegal kicking of a loose ball.

[Ralph Damren]

Legacy Zebra nailed it . It could never occur in NFHS unless PATs are allowed to be returned on pics, blocked kicks, fumbles, etc.. The probability of that rule passing is probably close behind a Red Sox - Cubbie World Series....well, maybe not that close .

[Legacy Zebra]

I have a couple quick questions for y'all. I don't work in a Fed state, so forgive me if these are simple questions. But can the defense score at all on a try? Say by some miracle combination of penalties and retreating by the offense, the ball carrier is downed in his own end zone. Is the try just over, or does the defense score? If so it 1 or 2 points? Also, Team A goes for 2. Ball carrier A1 fumbles the ball at the B-3 yard line. B99, not wanting the offense to recover the loose ball, bats it backwards over the goal line and out of bounds. Does the offense get 1 point since B is responsible for the ball being behind the goal line?

[Ralph Damren]

Only A may score during a try (8-3-3) and A would score a one point safety in your scenario of B's force putting ball into and out of their own end zone. "Only A may score during a try" was added to 8-3-3 only a few years ago to pacify some of the "whatiffers" that felt ,without that, a scrambling QB could scramble for 98 yds into his own EZ or massive DB fouls on A could bring the ball back near there ; would require the try would be needed IF A's TD put them ahead by 1 as time expired. 8-3-1 Exception would need to expand to 2 point lead as B could still score 1. Now B can't score on a try...game ends on a TD w/1 pt. lead = run for locker room/cars/snowmobiles/ canoes/ skis/ dog sleds/whatever.