U position

[PanamaRef]

What advice can you give to a HL that is now moving to the U position? I was given this notice over the weekend and am now looking up everything I can find for the position.

[TampaSteve]

Aside from the mechanics stuff, you're now the 'right-hand man' to the R.  Put another way, when R need to verify something, you're the man.

[RickKY]

Panamaref, I also made the transistion from HL to U, about 6 years ago.  The hardest thing to get used to is the traffic around you.  You've really got to train yourself to think like a linebacker, and read the guards intial blocks.  This will dictate where you go at the snap.  If they pass block, you need to get to the LOS.  If they run block, you need to be in position to see the lead blocking, but not get run over.  Your keys are the center and guards.  My advice is work some pre-season scrimmages to get used to it.  Many officials say they never want to move inside, but it is not nearly as bad as percieved by those who've never done it.  Also, if you get a chance to go to a clinic, that would be wise.  Find someone in your assocaition who is a umprie and watch some game film with him and get his advice.

[PanamaRef]

Thanks for the tips.  For scrimmages I am working flag games at the U positions and am enjoying it.  The clinics are none and to travel to the states for a clinic costs to much at times.  I am trying to attend the CFO clinic but the cost of the clinic and air fare are just to much.  We have picked up more games and do not have enough officials to cover them.  I will be working 2 games on Sat. And 4 games on Sundays, and that still leaves 6 games over the weekend that I am not working.

[AlUpstateNY]

You really need to know who's got the ball and where he's going with it.

[With_Two_Flakes]

Initial position:- dont always start in the same place, a smart offensive coach might use you as an extra blocker. On the occasions I work the U spot, I tend to line up on the shoulder of a middle linebacker. When I say "on the shoulder", I mean stand in a position so that if the middle linebacker you are stood behind needs to drop straight back into pass coverage, you are not in his way.

If the D run a 3-4 then I'll generally pick the inside shoulder of one of the middle linebackers, but swap between the two middle guys randomly from play to play. If they run a 4-3 then I'll swap shoulders on the middle linebacker.

If a D player asks you to move then try to accomodate him (it is usually a safety behind you who asks), but pick a position where you can see the ball.

At the snap make sure you are watching the ball to assist the R to look for an illegal snap. For the next second or so, keep your eyes at that level - what I mean is don't let your head and eyes come up to try to watch hands for holding. Holding doesn't happen that early so instead keep your eyes at waist and below and look for chop blocks because they often do happen right after the snap. After that first second or so, you can let your attention come above the waist.

As RickKY already noted, the blocking action of the interior line will tell you the type of play - Pass or Run. You'll be able to see or at least sense a guard pulling. Wherever he goes, the running play is gonna go almost certainly.

If it is a run, stand still. The players don't want to run into you, it just slows 'em down. So let them run around you if possible. If you are moving around, then they dont know where you are gonna be so they will bump into you by accident. If you have to move because of a run up the middle, then think like a bullfighter and take a step to one side ( but try to miss out the shout of Ole! and don't mime lifting up the cape as the bull runs past  )

Turn on the spot to keep your body shape facing the direction a run goes, but stay still unless the runner breaks for big yardage. Play the percentages - most plays are runs, most runs makes less than 5 yds, so all you normally need to do is pivot on the spot and only start moving once the ball is dead and action is stopping.

Guessing you dont often have 6 or 7 man crews, so if the play is a pass, you need to move up to the LOS for several reasons:-
your own safety, it gets you out the way of short crossing patterns by receivers
you can help with ruling if the passer crossed the LOS
you can help with did the pass crossed the LOS
you get a good view of if the pass was tipped and give a tipped signal if it was. That may wipe off a pass interference call by someone else so make sure you tell the crew it was tipped.

You need to know where your R was stood - he will be looking diagonally and past the QB to pick up holds on the offensive tackle on his far side. Don't waste your effort on watching that Tackle, watch C,G,G and the other Tackle.
When the pass is made, spin round to watch the reception. You can't see enough of the play to see any Interference so keep your flag in your pocket, but you might be the only one on the crew to see if the pass was caught. Especially on an underthrown ball that the kid has to dive back to catch. All your colleagues might be blocked out and be relying on you, so make sure you turn.

When you spot the ball for the next play, turn your body to face the wing guy with the spot, you will get a more accurate spot that way. As you get more experienced at the U position, you will get a sense for which wing official to take the spot from, sometimes a run up the middle may go a little toward one wing but the way the kid is holding the ball and how he falls as he is tackled might mean the other wing actually has a better view of forward progress.

As Umpire you have to be in control of the players -  at the pile, the first striped shirt or striped socks they see will be you, make sure yours is a voice they hear too. You are often the nearest guy for them to complain about stuff that is happening. Calm them down, listen and tell them you will watch out for that. If it is something that is in the responsibility of a colleague, ask that colleague to look for it. Build up a rapport with the players. They'll never love you, (only your Mom loves you when you are out there in a striped shirt), but at least they'll respect your fairness and willingness to listen.

Build up a rapport with the rest of the crew too. You are in the middle of them, so think of yourself as the telephone exchange passing information around and keeping everyone on the same page.

Final Umpire rules of thumb,
Let your wing officials get the spot and blow the play dead, you only need a whistle if a kickoff gets run back 100 yds for a TD.
Let your wing officials signal a TD, only two times an Umpire raises his arms - if a kickoff gets run back 100yds for a TD or if a kid comes out of the pile holding a gun.
Keep your White Hat out of trouble, listen in on penalty options to captains, listen in when he talks to coaches.
Stripey shirt, stripey socks, stripey voice 

[RickKY]

What he said!  Two Flakes is pretty thorough.  I wanted to add that you really need to nail penalty enforcement.  As the HL you should have yrdage down, but now you'll be included in most discussions of options before marching off the yards.  The white hat will lean on you alot.  Also, you'll find yourself talking to players more than when on the wing, especially when unstacking them.

[Atlanta Blue]

What advice can you give to a HL that is now moving to the U position?

Add 50 lbs.  Pack Snickers bars in your pocket.  Look out for crossing receivers.

[RickKY]

Make sure you see the snapper's hand on the ball prior to the snap.  vary your starting position across the formation, but not wider than the DT.  Start about 1 yd deeper than LB's and not directly behind any of them.  Opposite the TE is best, and don;t let him use you to pick the defender.

Toughest play for me is the middle screen or draw play.  It's designed to look like a drop back pass play, and can catch you sliding into the LOS to rule of the NZ.  You may be stepping right into the play.

Also, runners who cut back against the grain after crossing the NZ can present a problem.  In this case you must move laterally.  You can't move backward fast enough to prevent getting run over, though that will be your first instinct..

You need to get to a point where you just react.  Practice makes perfect.

After the RFP have your whistle in your mouth, in order to stop action for pre-snap fouls.  Spit it out at the snap.  You probably won't need it anymore after the snap anyway.

[PanamaRef]

sounds good.   I am giving a clinic on rule 10 so that should help me out as well on the penalty enforcements.

[TampaSteve]

get used to utilizing a hand, or more, as a bumper to protect oneself.
'it's me or you kid, and it aint going to be me...'

[James]

RickKY says to always stay inside the DTs, and that may work with the games that he sees, but I have seen defenses that are so crammed up or spread out that you can not give any rules for where to stand.
Make sure you see the ball. This can be hard if they have a tight formation with both A gaps filled (on these occations I tend to move outside the defensive end and not so far away from the LOS).
Make sure you are in a safe(ish) postion to start at least. Don't have a LB anywhere behind you if you can help it. Doesn't always work though especially with not good teams I keep seeing LBs that are 12 yards from the ball, so then I find the most clear space I can where I can see the ball.

2_Flakes mentioned to turn on the run, but don't forget to follow the short pass too. Sometimes you are the only one with the good view.

Talk a lot. 'Ball is gone.' 'Kick is gone.' 'Play is over.' 'Push up from the ground.' Let them know you saw something not worth flagging but you didn't like. Let them know when you see them do something of GOOD sportsmanship values like letting up on an obviously overthrown ball, or helping up an opponent.

[PanamaRef]

Thanks,  I have been working on my position with the flag football games.  I know it will not be the same but with the runs I am thinking it will help as these guys tend to run all over the place. 

In tackle we have a few teams that bunch the d-line as most of the offenses are run based.  I have been about 10 yards off the ball and then work towards the line. 

Add 50 lbs.  Pack Snickers bars in your pocket.  Look out for crossing receivers.

no offense but at 5'6" and 180lbs I really do not want to add another 50.  I have started the snickers bar before each game so I am sure that 50 lbs will catch up to me but  I am hoping that with all this other  I am doing it will not catch up to me to soon.


Thanks for all the advice.

[RickKY]

To correct my mistake.  Staying inside the DT's is not what I meant.  I intended to say inside the DE's.  Sorry, but I got crossed by mixing OT's and DE's. 

I vary my position so that the offense can rely on me being in one spot to use as a pick for the TE.  I try to line up opposite the TE.  It is not necessary to be on the opposite side of the formation as the R.  Many U's think this is so, but I would argue with them.

[busman]

All good advice.  Let me add:

Some U's will never get outside the hashes to retrieve a ball.  That is old school.   If it's less than 15 yards downfield, go get it.  You don't have anything else to do!

As plays develop outside the hash and you turn to face it, remember that your wing is watching for penalties to the ball carrier.  Widen your vision and watch for action around the ball - blocks in the back, holds, blocks below the waist, personal foul by D warding off the blocker.  If you focus too much on the ball carrier, you will miss some things that everyone else in the stadium will see.

If you are on the side of the field where the new ball is on kickoffs, or fortunate enough to have balls from both teams on that side, get the ball boys to shadow you.  As soon as you get a spot, you can just turn and get the new ball coming in.  If the other wingman has the spot, you've got the ball already.  If it's your spot, simply toss it to the white hat to spot off your foot.

Don't toss your bean bag into a pile.  Drop it on the right yard line, even if the action is on the sideline.  It's the yardline that you need for a reference point.

On punts, first stay out of the way, secondly verbalize "Don't hold him, don't hold him", and finally, just turn.  Don't try to take off down the field.  Let the action come to you.  When everyone is down, you see there are no flags, then look to the proper side to get the new ball and move to the new spot.  If there are flags down, maintain the LOS.  Remember, your Linesman has moved downfield, so you've got to assume secondary responsibility for the chains and the LOS if he is having to hold a spot or reporting a foul to the R.  If the flag is on the LOS, go cover it.

Before marking penalties, make sure everything is right.  You control the tempo.  if something doesn't seem right, call for help.  "Hey, isn't this supposed to be marked from the spot, not the LOS?" or " We are inside the 30, so it's half the distance, not 15 yards." Don't move until you know everything is right.  That's a lot easier than having to pick the ball up a second time and move it.

And finally, get in the habit of marking penalties mathmatically, not with steps.  Do the math in your head.  15 yards from the 35 is the 20.  When R says mark it, go straight to the 20 and set the ball.  If you try to mark it off, you will miss spot it.

Have fun, stay healthy, and make sure you don't get killed.

[James]

And finally, get in the habit of marking penalties mathmatically, not with steps.  Do the math in your head.  15 yards from the 35 is the 20.  When R says mark it, go straight to the 20 and set the ball.  If you try to mark it off, you will miss spot it.

Here is a question that probably doesn't apply in America:
In Europe there are a lot of fields that are not built for football, and might have a slightly different length than expected. They split it into 12 equal sections and we work with what we have, but it might be that each zone is only 8 1/2 or maybe 11 yards (respectively a lot of them mark them off in meters instead of yards).
Suppose you have a short field and the zones are 9 yards apart. Ball is on the 50 and you have a 10 yards penalty. Do you place it on the 40, or walk the 10 steps? I think you have to walk the steps off - because we need to stay consistant, and most of the time we do not have such clear references for the position.
Of course, before the game I walk the field 3-4 times to get used to the zone size and try to adjust my paces to match 10 steps to a zone. Doesn't always work though...

[With_Two_Flakes]

Here is a question that probably doesn't apply in America:
In Europe.......They split it into 12 equal sections.......it might be that each zone is only 8 1/2 or maybe 11 yards.....

It's not an issue for folks in the US, but just one of the problems we face out in the rest of the world.

I've seen that too when I've worked games around Europe. Another thing I often see in Europe is that they start at each Endzone (which they make 10yds) and then mark the field toward the middle and end up with some odd number of yards around midfield. I've seen 93 yard fields and if you mark a penalty near midfield you better be careful you get it right.

Here in the UK, we encouraged the league to make their teams do it a better way.  Instead of odd number of yards in the field of play we adjust the endzone size. Now they start in the middle and mark 100 or 90 or 80 yards and adjust the Endzone size to between 7 and 13 yards accordingly. Seems to work pretty well.

[RickKY]

Working only between that hash marks is old school.  It is important to get outside the hash for ball retrieval, and to unpile the players, and keep order around the pile watching for late action.  The white hat should be perfectly capable of spotting the ball to speed up the dead ball intervals.  I know in 7-man mechanics the white hat spots the ball often, and the same can work in 5-man.

[PanamaRef]

well like in the UK we do not have well marked fields or the right size fields.  we do not have hash marks, we are lucky if we have a marked field other than the sidelines and end zone.

[RickKY]

Taht makes your job easier, since you can spot the ball anywhere and never need to measure. 

[Bob M.]

What advice can you give to a HL that is now moving to the U position? I was given this notice over the weekend and am now looking up everything I can find for the position.

REPLY: Find out when the local supermarkets have the two-fer sale on the family size packages of Snickers.

[tiger7171]

yes hat is great advice.i am also thinking about moving inside from the wing position . i know if run is in middle of field you spot in middle. what if it is not in middle and half way to hash . where you spot?

[Welpe]

yes hat is great advice.i am also thinking about moving inside from the wing position . i know if run is in middle of field you spot in middle. what if it is not in middle and half way to hash . where you spot?

I bet the rule book has the answer...

Inside the hashes, the ball is spotted where it becomes dead.  Outside the hashes, you bring it to the nearest hash.

[tiger7171]

rule book? what is a rule book?

[waltjp]

If they pass block, you need to get to the LOS.  If they run block, you need to be in position to see the lead blocking, but not get run over.

And if it's a draw, say your prayers.