Training for Rookie Officials

[BackJudge4Life]

I'm writing a paper for school about a training program for rookie officials.  Does your state or associations have them? What kind of information is included? How long does the training last?
Thanks for the help.

[ljudge]

This varies (obviously) all over the place; even within states.  For example, here in NJ the officials are divided into chapters that have their own specific training requirements. For football we have a cadet program that consists of two full seasons worth of training before our officials are allowed to work a versity football game.  The training program requires weekly classroom instruction of the rules along with tests.  Our officials are required to work a full schedule of freshman and jv games where they will work with varsity officials and apply what they learn in the clasroom to the field.  They are evaluated for their performance in terms of rules knowledge, positioning, handling players/coaches (people skills), physical ability, etc.  At the end of the season they are required to take an exam that requires a passing grade (80 or better) to move on to the second year of the program, or for guys in their 2nd year, to move on to take the states certification exam.  Also during these two seasons the officials are required to work some clock assignments, chain assignments, and to sit in on a few varsity pre-game conferences.  When guys come in my pregames (I'm a referee at this level) I actually include them in the discussion and allow them to walk the sidelines and stand behind the calling official so they can see things the way the varsity guy sees it and what he does and does not call.  Of course we do this professionally and not disrupt the crew or distract the working official.  the schools have never had an issue with this because it's clear the guy is standing their on his own time "for free" to learn, and what coach doesn't want an official to be prepared?  In fact, they welcome this.  Hope this helps.  And, good luck with your paper.

[Razor]

I used to call in North Jersey Association from 1996 and 1997.  I transferred up there from La.   

I also called in Va. and now Florida.  All were a little different.  In La., the first season was mostly as a clock operator at the varsity level and all feild assignments were at the freshman and JV level, as well as recreation games.  Also you attended mandatory rules meetings the first two years.  After that, you just joined a rules meetings with other officials.  Field mechanics were taught by the veterans and were also mandatory the first 2 years.  Attending high school scrimmages was also mandatory in the first two years.  I think 80 was the minimum score on the rules test t officiate varsity.

Florida trains its officials much the same way.  However, you do have to attend a FHSAA sponsored clinic once every four years to be eligible for playoff assignments.  Each association does conduct its own rules and field mechanics training.  75 on the closed book test is the minimum to officiate varsity. Florida does rate its officials based upon years of service, clinic attendance and closed book test scores. 

As a transfer official you were expected to attend all the rookie meetings to get accustomed to the rules and the mechanics of the association as well as scrimmages. 

 

       
 

[BackJudge4Life]

Thanks for the input guys.  A couple other questions:
- What happens if an official doesn't make it to a mandatory clinic?
- Are most states hurting for officials? If so, how do associations take away assignments if there's not enough officials to cover games?

[James]

We don't have the same set up as in the states, but have various leagues, basically levels 1 (best) through 5.
Our officials also get certified to various levels - basically 5 (new) to 1.
Every official must attend a mandatory class every year (2 weekends for new guys, 1 weekend for everyone else) and pass a test.
Generally you can only officiate at your level and below, with exceptions for good performance and availability.

That's it for us. We tried informal (not mandatory) meetings and drink/chat sessions but only ever got the same people. Turn out was bad!

[LarryW60]

If you want to check out an example of a training program schedule, here's the one our Association used this past year:
http://www.nvfoa.com/training_program.htm

Rookies go through two years of training before they are considered for Varsity work.  First-year trainees are designated T1's and second-year trainees and/or transfers from other areas are T2's so they can get our mechanics down before they hit the Varsity field.

Trainees typically work Rec league and JV/Freshman games during their training years with an experienced Varsity White Hat.

What happens if an official doesn't make it to a mandatory clinic?

The only MANDATORY clinic is the State Rules Clinic held before each season.  They hold it multiple times around the State, so there's no real reason to miss it unless you were in Afghanistan all Summer.  If you DO miss it, you are not certified to work Varsity games for that year.

In addition to the State Rules Clinic, our Association requires a minimum attendance to the bi-weekly Association meetings as well as the year-end Association Business Meeting.  Miss too many of those and it can affect whether you are recommended for post-season work in the Regionals and States.

Are most states hurting for officials? If so, how do associations take away assignments if there's not enough officials to cover games?

There is ALWAYS a need for new officials.  Even if an Association is "flush" with officials, injuries, out of town travel for work, and family emergencies can create scheduling problems.  As it takes two years (at least) to get an official ready for Varsity, a career-ending injury can take some time to replace.  In those times where there might be a shortage, we try to borrow from a neighboring Association who usually has some officials unassigned on any given week.  We've also asked the schools to schedule some of their games on a Saturday rather than a Friday night to reduce the number of games we have to cover on any given night.  As an inducement, we've offered them 7-man crews for the price of a 5-man crew.  They are reluctant to do so, however, because apparently the "gate" for a weekend game is lower than for a Friday night game.