Several key officiating topics were at the heart of the first football officiating clinic on American Samoa, held from March 17-20.
Conducted by USA Football officiating member Matthew Sumstine, who also is a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and Mountain West Conference (MWC) side judge, the landmark four-day curriculum in the football hotbed was met with open ears.
"The idea of letting the kids play is probably going to have more of an impact on the American Samoan game than anything else we discussed," said Sumstine, a Hawaii resident whose passion for officiating led him to organize and direct the historic clinic 2,600 miles from his home.
"If we have a minor holding call on one side of the field that has no impact on the play, we don't want to call that," he said. "We'd rather deal with that player individually with some type of warning instead of a penalty that could change the game."
A veteran of dozens of officiating clinics as a clinician and an attendee, this was Sumstine's most rewarding.
"Most clinics I've conducted have been with officials who are experienced with polished mechanics. The officials in Samoa, although they've been officiating a long time, have never had guidance and the amount of improvement made was the best I've ever seen. That in itself made it extremely gratifying, as well as how incredibly receptive these officials were to everything."
Among those in the officiating trade who have been most influential to Sumstine include USA Football's Tony Michalek, who was the umpire in February's Super Bowl, and Bill LeMonnier, the Big Ten's highest-graded referee who called January's Orange Bowl.
"Tony and Bill always tell me that whenever they host a clinic they learn something new," said Sumstine. "When two guys at the top of their profession say something like that it means something.
"Along with those guys, USA Football's involvement with me personally has taken me to a different level of training, which has given me the desire to give back and help people. Anytime I'm given the opportunity to host an event like this I jump at it. These Samoan officials are incredible people, and it's an honor to be able to help develop their skills."