Looking to improve your ability as an official? Sign up for a USA Football Officiating Seminar or School to learn how some of the best in the business stay on top of their game.
Every football official at each specific level of the sport has the same rulebook to follow, yet no two officials perceive every rule the same way.
The rules as written on paper are simple facts, but the philosophy on how to call each game is a matter of personal opinion. USA Football's Officiating Seminars, run by NFL Umpire Tony Michalek and Big Ten/Arena Football League Referee Bill LeMonnier, seek to make games called as consistently as humanly possible. Both Michalek and Lemonnier oversee USA Football's officiating resources, which are available to all officiating members.
"The philosophies on many rules are different," said LeMonnier, who has been a college football official since 1980 and worked several premier Bowl games. "For example, a receiver gets both feet in bounds as they fall, but they lose the football as they go to the ground, out of bounds. We call it incomplete now for consistency, to make a catch a catch. If it happened in the middle of the field, a ball coming out in that fashion would be incomplete, so it should be on the sideline as well."
The seminars are one-day classroom sessions, as opposed to the two-day officiating schools. The day consists of the group as a whole discussing specific items, breakout sessions by position and topic and presentations by guest speakers, including NFL and Division I officials.
Seminar attendees will watch and discuss video of notable plays from the 2008 season, mostly from local high school games.
"The best way to get better is to watch yourself work and gain experience," said Michalek, the director of USA Football's Officiating Department. "Our goal is to teach the officials that attend our seminars better mechanics and an improved philosophy on how to make calls, as well as increasing participation in football officiating at all levels."
After holding just three in 2008, USA Football has expanded the 2009 schedule to include 14 officiating seminars, which are now open for registration. Locations for the events range from Los Angeles to Woburn, Mass.
"While not quite as extensive and detailed as the officiating schools, the seminars are still top notch and more affordable," LeMonnier said.
In such a tough economic time, the very affordable registration fee of $75 makes more officials likely to participate and work to improve their strategies for the upcoming season.
In addition to the 14 seminars, both Michalek and LeMonnier have been invited to several officiating seminars overseas and hope the opportunity allows for a worldwide consistency when it comes to football officiating.
"The game is getting faster, and athletes are faster and stronger," LeMonnier said, stressing the great importance of keeping officiating fresh. "We have to keep up with the game. If you sit dormant, your career is going to take a downward slide. We have to stay on top of the way the game is being played."
For a complete list of seminar locations, click here.
