High School Football Official – Reviewing Game Films

03.06.2009 | Author: tory | Posted in Football

Today we are going to talk about watching game films – so just how good are you?

Do you think your crew is good, great, or even perfect? If you think your crew is perfect, and that there is no room for improvement – pack up that whistle, flags, and stripes and retire. But seriously, one of the ways a crew can get better is to watch film of your crew officiating a game.

You can request a copy of the game film from the athletic director or head coach. This year our crew started bringing a blank DVD and a shipping envelope, addressed back to me with postage applied. We hand this to the coach or AD and ask for a copy of the game film. Then when it arrives we set up dinner at someone’s house and watch the game film together.

Everyone anticipates a really good display of their skills. Watching film helps each person to critique themselves and to offer advice to each other. Prior to watching the game film we vow to not be nit picky. We also decide to each take 1 – 3 things away from the film review that we can work on to get better individually. This is a learning tool – you will be surprised at what you might or might not see your crew do. You make your crew better by working to improve, listening to coaches, offering advice or asking for advice. Watching game film is no different – it’s a learning tool for everyone.

Watching the game film:

  • We find the good points to point out
  • We also find the bad points
  • We look for each other in proper position
  • We look for stopping the clock
  • We look for continuing officiating – it is very easy to stop officiating on a play
  • We look for missed player actions – it is very easy to “Not” see a cheap shot or what appears to be a cheap shot
  • It is also very helpful to slow down the action to see what you might or might not have called on a particular play.
  • We critique our selves on measurements
    • running play coverage
    • position
    • action in and around each person’s zone
    • action that continues out of bounds
    • potential late hits
  • Game film is also a great way to help you keep a log/journal of things you want to improve on each game, each play and each year.

In the end all of us want to get better and this is a great tool to help you reach that goal.

For more valuable tips for high school football officials, visit my blog at http://www.thefootballreferee.com

I am a 10 year veteran of high school football officiating in Colorado. I invite fellow officials and others interested in becoming an official to view my blog at: http://www.thefootballreferee.com

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