New Year, New Zebras

Zebra Watcher

Zebra Watcher

Don't Go Chasing Holding Calls...
Supporter
Happy New Year to everyone in our Six-man community. We are about 8 months away from the start of 2 a days. I know, why am I bringing up 2 a days in January?? It's the start of a new year, and the need for more zebras on the field is ever growing across the state. The average age of a zebra on the field is above 50 years, so the need for younger zebras is starting to add up with older zebras stepping into retirement. I am greatly appreciative of these older zebras because they worked my games in J.H. & H.S. and have helped me make the transition to being a zebra on the field. As most fans have noticed across the state, especially in six-man, the moving of games to different days to accommodate for the shortage of zebras to work games from junior high to varsity.

The preseason has begun and zebras across the state have started preparing for the upcoming season with the hopes of working a playoff game and ultimately working a state championship game in December. Film study, goal setting, zebra mentoring, rule book reading and application are becoming a weekly priority because before we know it, the season will be here. T.A.S.O. (Texas Association of Sports Officials) provides great videos of instruction from accomplished officials (H.S. and College) during the preseason that would help a rookie to a seasoned veteran get ready for the season. A very experienced official with dozens of playoff games once told me "If you wait until May, June, July, or August to prepare for the season, you have already missed the season".

This is an opportunity to positively impact your community, area schools, and the great game we all enjoy at any level. I will put a link below of chapter locations across the state. Click on one closest to you and you will find the email of leaders of those chapters. They will put you in the right direction to prepare for the upcoming season.

TASO Chapters
 
There absolutely needs to be an influx of newbies that want to make some extra money! Administrators need to make sure fans, coaches, and whoever else don't need to treat these guys like crap. I have been guilty of this (yelling), so I apologize. And as for Saturday games, they are rougher than you think. If you are thinking either a Thursday or a Saturday game, I would recommend Thursdays. This is just from my experience this past year with Saturday games.
 
Type of Game1 - 30.9 Miles31 - 60.9 Miles61 - 90.9 Miles
Varsity$100/$80$115/$80$130/$80
Varsity - Single Official$140/$120$155/$120$170/$120
Sub-Varsity: 6 Minute Quarters$75/$55$90/$55$105/$55
Sub-Varsity: 7 Minute Quarters$80/$60$95/$60$110/$60
Sub-Varsity: 8 Minute Quarters$85/$65$100/$65$115/$65
Junior High (7th & 8th Grade) - 6 Minute Quarters$65/$45$80/$45$95/$45
Junior High (7th & 8th Grade) - 7 Minute Quarters$70/$50$85/$50$100/$50
Junior High (7th & 8th Grade) - 8 Minute Quarters$75/$55$90/$55$105/$55
 
These are a few things I learned within my first year of being a Zebra and still stay with me today. Being a Zebra is a tough job to have and it will test you as a person, but it is worth it when you step on that field. It's something special to be part of a game we all love at the Zebra level. You are part of the game to make it better in a silent manner.

When I first thought about roaming the fields, I didn't think it would be that hard to zebra a game. I mean, I played football into college, watched it on tv all the time, and I definitely knew when a zebra blew a call. I could earn some extra cash by zebraing a game I already knew, or so I thought. I went to rookie training meetings and began to learn how little I really knew. I got my rule book and began reading it. So much information that it might as well have been in russian text. Penalty enforcement, game procedures, mechanics, and philosophies were all new responsibilities I wasn't prepared for because I knew nothing about it like I thought I did. I thought about bailing out and going back to being a zebra on the fence line watching from the outside. After days of reading the rules manual, mechanics manual, and video studying, I realized this was a job I was going to enjoy with time.

Then came on the field action where all the studying was to be applied in real time. The game moved so fast on the field in a SCRIMMAGE that I was doubting my ability to handle live game action. Position keys, live ball action, dead ball action had my head spinning as I tried to put the puzzle pieces together for every play. Then I had a seasoned official give a piece of advice that I carry with every time I get on the field. "Slow your mind, process the play, and report what you see". A simple phrase but this made the game change for me. This gave me the tools to start putting the puzzle pieces together. As I worked through a few scrimmages, the game began to slow down enough for me to want to continue being a zebra.

The next lesson I had to learn quickly and it was a hard one was how to handle criticism from fans and interacting with coaches. I know this is the #1 reason why most new zebras leave within the first 2 years of joining and I can't blame them. Nobody wants to be yelled at whether right, wrong, or indifferent. I have been called every name in the book from fans, a few less from coaches on the sidelines, and questioned whether I can see 3 feet in front of me. Sometimes I deserved those names and comments because I messed up and blew a call. I have no problem owning those names and comments. I earned them. A seasoned Zebra once told me "We get a split second to make a call. Live with your call. If it's wrong, make the correct call next time." Those names and comments helped me to continue to want to be a better zebra because I saw it as a challenge to my dedication to wearing the stripes. As for the fans, I just learned to tune them out and be in the present of the play I am watching. Slow down my mind, process the play, and report what I see. This comes with play repetition and many games officiated. When it came to working with the coaches, I had to learn to try to be calm in stressful situations, be present, and try to clearly communicate with them in those stressful situations. This comes with game experience and the willingness to be a better zebra.

At the end of the day, a zebra wants to do his/her best job for the athletes and coaches because they bust their ass to be the best they can when they hit the field and we owe that to them when we step on the field. This game doesn't happen without either of us, so to have the best product on the field, we both have to be our best.

My hopes are that this would inform future zebras that it is a tough job, but is able to be mastered with hard work, experience, and the understanding that you won't be perfect but will try.
 
Zebra Watcher said:
These are a few things I learned within my first year of being a Zebra and still stay with me today. Being a Zebra is a tough job to have and it will test you as a person, but it is worth it when you step on that field. It's something special to be part of a game we all love at the Zebra level. You are part of the game to make it better in a silent manner.

When I first thought about roaming the fields, I didn't think it would be that hard to zebra a game. I mean, I played football into college, watched it on tv all the time, and I definitely knew when a zebra blew a call. I could earn some extra cash by zebraing a game I already knew, or so I thought. I went to rookie training meetings and began to learn how little I really knew. I got my rule book and began reading it. So much information that it might as well have been in russian text. Penalty enforcement, game procedures, mechanics, and philosophies were all new responsibilities I wasn't prepared for because I knew nothing about it like I thought I did. I thought about bailing out and going back to being a zebra on the fence line watching from the outside. After days of reading the rules manual, mechanics manual, and video studying, I realized this was a job I was going to enjoy with time.

Then came on the field action where all the studying was to be applied in real time. The game moved so fast on the field in a SCRIMMAGE that I was doubting my ability to handle live game action. Position keys, live ball action, dead ball action had my head spinning as I tried to put the puzzle pieces together for every play. Then I had a seasoned official give a piece of advice that I carry with every time I get on the field. "Slow your mind, process the play, and report what you see". A simple phrase but this made the game change for me. This gave me the tools to start putting the puzzle pieces together. As I worked through a few scrimmages, the game began to slow down enough for me to want to continue being a zebra.

The next lesson I had to learn quickly and it was a hard one was how to handle criticism from fans and interacting with coaches. I know this is the #1 reason why most new zebras leave within the first 2 years of joining and I can't blame them. Nobody wants to be yelled at whether right, wrong, or indifferent. I have been called every name in the book from fans, a few less from coaches on the sidelines, and questioned whether I can see 3 feet in front of me. Sometimes I deserved those names and comments because I messed up and blew a call. I have no problem owning those names and comments. I earned them. A seasoned Zebra once told me "We get a split second to make a call. Live with your call. If it's wrong, make the correct call next time." Those names and comments helped me to continue to want to be a better zebra because I saw it as a challenge to my dedication to wearing the stripes. As for the fans, I just learned to tune them out and be in the present of the play I am watching. Slow down my mind, process the play, and report what I see. This comes with play repetition and many games officiated. When it came to working with the coaches, I had to learn to try to be calm in stressful situations, be present, and try to clearly communicate with them in those stressful situations. This comes with game experience and the willingness to be a better zebra.

At the end of the day, a zebra wants to do his/her best job for the athletes and coaches because they bust their ass to be the best they can when they hit the field and we owe that to them when we step on the field. This game doesn't happen without either of us, so to have the best product on the field, we both have to be our best.

My hopes are that this would inform future zebras that it is a tough job, but is able to be mastered with hard work, experience, and the understanding that you won't be perfect but will try.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your testimony. It was a very interesting read. The older I get, the more of an idiot I feel like from how I behaved towards zebras in years past. Around 10 years ago, I spoke to zebras like trash and blamed them for every problem in the world. I don't know if it was because the culture condoned it, but nevertheless it was embarrassing and uncalled for looking back on it. Bad enough that I was suspended a game. It got so bad that I reached out to my college coach, who is an amazing Godly man and mentor, and started in on all the terrible zebras we have down here in Texas. He let me vent and then he ripped into me like only a mentor really can. He said, every time a flag is called on you hold up a mirror in front of your face and ask yourself: "If it was a holding call, am I a good enough coach to teach the OL better? If it was a clip, am I a good enough coach to teach the players better? If it was a personal foul call, am I a good enough coach to teach the players better. If it was an off-sides call, am I a good enough coach to teach them not to jump off-sides."

His point...if I'm not a good enough coach to fix those issues then maybe it's time to go sell insurance or real estate. If all those penalties are out of my level of professionalism, then maybe I don't need to coach young men. However, if I can own the majority of our own penalties then I will improve as a coach and my players will improve as players. It made me be reflective instead of reactive. Sure, zebra's are going to miss or blow a call. They are human and we are all flawed. They aren't there to ruin the game. They are there because they have committed to helping the game continue to grow.

After a few games of me literally holding the mirror up, and a few emails from concerned parents and administrators, I was able to be way more involved and locked into in-game adjustments. I try to spoil the zebras that zebra our games, not because I want favoritism, but because I want them to fill appreciated for all that they do for the game.

Thank you to all zebras. You are truly appreciated..even though you call holding too much ;)
 
CoachSandersACS said:
Thanks for your testimony. It was a very interesting read. The older I get, the more of an idiot I feel like from how I behaved towards zebras in years past. Around 10 years ago, I spoke to zebras like trash and blamed them for every problem in the world. I don't know if it was because the culture condoned it, but nevertheless it was embarrassing and uncalled for looking back on it. Bad enough that I was suspended a game. It got so bad that I reached out to my college coach, who is an amazing Godly man and mentor, and started in on all the terrible zebras we have down here in Texas. He let me vent and then he ripped into me like only a mentor really can. He said, every time a flag is called on you hold up a mirror in front of your face and ask yourself: "If it was a holding call, am I a good enough coach to teach the OL better? If it was a clip, am I a good enough coach to teach the players better? If it was a personal foul call, am I a good enough coach to teach the players better. If it was an off-sides call, am I a good enough coach to teach them not to jump off-sides."

His point...if I'm not a good enough coach to fix those issues then maybe it's time to go sell insurance or real estate. If all those penalties are out of my level of professionalism, then maybe I don't need to coach young men. However, if I can own the majority of our own penalties then I will improve as a coach and my players will improve as players. It made me be reflective instead of reactive. Sure, zebra's are going to miss or blow a call. They are human and we are all flawed. They aren't there to ruin the game. They are there because they have committed to helping the game continue to grow.

After a few games of me literally holding the mirror up, and a few emails from concerned parents and administrators, I was able to be way more involved and locked into in-game adjustments. I try to spoil the zebras that zebra our games, not because I want favoritism, but because I want them to fill appreciated for all that they do for the game.

Thank you to all zebras. You are truly appreciated..even though you call holding too much ;)
Click to expand...
Way to much!!! Lol
 
Websites for Football Chapters (Click on link)

District 1 Chapter consists of the El Paso area
El Paso (Facebook)

District 2 consists of Chapters in the Amarillo, South Plains (Lubbock), and the Permian Basin (Midland/Odessa) areas
Amarillo
South Plains (Lubbock)
Permian Basin (Midland/Odessa)

District 3 consists of Chapters in North Texas (Wichita Falls), Abilene, San Angelo areas
North Texas (Wichita Falls)
Abilene
San Angelo

District 4 Chapter alone is Fort Worth
Fort Worth

District 5 Chapter alone is Dallas
Dallas

District 6 consists of Chapters in Commerce, Tyler, and East Texas (Longview) areas
Commerce
Tyler
East Texas (Longview)

District 7 consists of Chapters in Pecan Valley (Brownwood), Waco, and Central Texas (Temple) areas
Pecan Valley (Brownwood)
Waco (Facebook) Website was not safe
Central Texas (Temple)

District 8 consists of Chapters in College Station, Stephen F. Austiin (Lufkin), and Southeast (Beaumont) areas
College Station
SFA (Lufkin)
Southeast (Beaumont) No Website

District 9 Chapter alone is Austin area
Austin

District 10 Chapter alone is Houston area
Houston

District 11 Chapter alone is San Antonio area
San Antonio

District 12 Chapter consists of Corpus Christi and McAllen areas
Corpus Christi
McAllen
 

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