Officiating 2019

[Johnny South]

I wasn't going to say anything about officials since they are an endangered species nowadays, but after I watched the game on Friday night, the more I thought about it I just had to say something. I suppose they are so in need for anyone who wants to wear a striped shirt they will just take anybody off the street. The officiating was atrocious! I have seen better games called by high school kids back in the days when they were used to call jr high games. Are all of the Chapters this hard up?

 

[WarEagle]

What Chapter?

I have officiated out of the Austin Chapter for a number of years and I can tell you it is a struggle every year to find quality officials. My boys played 11 man UIL 5A up until last year and while I had never officiated 6 man games prior to that, I was appalled at some of the officiating that I saw last year. My youngest played in Bryan this Saturday and that crew out of Bryan was superior to the "train wreck of a crew" that officiated the state semi final game we played in last year and it was the same chapter.

Point is with the shortage of "zebras" it is a constant struggle.

-War Eagle

 

[Johnny South]

The sad part of the situation was that they drug the game out for so long with their frivolous penalty calling, that the players on both teams were exhausted enough that some serious injuries could have easily occurred. Both teams were going hard every down. You know that when a kid gets totally exhausted, his decision making ability is not good.

What Chapter

I heard they were from the Brownwood chapter.

 

[WarEagle]

The sad part of the situation was that they drug the game out for so long with their frivolous penalty calling, that the players on both teams were exhausted enough that some serious injuries could have easily occurred. Both teams were going hard every down. You know that when a kid gets totally exhausted, his decision making ability is not good.

What Chapter

I heard they were from the Brownwood chapter.

I agree they take over the game and draw it out. The problem is safety is driven home and they lose site of other factors while trying to control the tempo of the game.

 

[JasonTX]

Unfortunately the day will come when there are no more officials. In the year 2018 the stats were disturbing. 46.9% of all officials across the whole state were 50 years or older. Only 12% were 29 or younger. How long can we keep riding those "older" guys. The average age of a new member is 37.4 years. 25.9% are already 40 to 49 years old when they first join. Basically we are not getting any younger and if we have a mass exodus of the "old" guys, then say goodbye to football. That's the reality. Are we in panic mode? Absolutely. I know my chapter had recruited 85 potential new members. These were people who responded to our marketing. We only had 2 people show up to our first training session. We kept pushing and are now at 18 new members. The problem is we had 18 members retire last year so our numbers did not go up any at all. The majority of those who retired were first year members that just didn't return for their second season. So all we keep doing is getting new members each year but we can't get any to stick around. We feel pretty good when a member makes it to year 5 because that's the year when the light bulbs start to turn on and they start to get a grasp of the game. The state does surveys on members who don't return and the top 3 reasons are Job, Family, and Coaches/Fan abuse. 48% of respondents indicated that abuse was the reason they don't return. I know that coaches jobs are on the line, but they are also on the line if there aren't any officials. Without officials it's just recess or sandlot football. I have been doing this for 19 years and I was one of the most abusive fans there was. There was a reason nobody sat next to me. I was that guy, you know, the loud obnoxious guy. I thought I knew everything and I decided I was going to join just to go show them how it's done. They handed me a rule book and everything I thought I knew proved to be wrong. I was so confused about football that it became a foreign language. I have worked everything from peewee to college in that time period and I can honestly say that I am still learning. I still haven't worked a perfect game. I still haven't seen a perfectly coached or played game either. Maybe we can all achieve that on the same day. Until then, I'll keep plugging away until they haul me off the field in a hearse. My challenge to everyone, thank the new and old officials you see and make them feel proud about taking up the stripes. Make it a fun experience for them.

 

[Happy99]

Jason you are absolutely correct. I too was that obnoxious guy in the stands — until I volunteered to referee some flag football games. The chewing I got from that gave me a respect and understanding for officials. Thank you for your dedication.

 

[FCSA football]

Well said! All officials are human and therefore fallible, just ask the Saints fans. Our officials do a good job overall especially since they get the Big Bucks. Ha !
There are times that I have called my TASO contact to complain and ask he review film in hopes it could be used for training purposes. Unfortunately for me all too often I’m the one who gets trained.
All in all most of guys try to do a good job and do. Yes there are mistakes, but we need them, they actually Don’t need us. So unless you feel that the kids are really in danger, you may not like it, but the alternative is not feasible or acceptable. We changed to the Austin chapter and we have had great experience overall.
Why did we change? Well the chapter we formerly used waited until noon of the day of our Homecoming Game to tell me they didn’t have a crew coming. I called TASO HQ, and they gave me a name from the Austin Chapter and we had a crew show up 5 hours later. We offer to pay the fees for the Officals to the home team if they use the Austin chapter. It’s not always smooth sailing but it’s dependable and reasonably consistent and that’s really all you can ask for.

 

[51eleven]

Unfortunately the day will come when there are no more officials. In the year 2018 the stats were disturbing. 46.9% of all officials across the whole state were 50 years or older. Only 12% were 29 or younger. How long can we keep riding those "older" guys. The average age of a new member is 37.4 years. 25.9% are already 40 to 49 years old when they first join. Basically we are not getting any younger and if we have a mass exodus of the "old" guys, then say goodbye to football. That's the reality. Are we in panic mode? Absolutely. I know my chapter had recruited 85 potential new members. These were people who responded to our marketing. We only had 2 people show up to our first training session. We kept pushing and are now at 18 new members. The problem is we had 18 members retire last year so our numbers did not go up any at all. The majority of those who retired were first year members that just didn't return for their second season. So all we keep doing is getting new members each year but we can't get any to stick around. We feel pretty good when a member makes it to year 5 because that's the year when the light bulbs start to turn on and they start to get a grasp of the game. The state does surveys on members who don't return and the top 3 reasons are Job, Family, and Coaches/Fan abuse. 48% of respondents indicated that abuse was the reason they don't return. I know that coaches jobs are on the line, but they are also on the line if there aren't any officials. Without officials it's just recess or sandlot football. I have been doing this for 19 years and I was one of the most abusive fans there was. There was a reason nobody sat next to me. I was that guy, you know, the loud obnoxious guy. I thought I knew everything and I decided I was going to join just to go show them how it's done. They handed me a rule book and everything I thought I knew proved to be wrong. I was so confused about football that it became a foreign language. I have worked everything from peewee to college in that time period and I can honestly say that I am still learning. I still haven't worked a perfect game. I still haven't seen a perfectly coached or played game either. Maybe we can all achieve that on the same day. Until then, I'll keep plugging away until they haul me off the field in a hearse. My challenge to everyone, thank the new and old officials you see and make them feel proud about taking up the stripes. Make it a fun experience for them.

Bravo! If you want to continue the Grand Tradition of not only Sixman Football, get involved. No Officials means no games.

 

[tdog5344]

Most positive responses I've seen in a while and I totally agree... once you volunteer it's a new ballgame. Don't complain but become part of the solution. I for one think Johhny South who is an expert in 6man football would make an excellent REf...

 

[Johnny South]

I for one think Johhny South who is an expert in 6man football would make an excellent REf...

Thank you, TDog, for the vote of confidence. I believe that I may apply. The fields will have to be handicap assessable, and I may have to put wide tires on my wheelchair. From what I can tell, the requirements for acceptance are not that rigorous. Just have a warm body.

 

[rainjacktx]

Getting on a message board and complaining about the officiating achieves absolutely nothing. Unless whining and moaning for attention is your thing.

Comtact the chapter the officials work out of and let them know. If it was a sixman game from a smaller chapter, odds are there were at least 3 rookies on that crew who were calling their very first varsity contest.

The shortage is very real. My chapter has 4 games they can't cover on September 20th. Pretty much if you've passed the exam and have a whistle, you'll be calling in a varsity games. 9/20.

Talk is cheap. And taking internet warrior swipes at men and women who actually give up a sizeable chunk of their time to be at your game is really kind of pathetic.

 

[JasonTX]

Just have a warm body.

Heartbeat optional.

 

[tsmbwm]

I saw some really bad officiating this weekend and I would normally not say anything as long as it is consistently bad on both sides. The kids will have to adjust to what is being or not being called.

My only beef is that there does need to be more emphasis and training on player safety. I watched 5 kids get taken out of the game because of targeting, flagrant fouls, crackbacks, and blocks in the back and no flags were thrown. One kid had a concussion after the opposing player picked him up and slammed him helmet first down into the turf WWE style. No flag or warning. One thing I do expect from the refs is to keep up some level of safety for the kids.

 

[coachj25]

When I was college we had to take an officiating class. We worked the lubbock jr high games. That is how I got into officiating during college. My the chapters should go that route . They only complaint I have is the blocking below the waist on a peel back block. Happened twice. Same team did it in a scrimmage. I talked to the officials about it before the game. I assumed after the explanation that it would fall under the flagrant targeting rule. This is something that is coached. Please take a real close look at this

 

[JasonTX]

When I was college we had to take an officiating class. We worked the lubbock jr high games. That is how I got into officiating during college. My the chapters should go that route . They only complaint I have is the blocking below the waist on a peel back block. Happened twice. Same team did it in a scrimmage. I talked to the officials about it before the game. I assumed after the explanation that it would fall under the flagrant targeting rule. This is something that is coached. Please take a real close look at this

Blocking below the waist and targeting are two completely different animals.

 

[JasonTX]

When I was college we had to take an officiating class. We worked the lubbock jr high games. That is how I got into officiating during college. My the chapters should go that route . They only complaint I have is the blocking below the waist on a peel back block. Happened twice. Same team did it in a scrimmage. I talked to the officials about it before the game. I assumed after the explanation that it would fall under the flagrant targeting rule. This is something that is coached. Please take a real close look at this

In Sacramento, CA if a parent has a child playing youth football, that parent must officiate 2 games. For them it is more about giving that parent a different perspective and the bonus is that some of these parents may actually like officiating and sign up to get further involved in officiating.

 

[FCSA football]

I saw some really bad officiating this weekend and I would normally not say anything as long as it is consistently bad on both sides. The kids will have to adjust to what is being or not being called.

My only beef is that there does need to be more emphasis and training on player safety. I watched 5 kids get taken out of the game because of targeting, flagrant fouls, crackbacks, and blocks in the back and no flags were thrown. One kid had a concussion after the opposing player picked him up and slammed him helmet first down into the turf WWE style. No flag or warning. One thing I do expect from the refs is to keep up some level of safety for the kids.

Where can I get a copy of the film of that game ?

 

[Redraider092]

I saw some really bad officiating this weekend and I would normally not say anything as long as it is consistently bad on both sides. The kids will have to adjust to what is being or not being called.

My only beef is that there does need to be more emphasis and training on player safety. I watched 5 kids get taken out of the game because of targeting, flagrant fouls, crackbacks, and blocks in the back and no flags were thrown. One kid had a concussion after the opposing player picked him up and slammed him helmet first down into the turf WWE style. No flag or warning. One thing I do expect from the refs is to keep up some level of safety for the kids.

FCSA appropriately requested information how to obtain game film. All games and scrimmages are filmed now days. To say there's no film available by either team is saying the accusations listed did not occur as described. I'm not saying that's the case here. Just saying there's film somewhere on this game. If someone could kindly provide some additional information this could be accomplished. What teams were playing, where was the game being played, what specific date, etc????