High School Officiating 2019

[SFLguy26]

Just some thoughts after catching the Whitney vs Lincoln game last week and the Granite Bay vs Jesuit game the week before. But it seems to me like Officiating has just been atrocious. I know its a thankless job and their not getting paid a lot of money, but if you are going to be out there at least try your best. There were some calls in the Granite Bay game where it just left me baffled in the stands and the Lincoln vs Whitney game was even worse. Last drive of the game Whitney QB scrambled to inside the 5 to set up a game winning TD but ref decided to throw a targeting flag on an O lineman who pushed a d lineman down as the QB was scrambling everywhere and basically sealed the game for Lincoln. Also the inconsistency of holding calls and pass interference its like these refs do not understand the game. I dont know I just feel like the two games I have caught this year the officiating has been terrible and fans and coaches are more frustrated on the sideline more this year than the past 9-10 years I have been taking my kids to high school games.

 

[hecanfoos]

Just some thoughts after catching the Whitney vs Lincoln game last week and the Granite Bay vs Jesuit game the week before. But it seems to me like Officiating has just been atrocious. I know its a thankless job and their not getting paid a lot of money, but if you are going to be out there at least try your best. There were some calls in the Granite Bay game where it just left me baffled in the stands and the Lincoln vs Whitney game was even worse. Last drive of the game Whitney QB scrambled to inside the 5 to set up a game winning TD but ref decided to throw a targeting flag on an O lineman who pushed a d lineman down as the QB was scrambling everywhere and basically sealed the game for Lincoln. Also the inconsistency of holding calls and pass interference its like these refs do not understand the game. I dont know I just feel like the two games I have caught this year the officiating has been terrible and fans and coaches are more frustrated on the sideline more this year than the past 9-10 years I have been taking my kids to high school games.

You should look into becoming an official.

 

[SFLguy26]

Not saying its an easy job, I am just commenting on what I have seen thus far. And if you are upset about my post i apologize. I just call it as I see it and the officiating has been the worst it has ever been.

 

[HurricaneFan1990]

It's not hard to figure out. Coaching and officiating are similar (obviously coaching infinitely more work.)

Low pay, high level of accountability, exposed to irrational people (parents and fans) who have no real understanding of football other than their slanted perceptions of their child and his perceived skill set. Administrators who want maximum production with minimum resources provided.

Yeah sign me up.....

 

[Prepwisdom]

Hey SFL- Do you know how many years of experience it takes to become a critic? ZERO. Since your such an accomplished official from the stands- just think how good you would be on the field! There is a well chronicled shortage of officials- so I would say you could become part of the solution. Officiating has and always will be an inexact endeavor- from the NFL to pop warner. It is becoming increasingly difficult to attract good young officials due to the abuse, low pay, travel requirements, meeting attendance and testing etc. As with coaches and players- there will always be good officials, average officials and bad officials. Very debatable to say whether the officiating has all of a sudden become atrocious.

 

[SFLguy26]

@Prepwisdom sorry that i triggered your anger, but like i said before I know its not an easy job and I understand that they are not getting paid millions of dollars. But like I stated, if you choose to be a ref and want to be out there do it correctly. I went to a game where on a kickoff the ball went out of bounds and the refs spotted the ball where it went out of bounds.... Not knowing it is placed at the 35 yard line. I have been around football for 30+ years, coached played etc. Officiating is straight up terrible at the high school level right now. So get mad all you want. I am just stating my opinion about the three games i have witnessed so far this year.

 

[dcpanda]

SFL, no one is angry. People just want you to sign up to referee since you are so knowledgeable.

 

[SFLguy26]

Ya thats called trolling. and is out of anger. I am not an idiot.

 

[WWHS44]

Ya can't bag on someone unless your willing to stand in their shoes....

 

[SFLguy26]

well in that case i could do a better job. Just do not have the time.

 

[Prepwisdom]

no trolling SFL- just the facts

 

[John Mellencamp]

well in that case i could do a better job. Just do not have the time.

Sounds like you make it out to a lot of games. If you’re already there why not get on on the field and have the best view of the game and get paid to do it? I do officiate other HS sports and the NCOA is always looking for knowledgeable people. Sounds like the kids could really benefit from your expertise.

 

[ThunderRam]

Sheesh. What’s up with this thread? It’s as if someone pissed in someone’s bowl of Cheerios!

I got to side with @SFLguy26 here. Dude simply gave his opinion based upon years of 1st hand observation. You don’t have to agree. You can even cite valid reasons why you disagree. But are the trollish and antagonistic responses really necessary?

If he had told you that he’s noticed a decline in the customer service he’s received at most every business he frequents, would your answer have been to go get a job in all those professions to be part of the solution?

By that logic, I hope none of you are ever critical of a movie you didn’t like or towards politicians when you don’t run for office yourself or really any activity you aren’t actively willing to perform yourself. Cause if you’re not part of the solution, you have no right to have an opinion about it, right? SMH.

The more I think about it, none of us should comment or provide thoughts about any of the HS football teams or games we watch this season unless we actually play or coach on those teams. Don’t want to be a hypocrite, right?

 

[TurtleLoveCA]

All of the leagues are having tremendous problems finding officials. In fact, some leagues are playing games on Thursday because they can't staff all games to be played Friday night.

 

[ThunderRam]

All of the leagues are having tremendous problems finding officials. In fact, some leagues are playing games on Thursday because they can't staff all games to be played Friday night.

Understandable. It’s a thankless job. I wouldn’t want to do it. Especially for basketball where the parents are relentless and right on top of the action.

Regardless, there’s nothing wrong with someone commenting on the message board about what they see. We all do it.

 

[salgovernaleisaturtle]

I agree with OP... But my opinion is... I expect it to be bad... and I hope that it doesn't affect my team negatively. I mean... isn't it less than perfect at all levels? It's a hard job. So, I just have to roll with it. I'll complain.. but it's like complaining about anything you have no control over: who's listening?

There is one, and only one solution... if we care about fixing this: pay the officials more... make it a desirable job, at least from a compensation standpoint. You have to weed out the poor quality, and the only way to do that is to get a bigger employee pool, and the only way to do THAT is to offer more money.

My guess is the schools and the section and the CIF do not have the political will, or even the means, to make that happen. OR... maybe it's reprioritzing what is important in athletics (if you even make athletics a priority)... official quality affects athlete safety, and potentially athletic dept revenue.

But this would need to be a systemic change, from the CIF down.

 

[refhoops]

The reality of the situation is there is a serious shortage of officials across the nation. There is article after article on the internet for the reason why; strong economy, older officials aging out, young officials quitting after a year or 2 because of the abuse from coaches and fan and/or threats. With the shortage of officials, assigners have no other option but to assign official(s) to a varsity game who are not ready for a varsity game. This is happening in very region and with every sport. If you look at the average age of officials working a varsity game the question everyone needs to answer is who will be officiating our games in 5 years?

 

[WWHS44]

I have been around this game long enough to know the officials get it right MOST of the time......all the time NO most of the time....YES....I also know of NO HC that has sat down and studied a rule book......they learn game by game....So if an official has to make 20 calls in a game and miss fires on 3?
Big deal it's part of the game........How many times has the coach called the wrong play? Did a team line up in the wrong formation? Motion incorrectly. This is forever long....I cam handle a conversation about it but it's not like they have instant replay and I wouldn't want to see that. It ruins the game in my mind........It can get annoying...last Friday I attended the RHS/WHS game.....I can tell you the officials let you know they were there but if you review the film closely......they were right most of the time if not all the time....

 

[ThunderRam]

I have been around this game long enough to know the officials get it right MOST of the time......all the time NO most of the time....YES....I also know of NO HC that has sat down and studied a rule book......they learn game by game....So if an official has to make 20 calls in a game and miss fires on 3?
Big deal it's part of the game........How many times has the coach called the wrong play? Did a team line up in the wrong formation? Motion incorrectly. This is forever long....I cam handle a conversation about it but it's not like they have instant replay and I wouldn't want to see that. It ruins the game in my mind........It can get annoying...last Friday I attended the RHS/WHS game.....I can tell you the officials let you know they were there but if you review the film closely......they were right most of the time if not all the time....

Mostly agree. Most the time, I don't have a huge problem with officiating and recognize the difficult situation they are in. Where I do take issue is situations like the DLS-Folsom game a few weeks back where they weren't communicating what they were calling. Not even hand gestures at times.

But going back to the original premise of the thread, I don't see the issue with @SFLguy26 providing his opinion based upon what he's been witnessing re: officiating - right or wrong. That's the reason everyone signed up for this site. To discuss all aspects of HS football and share opinions.

 

[RidgeRider]

There is a penalty on EVERY play, the key to officiating is when to call them and when not, not to mention referees have zones they cover on the field and are often loathe to make a call in another refs area of responsibility so as not to show them up. This is a judgement call but they often won't make those calls.

They have a very difficult and thankless job. Its fine to complain about them but context suggests the problem is not often their fault, it is dwindling numbers leading to newer umps being rushed (as noted above) because fans on the whole are awful.

My personal experience is they do a pretty decent job, even while I listen to people at all levels complain weekly about their inadequacies.

 

[ThunderRam]

There is a penalty on EVERY play, the key to officiating is when to call them and when not

This is one of my pet peeves with officiating at the NFL and even collegiate levels.

Nothing irritates me more than when they call a holding penalty that clearly didn't affect the outcome of the play. Something completely on the other side of the field or well away or behind the action. If they have serious doubt whether the infraction enabled the play, I get it. But sometimes it's very clear that it didn't.

So, IMO, unless the infraction is an egregious one -- such as roughness, a face mask, some other type of personal foul -- I believe they should be better about picking up those types of flags and let the play go. Illegal formation, offsides or false start aren't egregious such as personal fouls, but I fully understand those infractions negating a big play as the play really shouldn't started and can also affect coverage.

I also hate when I watch games where it seems so subjective as to how and when they are calling holding. For example, you'll see constant holding by one team that has a star QB and it's not being called but they're calling it more frequently against the other team with a lesser known QB. I just like to see consistency.

Unlike HS referees, the crews at the NFL and collegiate levels should be held to a much higher standard of performance. As you said, the best crews are the ones that understand when and when not to uphold particular types of penalties.

 

[shcguy92]

I get SFL guy wants to share his opinion but his statements are exactly why there is a shortage. To call officiating attrocious is a bit of an overstatement.

Because of this shortage, many guys with zero experience are working Varsity level games. I think if you were to get out there instead of officiating from the stands and the message boards, your opinions may have more sticking to the wall rather than running down the wall like water from a bucket.

 

[ThunderRam]

I get SFL guy wants to share his opinion but his statements are exactly why there is a shortage. To call officiating attrocious is a bit of an overstatement

It's an overstatement to you. But not to him and possibly some others.

And I completely disagree that his opinion/statement has anything to do with shortages. It's the parents/fans at the games that are heckling and in many cases challenging or threatening these poor people that is the real problem (along with not receiving much compensation for the time).

Nobody cares what is typed on an Internet message board -- unless it is an actually threat. SFL guy didn't do any of that and in fact acknowledged that it's a thankless job w/o much benefit. Furthermore he was only comparing officiating this season to what he had witnessed over the past 10+ years. What's unfair or out-of-line about that?

I think if you were to get out there instead of officiating from the stands and the message boards, your opinions may have more sticking to the wall rather than running down the wall like water from a bucket.

I don't understand why this is always the 'go to' response from people on the other end of the spectrum. It just doesn't make any sense. At all.

Do you need previous coaching experience to have an opinion/take on an in-game decision you didn't believe made sense?
Do you need to join the theater or screen actors guild to have an opinion on someone's acting performance in a movie or play?
Do you need to take up and learn a musical instrument in order to have an opinion about the live performance you witnessed at a concert?
Do you need restaurant, manufacturing or product experience in order to know that the service/product you paid for was of poor quality? Does that mean you shouldn't write a review??

Sometimes even a layman can recognize a subpar performance when they see, hear, or experience it in comparison to others. And they certainly aren't out of their element to discuss it in a public forum. Again, with regard to HS football and things tangential to it, that's what this place is for.

 

[hecanfoos]

become part of the solution.
https://ncoa.arbitersports.com/front/107475/Site

Or, sit there behind the computer and complain.

 

[FBAddict]

become part of the solution.
https://ncoa.arbitersports.com/front/107475/Site

Or, sit there behind the computer and complain.

 

[RedZone90]

become part of the solution.
https://ncoa.arbitersports.com/front/107475/Site

Or, sit there behind the computer and complain.

Identifying the problem is actually the first step in creating an effective solution.

 

[salgovernaleisaturtle]

I'll say it again... the solution is to pay the refs more... then that would spur more people to apply, which would increase overall quality.. cuz then you can pick the cream of the crop, as opposed to being stuck with anyone who wants the job.

 

[1315]

1317 wears stripes on the Peninsula. Didn’t get V game first year. Was evaluated EVERY contest whether in person or film. ONLY moved up with very positive ratings AND rules tests. Then had to be rated with physical endurance and agility. Even at 52, you’d better be able to move if you’re going to be a BJ.

That being said, many of you NCS guys remember good ole Ray D. He’d have trouble dodging a PeeWee. Part of the reason he wore the white hat: Rules guy, no wheels? aye.

 

[espot]

At the Campolindo-McClymonds game, from what I observed, the officials were allowing McClymonds "5th downs" and making calls favoring McClymonds due to bias towards Mack

 

[observer22]

At the Campolindo-McClymonds game, from what I observed, the officials were allowing McClymonds "5th downs" and making calls favoring McClymonds due to bias towards Mack

5th downs? Plural? There has to be video evidence of these egregious allowances?

 

[RidgeRider]

Officials regularly review game film to improve their skills.

 

[ThunderRam]

become part of the solution.
https://ncoa.arbitersports.com/front/107475/Site

Or, sit there behind the computer and complain.

Is it a coincidence that you're sitting behind a computer or smartphone complaining about what you perceive as complaining? Pot meet kettle. Furthermore, mocking SFLguy26 and stirring the pot isn’t part of any solution.

Heed your own advice, lead by example and become part of the solution yourself. And never publicize an opinion or criticism if you aren't getting off your own ass to enter the field in question.

Hypocrite.

 

[espot]

5th downs? Plural? There has to be video evidence of these egregious allowances?

I believe that it was intentional since the officials were biased towards McClymonds