JustRules

That was a change after the original rule so it's possible the document is outdated.

Watched the clip. The crew did none of the things you should do when enforcing a penalty. No conversation between the U and another official (maybe they had radios and someone communicated to him or the near side wing gave a visual signal? He didn't check off the distance with the wing before moving. He didn't verify with a wing he was at the right spot before putting the ball down. This not only looked like a situation of going to fast. It skipped a bunch of steps that could have prevented this from happening.

Sometimes crews just make mistakes. Someone needs to recognize this isn't right and correct it before the next down. A common communication when the ball is near mid-chain (4 to 6 yards from the LTG), the H will communicate things like "5 will get us one" or "uphill/downhill". What they are saying is a 5-yard penalty by the defense will result in a first down. I wonder if the H looked at the chain and saw the box was in front of the mark midway on the chain an announced "5 will get us 1" without thinking they were at the B8. That was still in the head when the R and U processed the penalty enforcement so they didn't consider half the distance. Maybe they went to fast and overlooked it. None of that excuses this error. They were wrong and this should not happen. But this proves if you don't concentrate and slow down, you will make mistakes like this.

This is one where you have to trust the covering official that is in the right position and looking at all the action. There is no hesitation in his call and he appears confident. But he doesn't oversell to try to convince everyone he is right. I agree this is a very good crew so based on that, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. None of these video angles show anything definitively either way and people on both sides can probably use it to prove it was the right or wrong call.

At quick glance this looks accurate. One thing Indiana does differently from a mechanical standpoint is in regards to the dead ball signal (arm raised over their head). If the covering official signals to stop the clock for a first down in bounds or any runner out of bounds or if they signal incomplete, they also need to give the dead ball signal. The IHSAA doesn't think play clock operators are able to know to se the clock to 40 and start it without that signal. I ask the play clock operator every week if they know what to do without that signal and every one has said yes.

Rose did replace that field a few years ago. It ended up being too time consuming and costly to maintain that type of field. It's much harder than a regular bluegrass field. It was an amazing surface. Their turf is also really nice and using some advanced technology thanks to the engineering at Rose, but the Bermuda grass was still better.

To be fair the Bermuda grass the NFL players get to play is very different than the hard ground and Kentucky bluegrass on high school fields. Those surfaces look and feel like an artificial surface but nicer.

This is close. The defender is not guilty of a personal foul against a defenseless receiver if he wraps him up as part of the hit. It looks like the defender may do this, but I can't tell for sure. You also have a potential targeting call since his helmet may have hit the defender high causing the helmet to come off. I can't tell for sure on this video if the helmet was contacted. Helmets do come off on legal hits like this if they aren't tight enough.

They are allowed to line up in a free kick formation (same as a kickoff). Put the ball on a tee and the receiving team has to be at least 10 yards from the ball. If the kick goes through the uprights they are awarded 3 points. It needs to happen near the end of a half. The team needs to have fair caught a kick. And they need to be close enough their kicker has a fighting chance to make it. It's very rare for all those items to line up at the same time.

Correct. The IHSAA piloted this class last year with a few HSs around the state. They are very involved with the efforts to recruit new officials as well. We'll see how good engagement and follow up is from them and the local officials as well.

Great play! Hopefully they include this. This is a great example of why I tell coaches and players by rule a FG is generally the same as a punt but it can score 3 points for the kicking team. If this had been downed at the spot of recovery, it would have been your ball at that spot 1st and 10. Most think it would return to the previous spot or the 20, but that's now how the HS rule is written. Just like if you punted it to the R5 and downed it, that's where R will get the ball.

The thing is there is no "coaches box". There is the restricted area and team area, but many coaches feel the restricted area is their area and this is the area where the chain crew operates so I assumed that was the area he was referring to. I could be wrong. Teams get excited over there and often get in the way unintentionally. It's not uncommon though for chain crews to have to move through several coaches and players to get to the next line to gain. Since only players entering the field as a substitute and 3 coaches are supposed to be there, it should be fairly clear. But often it's not. It's not likely something that would get flagged. If the chain crew is trying to get into the team area for some reason, that's on them if it gets tight. I've never seen a chain crew try to move in the team area though.

Agreed! And kudos to the officials for knowing it as well. Hopefully they submit this for the IFOA training video.

The white area where the chain crew moves is NOT for coaches. They are allowed by rule to have 3 coaches in that area between plays, but that is NOT the coach's area. It's the official's area to work and the chain crew is part of the officiating crew. Many schools will have an extra 2-yard belt behind that for the coaches and they will put the players behind that. That is not a rule thing though. If coaches are going to come into the restricted area (the 2-yard white area along the sideline. they need do so without getting in the way of the chain crew. During this dead ball period though they would not get a flag for interference unless they blatantly and intentionally did something to the chain crew or other officials.

Youth leagues is where most new officials get their start. It's also where the most abuse happens from parents and coaches. It's also why we lose a lot of new officials. Cleaning that up will go a LONG way to addressing our shortage. The problem is the people doing the abusing don't see what they do as abusing. They feel they are in their right to yell at officials if they feel they are getting something wrong. Cheer for your kid and their team and buy them ice cream after. Leave the officials alone.

Definitely an idea worth pursuing. We would have a hard time finding 165 (or possibly 200+) that would be necessary to fill these spots. These officials would also need to work sub-varsity, middle school, and youth games. That's where we lose a lot of new officials. The behavior of parents and coaches at those levels are the worst. This is true in all youth sports and why most have shortages. Until that behavior changes we will have a hard time retaining new officials. Money will help some of them stick it out long enough, but most leave because it's not worth it. Something similar that would help would be getting these people to be on the chain crew and/or clock operators. That's something other states do with new or retired officials. The main issue will be finding the people to do it.

Two issues with this chart. It only applies for plays with no loss of player possession (even if recovered by A). Thus the "Succeeding Spot" references create a lot of confusion if the runner fumbles. Then the basic spot would be the end of the related run. For a regular running play with no loss of possession the end of the run and the succeeding spot are likely the same spot. The rules editor really made this much more complicated than it needed to be. The only real change is that for most fouls by the offense that occurred behind the LOS (exception for things like illegal forward pass, intentional grounding, illegal kick or bat) or any foul that occurs during a running play that ends behind the LOS, the enforcement spot is the previous spot. So holds by the offense behind the LOS and defensive holding or facemask on a running play where the run ends behind the LOS. Anything else is the same as last year.

The announcers say it was blown dead at the snap, but I'm not sure that's true. This would be the correct enforcement if he was down before the ball came out as well. I believe that's what the crew ruled. Based on the replay I saw it was very close and a judgement call by the officials. An illegal shift like this is a live ball foul at the snap that does not shut down the play.

Sometimes new officials not yet ready for varsity games or maybe someone interested in being an official. It could also be a retired or injured official helping out. The fact he had full gear on I would expect he was ready to go in case someone got hurt.

Could have been an observer, but they usually sit in the press box to get a broader view of the mechanics. More likely someone tagging along with the crew and tracking fouls.

The main reason they don't do it is there are enough coaches who want the chance to get an easy draw in the first round if they have a team that struggled. If they seed the top 4 in a sectional, they are assured of going on the road in the first round to a much better team. The current system the 2-7 team has a chance to draw the 1-8 team in the first round and get a tournament win. As long as enough coaches are of that mindsight, this will never be changed. A few internet posters and a small sampling of anonymous coaches is not a majority. The fans seem to care a lot more about this than coaches or players.

Purdue did a study several years ago and found there were more concussions from the repeated bashing of helmets from lineman than the big hits on runners and receivers. They latter group just gets more attention. Those players though also can get the repeated minor hits that could result in a concussion. I've always assumed those were the types of concussions the Guardian Caps were supposed to help prevent. The big hits to the head will happen no matter what you are wearing.

My son played tennis and they would have open courts throughout the summer but followed the same moratorium weeks. I've also known swimmers who did club swimming over the summer, but the high school coach couldn't be involved in any practices or meets during the moratorium weeks.

Did you complete the application? Did you receive your rule books and access the rules test? These are important steps to complete in the process. As Bob mentioned, we can help connect you with local officials that can help you get on the field for scrimmages this summer and with assigners for youth, middle school and sub-varsity games for the Fall.

I'm from one of the many states that uses co-ops for the small schools and they vary from sport to sport. The thought of potential conflict never crosses anyone's minds. Ultimately high school sports are about participation with a good dose of competition. Allowing the co-ops provides more opportunities for some students to participate.