Ohio thinks it is. This is verbatim from the weekly memo that the OHSAA sends out to administrators and head football coaches:
The Center Judge Position
Officiating football is a great challenge at all levels. The number of officials needed to adequately cover good football games, like we have in the state of Ohio, is an example of this challenge. We know with the high caliber of football in Ohio that five-person mechanics leaves many holes in coverage. The goal is to add officials to cover the important areas of our game.
When we studied the high school game, we realized that one huge area in which we need better coverage is the line of scrimmage and everything that happens in that three-yard band beyond the line of scrimmage. The center judge is a position that was added at both the collegiate and professional levels which gives great coverage to the line of scrimmage since the referee must focus on the quarterback soon after the snap (this is true at our level, also). We found the center judge position very successful in 2017 and 2018. There are other advantages to the center judge position. These mechanics give the umpire more freedom to focus on the point of attack because we have coverage on the line of scrimmage from the center judge. Also, these mechanics give us better coverage on both scrimmage kicks and free kicks.
We are very encouraged with the evolution of the center judge position and we will look to expand more each year. To do this, we need several things to happen:
1. We need to increase the number of class 1 officials to supplement regular season crews. 2. Concurrently, we need schools to assist in scheduling six-person crews to regular
season contests.
My hope is that we can work together to improve coverage in our football contests that our game demands.
I know we have a real scramble for sufficient officials to cover games in some areas using only 5. But we could start by switching to 6 by the 2nd week of the tournament. Something to think about.
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Bobref
Ohio thinks it is. This is verbatim from the weekly memo that the OHSAA sends out to administrators and head football coaches:
The Center Judge Position
Officiating football is a great challenge at all levels. The number of officials needed to adequately cover good football games, like we have in the state of Ohio, is an example of this challenge. We know with the high caliber of football in Ohio that five-person mechanics leaves many holes in coverage. The goal is to add officials to cover the important areas of our game.
When we studied the high school game, we realized that one huge area in which we need better coverage is the line of scrimmage and everything that happens in that three-yard band beyond the line of scrimmage. The center judge is a position that was added at both the collegiate and professional levels which gives great coverage to the line of scrimmage since the referee must focus on the quarterback soon after the snap (this is true at our level, also). We found the center judge position very successful in 2017 and 2018. There are other advantages to the center judge position. These mechanics give the umpire more freedom to focus on the point of attack because we have coverage on the line of scrimmage from the center judge. Also, these mechanics give us better coverage on both scrimmage kicks and free kicks.
We are very encouraged with the evolution of the center judge position and we will look to expand more each year. To do this, we need several things to happen:
1. We need to increase the number of class 1 officials to supplement regular season crews. 2. Concurrently, we need schools to assist in scheduling six-person crews to regular
season contests.
My hope is that we can work together to improve coverage in our football contests that our game demands.
I know we have a real scramble for sufficient officials to cover games in some areas using only 5. But we could start by switching to 6 by the 2nd week of the tournament. Something to think about.
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