New Officials - 2011
Lesson 1 –
Basic Rules Knowledge – How to Study
the Rules for Practical Applications
Where to Begin - 1 of 3
• The rules of high school football are complex, not especially
easy to read and differ in many details from the rules used in
the college and professional levels.
• Yet, each high school football game must be called by officials
with a competent working knowledge of the high school rules.
• Given that each local association is given a set of manuals for
each official by GHSA, and this may be the only individual
documentation available to the new official, how should this
material be studied most effectively?
Generally our choices of these limited number of
publications boils down to the Rules Book and the
companion Case Book.
Where to Begin - 2 of 3
• The best place to start is with the Rules Book. This book is
organized with many different sections. There are places for
changed rules, Fundamentals of the rules of football, annual
points of emphasis, summaries of penalties required for the
various fouls and a chart of standardized signals. Most notably
are the 10 “rules” (or chapters) that provide the bulk of the
detailed rules applications.
• EVERYONE needs to study the rules. Most of your time
studying the rules should be away from association meetings.
• If anyone tries to march sequentially through the Rules Book
from cover to cover, he is setting himself up to fail in his quest
for knowledge of the rules.
Don’t try to learn the rules that way!
Where to Begin - 3 of 3
• GHSA recommends, but obviously does not require, that the
rules be learned in a convenient order that begins with basic
building blocks and moves in stages to more comprehensive
knowledge of the rules and their application.
• Here is the recommended order:
– Rule 2 – Definitions
– Fundamentals
– Rule Changes for the current year
– Points of Emphasis for the current year
– Some specific rules (more on this covered in Lesson 2)
– The balance of Rule 1 and Rules 3 through 10
Rule 2 - Definitions
• Almost, but not all, the terminology the new official needs to
know relative to the Rules are found in Rule 2. Rule 2 lists its
topics in alphabetical order. This is probably as good an order
as any in which to read this “chapter.”
• In just about any other context, the Definitions would be
called a Glossary of Terms. It is particularly useful in reading
the Rules to have a good working knowledge of the terms.
• Here’s a great example. From a rulebook point of view, there
is no such thing as a “Defensive Lineman.” Instead what we
commonly call Defensive Linemen are actually just “defensive
players on the Line of Scrimmage.” This makes “Lineman” an
offense, only, term. And there are very specific requirements
about how a “Lineman” must line up to be legal.
Fundamentals
• Toward the back of the Rules Book (around page 80 most
years) are two pages of “Fundamentals.”
• Here are listed some 10 Fundamental categories. These
categories layout in a simple order HOW the rules work. In
sense, this might be considered a “summary” of the rules, as
well, though this wouldn’t be precisely accurate, either.
• These are the 10 Fundamental categories:
I. Possession
VI. Scrimmage Kicks
II. Downs
VII. Passes
III. Dead Ball
VIII. Blocking
IV. Kicks – General
IX. Fouls
V. Free Kicks
X. Penalty Measurement
Rule Changes and Points of Emphasis
• Right up front in the Rules Book (page 2) are a couple of pages
devoted to summarizing both the current year’s rule changes
and the points of emphasis adopted for the current year.
• Aside from their importance in keeping everyone’s knowledge
and focus on the most important aspects of the rules and
rules changes, we can always expect that the tests we’re
required to take will have at least some coverage of these two
areas.
• Much more detailed coverage of the these areas will be found
toward the back of the Rules Book, generally right behind the
Fundamentals section. The exact page numbers are listed at
the front on pages 2 and 3.
Specific Rules
• We’re going to mention several rules here that every official
needs to know and be familiar with, even the most junior one.
Some of these are pretty complex, though. So, we’re going to
actually discuss them in a separate session, Lesson 2.
• These are the rules we’ll cover there:
– 2-13 – all articles
– 8-5-2-a – exception
– 4-2 – all articles
– 9-6-1 and 9-6-2
– 1-1-6 and 9-9
– 2-26-3 and 8-2-1-a
The Other 9 Rules - 1 0f 2
• The authors of the Rules Book probably had some idea of the
way they wanted to present the rules. Their order is fine for
looking up a particular point. But this order is of little help in
learning the rules in the first place.
• Getting an understanding from the Rules Book, alone, is a
thankless task. Read Rule 1 and Rules 3 through 10 in
whatever order makes most sense to you.
• Use of the companion Case Book is helpful in seeing how to
apply the rules to specific game situations. Wait to get into
the case book at least until you think you understand the
Definitions and Fundamentals pretty thoroughly.
• Finally, use of other supplementary reading such as the $10
(or so) “Rules by Topic” or similar publication can help a lot!
The Other 9 Rules - 2 0f 2
• The other 9 Rules (Chapters) of the rule book are:
1 – The Game, Field, Players and Equipment
3 – Periods, Time Factors and Substitutions
4 – Ball in Play, Dead Ball and Out of Bounds
5 – Series of Downs, Number of Down and Team Possession
After Penalty
6 – Kicking the Ball and Fair Catch
7 – Snapping, Handing and Passing the Ball
8 – Scoring Plays and Touchback
9 – Conduct of Players and Others
10 – Enforcement of Penalties
Review / Summary
• New Officials need to have a basic understanding of the Rules
of high school football.
• Largely, this understanding will come from study away from
your association’s training sessions.
• Rule 2 and Fundamentals are the most important parts of the
Rules Book for EVERY official to understand.
• Every official should have a Rules Book and companion Case
Book. Use the Case Book to help understand rules
applications AFTER understanding the basics of the Rules,
themselves.
• Get exposed to as much supplementary material as you can
afford. “Rules by Topic” is one such source that makes rules
study much easier.