Mechanics — or said another way, the things you do on the field to apply the rules properly — are equally as important as the rules themselves. Last week in Part I, I gave an example of one of my rules screw ups in my first officiating assignment my rookie year. The point of Part I was that officials need to have a complete understanding of the rules, one that allows the official to act almost in a "zone" where the application of the rules during the game is "automatic"; you don't have to think about them before you apply them. Now on to the mechanics.

Read (some of) the Officials Manuals

If we assume most associations don't use 5-man crews for sub-varsity games, rookie officials will typically spend their initial season working the 3- and 4-man variety. I'm also making the assumption here that few, if any, rookies will land any varsity assignments.

Continued...