Up to this point, the discussion has been on the pretty basic officiating topics of rules study, mechanics, "game experience" and what that means, and getting in decent (physical) shape to do your job. While preventive officiating is an essential component of working a game, it is nevertheless a facet of the job that comes as a big surprise to many rookie officials.

As I quickly found out, once you step onto the field, you'd better start communicating with more than just your whistle! 

Wow, I never knew they did that!

Back when I was just watching football games, I never heard the officials say anything, well, besides reporting a foul/penalty info after the play or the dreaded, "[insert team] have challenged the ruling ... etc., etc."

Now that I'm officiating football, I'm keenly aware of all the "conversations" that are taking place on the field: between officials, between officials and players, and between officials and coaches (albeit some of those are very one-sided at best), not to mention all the "signals" being used.

Continued...