As a refresher ...

he rules study technique I'm employing in this series is probably one of the more intense means of gaining an understanding of the rules.

That said, I wanted to point out an important element of this method that I believe has substantial benefit to new officials. Many, if not most new football officials have played and watched the game before and therefore understand how it's played. That prior knowledge is great, but it also comes with a potential hazard: You may not have learned some of the fundamentals and definitions of the game.

Continued...