Be the Referee: Pregame Communication

November 27, 2015

This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl discusses how officials prepare for an upcoming football game.

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment - Pregame Communication - Listen

Just like teams and coaches prepare all week for a football game, officials also spend hours every week preparing for their upcoming assignment that Friday night or on Saturday.

Many of our officials around the state are accessing a system called Hudl, which is a video sharing system in which schools are sharing game film with officials to review last week’s performance, as well as look ahead at the style of play that the upcoming opponents will be using.

Also, officials spend a great deal of time pregaming as a crew; talking about rules, mechanics, coverages, and how to best communicate with each sideline during the game.

Past editions:
Nov. 19: Trick Plays - Listen
Nov. 12: 7-Person Football Mechanics - Listen
Nov. 5: Make the Call: Personal Fouls - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Demographics - Listen
Oct. 15: Make the Call: Intentional Grounding - Listen
Oct. 8: Playoff Selection - Listen
Oct. 1: Kick Returns - Listen
Sept. 24: Concussions - Listen
Sept. 17: Automatic First Downs - Listen
Sept. 10: Correcting a Down - Listen
Sept 3:
Spearing - Listen
Aug. 27: Missed Field Goal - Listen

Be the Referee: Ball Over Backboard

By Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director

December 16, 2021

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Ball Over Backboard - Listen

A basketball player has the ball in the corner, ready to shoot a 3-pointer, when a lane opens up along the baseline. She starts to drive, only to have that lane closed off.

She puts up a shot that goes over the corner of the backboard and goes in. Two points, right?

Not so fast. Any time the ball passes over the backboard, it’s out of bounds. A shot, a pass, even a rebound that bounces up and over – the play should be whistled dead. The ball is considered out of bounds off the last player to have touched it.

So even though the shot comes from a player in bounds and goes in … wave it off. The ball can’t pass over the backboard. If it does, it’s now the other team’s possession.

Previous editions

Dec. 9: Winter Officials Mechanics - Listen
Nov. 26: Instant Replay - Listen
Nov. 11: Tourney Selection - Listen
Nov. 4: Receiver Carried Out of End Zone Listen
Oct. 28: Volleyball Back-Row Block Listen
Oct. 21: Soccer Disallowed Goal Listen
Sept 30: Field Goal Falls Short Listen
Sept. 23: Volleyball Obstruction Listen
Sept. 16: Catch or No Catch  Listen
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen 
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen 
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics 
 Listen