Be the Referee: Trick Plays
November 19, 2015
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains which trick plays in football are allowed, and not allowed, under high school rules.
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 - Trick Plays - Listen
In some of the biggest football games of the year, often times a trick play can be the difference between winning and losing.
Many types of these trick plays are perfectly legal – the halfback pass, the hook and ladder, or the double pass with the first pass being backward behind the line of scrimmage and the second pass going forward. There are several types of trick plays, however, that are prohibited by rule.
One is the old fumblerooski play, where a team intentionally fumbles near the center and a lineman picks up the ball and advances. A second type that is illegal is whenever you’re using substitutions or pretended substitutions to free up a receiver or player standing out along the sidelines.
Past editions:
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: Penalty Kick Change
October 6, 2016
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains how soccer penalty kick rules have been changed this year to dissuade players from hesitating before taking the kick.
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 – Soccer Penalty Kick Change - Listen
In the game of soccer, goals are tough to come by. That’s why in some of the most important games, we see those contests head into overtime and ultimately get decided by penalty kicks – or P-Ks.
The rules dealing with penalty kicks have changed for this year. In years past, whenever a player would hear the referee’s whistle and start to move toward the ball to make a penalty kick, any hesitation, delay or stutter-step would make that kick illegal. In past years, that player always got an opportunity to take a re-kick.
But this year, there is no opportunity for that player to take an additional re-kick.
Past editions
Sept. 29: Preparation for Officials - Listen
Sept 22: You Make the Call: Returning Kickoffs - Listen
Sept. 15: Concussions - Listen
Sept 8: Equipment Covering the Knees - Listen
Sept. 1: Play Clock Experiment - Listen
Aug. 25: Clipping in the Free Blocking Zone - Listen