Be the Referee: We Get Letters
March 15, 2018
In this week's edition, assistant director Mark Uyl tells of a letter that caught our attention, sent by one of our member school superintendents in support of officials and pledging to improve sportsmanship.
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 – We Get Letters - Listen
Over the course of any school year, the MHSAA receives thousands of pieces of correspondence. We recently received a letter from a member school superintendent that really caught our attention.
The letter was addressed to the officials in this superintendent’s local area; and in that was a pledge – it was a pledge by that individual school, along with the entire league – that they were going to improve sportsmanship in their area, and also improve the experience that officials had when working at those schools.
The superintendent promised more accountability for his coaches, his players, and especially his adult spectators in raising the bar for those sportsmanship expectations, to keep those officials in the game.
Past editions
February 22: Block/Charge Calls - Listen
February 15: Dog Days of February - Listen
February 8: National Playing Rules Process - Listen
February 1: Calling Intentional Fouls - Listen
January 25: Points at the Edge of the Mat - Listen
January 18: Behavior Warning - Listen
January 11: Ice Hockey Safe & Sound - Listen
January 4: Why No Shot Clock - Listen
December 21: Coaches Responsible for Equipment - Listen
December 14: Mentoring New Officials - Listen
December 7: Dive on the Floor - Listen
November 30: Wrestling Weight Monitoring - Listen
November 23: Ejections - Listen
November 16: Toughest Call - Listen
November 9: Hurdling - Listen
November 2: The Survey Says - Listen
October 26: Helmet Comes Off - Listen
October 19: Goal Line Rules - Listen
October 12: No 1st-Year Fee - Listen
October 5: Athletic Empty Nesters - Listen
September 28: Misunderstood Football Rules: Kicking - Listen
September 21: Preparation for Officials - Listen
September 14: Always Stay Registered - Listen
September 7: Other Football Rules Changes - Listen
August 31: Pop-Up Onside Kicks - Listen
August 24: Blindside Blocks - Listen
Be the Referee: 40-Second Play Clock
August 29, 2019
This week, MHSAA Assistant Director Brent Rice explains the change in football to a 40-second play clock.
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 - 40-Second Play Clock - Listen
One of the rules changes in high school football this year involves timing between downs.
All varsity games will be played with a 40-second play clock that begins after the conclusion of the previous play, with exceptions for things like timeouts, penalties, measurements and at the start of a period – when a 25-second count will be used.
In experiments in Michigan over the past few seasons, the 40-second play clock proved to improve the pace of play and consistency between plays because it is not dependent on the referee’s subjective signal. And while some schools may choose to purchase visible play clocks for their fields, it is not required. The Back Judge, who has the primary responsibility for the play clock, will signal at 10 seconds and count the last five seconds.