WELDON ? The official start of North Carolina High School football is right around the corner and teams are in full swing preparing for the season.
However, the teams who compete on Friday nights are not the only ones who are taking time in July to prepare for competition this fall. There is another group on the field whoplay just as big a role as the athletes, but would rather go about their business unnoticed. Normally that does not happen, and not matter what, they are viewed as the bad guys by somebody at the end of the night.
Tucked away in the library at Weldon Middle School and looking sort of out of place in street clothes instead of their black and white stripes fans are accustomed to seeing them wear, the Roanoke Valley officials meet once a week to prepare for football season.
Nineteen officials were at a recent meeting, one of many that takes place over the summer to prepare for football. The meeting, ran Monday by official Carlton Knight, and overseen by Jody Andrews, is held once a week. While coaches spend the summer months putting their players through conditioning drills and passing leagues, the officials put in work as well, unseen by the public eye.
This particular meeting started out with a series of multiple choice questions called out by Knight and viewed on an over head projector controlled by Andrews. Knight went over the options and the group discussed, in great detail, the question and all of the answers before agreeing on the proper call. If there was a disagreement, the group went over things, just like they do on the field on Friday nights, this time in a setting that was calm compared to the middle of a football field.
In the debate in the library, Andrews and Todd Moore, another veteran official, agreed on one thing, ?In a game,? Andrews said as Moore agreed, ?go with the crew call, right or wrong and get in the rule book as soon as the game is over.?
The NCHSAA football rule book is more than 100 pages. That does not include the case book, which is just as thick, but instead of multiple choice questions, there are a variety of game scenarios the officials have to discuss.
In a pamphlet full of questions, each answer had a rule and the definition of the rule, and the description was sometimes as long as a paragraph. That is a lot of information to remember on Friday nights in the heat of the moment, especially with coaches screaming from the sidelines and breathing down your neck.
A lot was thrown out at the meeting in a short period of time and Knight encouraged the group, ?If you see something you don?t understand guys, ask,? he said from the head of the table.
Easier said than done. The fans, players and even coaches cannot begin to fathom how much information these guys consume. There was a detailed and long discussion on kicks and different kinds of kicks in a game (free kick, scrimmage kick, drop kick) and a five minute conversation about the center and what he can or cannot do with the football. Obviously some rules were easier than others, while some were answered quickly, others required more time.
Then there were the definitions. Like a high school English class, Andrews clicked through the power point, going over a list of definitions ? some with multiple and detailed explanations of the word on the projector.
Handing, Hurdling, Interception, Kick, Line of Scrimmage, Lines, Muff and Neutral Zone were some of the terms defined, again in great detail, by the group. The study session is to prepare the group for a big multiple choice test prior to the start of the season. While officials are normally the villains of the night, Andrews said their mission is simple.
?We are trying to keep the game moving,? Andrews explained, ?and to make sure they play by the rules.?
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