Sports Officiating

Course Syllabus

General Purpose

  1. To work cooperatively with other individuals and groups within the class to gain experience in game like and practice officiating situations.
  2. To observe and evaluate other officials by attending various athletic contests outside of class.
  3. To demonstrate competency through reading, videos, testing, and discussions in understanding the various roles of being a sports official. These roles include:
  4. Fitness, professional appearance and dress.
  5. Safety
  6. Integrity and fairness
  7. Sportsmanship
  8. Communication with players, coaches, administrators, and spectators
  9. Preventative officiating
  10. Rules of the sport
  11. Keeping score
  12. Pre-game procedures
  13. Positioning, mechanics, and signals
  14. Registration procedures
  15. The student will complete journal sheets to track summaries of the class, self-evaluation of your officiating, observations of others, and teacher directed questions and situations.
  16. Sports that may be covered in class are: Football, Volleyball, Baseball, Basketball, Softball, and Soccer.

Daily Expectations

  1. Be on time
  2. Dress properly for activity days (i.e. gym clothes and shoes). There is no such thing as an excused “no-dress” day.
  3. Assemble in correct seats or squads for attendance.
  4. Do not bring food or drink into the locker room or gyms.
  5. Everyone in the class shares the responsibility to handle equipment/supplies properly and to put it away in its correct place at the end of the period.
  6. Show respect to all of your classmates and instructors as well as the facilities and equipment at Lincoln Southwest.
  7. Wait for the instructor to dismiss you. We will always come together at the end of class for closure and announcements.

Classroom Days

  1. Textbook: “The Sports Rule Book” – This book will remain in the classroom unless otherwise directed by the instructor. If make up work is necessary, please obtain permission for use of the book outside of class.
  2. Other resources will include handouts, videos, rulebooks, and overheads.

Materials Needed

  1. Classroom: Always need pen, pencil, and class folder
  2. Gym clothes and shoes for active days
  3. Whistle and lanyards (Lanyards need to be returned at the end of the term)

Make-Ups

You are responsible for all make ups (if absent) to be arranged within one day of your return with your instructor as per Lincoln Southwest physical education expectations. Non-dress days or lack of participation cannot be made up!

Three Outside Officiating Observations – Dates to be announced in Class.

These observations must be done at “live” games, not TV, and must be one of the six sports that this class covers. Signatures and phone numbers of supervisors must be present. Evaluations should include grades and comments for each category. Failure to complete observations will lower grade at least one letter.

Grading

A daily point system will be used to determine a student’s grade percentage. Attendance and active participation in class are keys to being successful. Quizzes, tests, assignments, and the journals will test your knowledge of rules, mechanics, and evaluation of officiating techniques. A prescribed number of five observations of officials of outside game contests will also fulfill the class requirements. Each student will also be evaluated in game-like and practice situations on their own use of the whistle, mechanics, signals, and hustle.

Approximate Class Points

Daily (42 days x 5)210 points

Tests (5)200 points

Quizzes (5)25 points

Journals (5)25 points

Observations (3)30 points

Officiating Evaluation (3)30 points

______

Total520 points

Typical Day including classroom work

5 min:Change and meet in D023

30 min:Daily rules or mechanics lesson- teacher directed, video, speaker, or cooperative groups.

3 min:Move to activity space,

10 min:Warm-up activity (jog, jump rope, agilities, form running, etc.), stretch, calisthenics

35 minutes:Games with student officials

7 minutes:Change clothes, dismissal

Typical Day: Activity only

5 min:Change and meet in activity space

10 min:Warm-up activity (jog, jump rope, agilities, form running, etc.), stretch, calisthenics

30 min:Application of written knowledge through small-group “situations” practice of the day

(Example- calling balls and strikes, judging legal VB hits, BB charge/block, etc).

38 min:Games with student officials

7 min: Change, dismiss

Typical 10-day Unit plan:(This section to be adapted to fit each sport)

(Days 2,4,7,9 would be activity-only days)

Day 1:The basics: Overview of the sport to allow students to play

(How to start play, scoring, basic fouls and violations, etc.) Teacher officiates this day.

Day 2:Proper technique for basic fundamentals (ball/strike, BB traveling, etc.)

Day 3:Fouls and violations- define and learn signals for each

Day 4:Mechanics 1

Day 5:Teams, substitutions, court markings, legal equipment, etc.

Day 6:Learn additional Sport-specific rules

Day 7:Mechanics 2

Day 8:Statistics

Day 9:Review and/or mechanics test

Day 10:Rules written test

Nine-week Unit Plan

Week 1:M: Course Intro and expectations, introductions, lockers, intro rules to Ultimate and how to officiate

T: Play Ultimate, students officiate, debrief

Focus on being authoritative, making strong calls, etc

W: Play Ultimate, students officiate, partner evaluation

Th: Fitnessgram Testing

F: Play Ultimate, students officiate, evaluate early skills OR start on first unit early

Week 2:OfficiatingFlag Football:

M: Basics of the Game: Scoring, LOS, First Downs, legal “tackles”, running plays, blitzing,

Divide into 3 teams of 7. 2 play, 1 observes, (notes), Teacher refs

T: Situations: Offside/ Blitzing, Legal tackling, Pass defense/ interference

W: Penalties and signals

Th: Two-man crew positioning and responsibilities

F: Field markings, time between plays, legal kicking plays

Week 3:M: Line play- legal/ illegal blocks

T: Review signals and positioning

W: Timing, Scoring and statistics

Th: On-field practical test (evaluate during a game)

F: Written test, finish practical tests, or play an alternative game

Week 4:Officiating Soccer

M: Overview of the game

T: Calling fouls (legal defense on ball, illegal contact, dangerous plays- above/ below waist)

W: Offside rule, playing the ball in the goal area-legal plays and violations

Th: Corners kicks and headers

F: Throw-ins

Week 5:M: Penalty Kicks

T: Referee and Line judge roles

W: Kick-off, additional rules

Th: Practical test

F: Written test

Week 6:Officiating Basketball

M: Basics of the Game: Scoring, main fouls & violations, signals to scorer

T: Two-man crew- positioning and responsibilitiesPost D, 3 sec/ Perimeter D, making a call,

W: Legal dribbling, traveling, pivot foot

Th: Charge/ Block situations

F: Free throw situations

Week 7:M: Throw-ins (After make, violation, etc.), Jump Balls

T: Legal Screens

W: Other fouls and violations, statistics

Th: Practical Test

F: Written Test

Week 8:Officiating Volleyball

M: Basics of the Game (Rally scoring, rotations, legal hits, etc., Roles of 2 refs, line judges

T: Judging legal hits

W: Legal serves

Th: Legal blocks and hits at the net

F: Other violations

Week 9:M: Rotations, use of libero

T: Legal setting, statistics

W: Practical Test

Th: Written Test, Turn in locks, Course evaluation

F: No class