MAYBE?

[PRokie]

I have to believe this has been brought up in the past, and if so, my apologies.

WHAT IF…. As the playoffs progress, add officials in key positions (additional umpire?) side judges etc. In the playoffs there are fewer games so one would think it would be an honor to be called up if you will. There’s a reason why ncaa and nfl have so many more. It makes every position more accountable because of fewer responsibilit

Having officiated football back home, I watch the game a little differently than most and can tell you watching the officials at times absolutely drives me crazy.

just curious if it has ever been approached.

 

[dieter]

Other states do this (move to 7 man for back end of the playoffs). Some challenges with this. 1) 7 man mechanics are very different than 5 man. It is doable as other states do it, but would require additional training. This is currently done in IHSA baseball as I believe they add a 3rd at some point in the playoffs 2) Cost - IHSA is not interested in spending more money on officials. We already get less than regular season for the first 2 rounds.

All in all this is doable. However, there have been more than one proposal from the IHSA football committee to add an unpaid "reserve" official for some aspect of the playoffs in case one of the officials goes down. It has never made it out of committee. Unpaid, really?

By the way, some are projecting that we will lose another 20% of football officials next year. I predict next year will be the first year where a Friday night game will need to be moved to Saturday due to lack of officials in the greater Chicago area. It will get worse before it gets better.

 

[PRokie]

I’ve worked 7 man mechanics (before the wireless headsets!) I found it much easier to concentrate on a smaller area… but that’s just me.
Really made a difference in being able to watch line play and down field passing.

as far as IHSA and dollars, hard to believe they punish the first two rounds like that!!

 

[dieter]

I’ve worked 7 man mechanics (before the wireless headsets!) I found it much easier to concentrate on a smaller area… but that’s just me.
Really made a difference in being able to watch line play and down field passing.

as far as IHSA and dollars, hard to believe they punish the first two rounds like that!!

Agree that 7 would be easier in lots of ways.

First 2 rounds are $74 per game. The Chicago area rate (most conferences) for regular season games was $77 this year. Pay is just one of many reasons we are losing officials. (Some states are paying $100+ for varsity regular season games).

 

[PRokie]

Agree that 7 would be easier in lots of ways.

First 2 rounds are $74 per game. The Chicago area rate (most conferences) for regular season games was $77 this year. Pay is just one of many reasons we are losing officials. (Some states are paying $100+ for varsity regular season games).

And they should
We were getting 75 in late eighties early nineties

 

[ref2]

I'm afraid the problem is going to get a whole lot worse in the future. The pay scale has been behind the times for so long it's pathetic. Anything they do to fix the problem is too late. Like closing the barn door after the horses have left.

 

[PRokie]

I'm afraid the problem is going to get a whole lot worse in the future. The pay scale has been behind the times for so long it's pathetic. Anything they do to fix the problem is too late. Like closing the barn door after the horses have left.

IHSA is really good at self preservation

 

[Zebra]

Other states do this (move to 7 man for back end of the playoffs). Some challenges with this. 1) 7 man mechanics are very different than 5 man. It is doable as other states do it, but would require additional training. This is currently done in IHSA baseball as I believe they add a 3rd at some point in the playoffs 2) Cost - IHSA is not interested in spending more money on officials. We already get less than regular season for the first 2 rounds.

All in all this is doable. However, there have been more than one proposal from the IHSA football committee to add an unpaid "reserve" official for some aspect of the playoffs in case one of the officials goes down. It has never made it out of committee. Unpaid, really?

By the way, some are projecting that we will lose another 20% of football officials next year. I predict next year will be the first year where a Friday night game will need to be moved to Saturday due to lack of officials in the greater Chicago area. It will get worse before it gets better.

Very well said, Dieter. IHSA is very concerned about officials being properly and consistently trained for 7-man mechanics before adding them to the playoff crews. There is also very little, if any, interest in individual schools and conferences paying for the larger crews during the regular season. And we have tried many, many times to get the idea even pilot tested.

The benefits of 7-man mechanics at the high school level would be tremendous, as someone mentioned the ability to narrow your focus is a huge advantage. But as others also mentioned, there are so many other things wrong with the situation now (poor pay, poor sportsmanship, poor facilities, etc.) that I believe the crises will be getting much worse in the near future.

 

[PRokie]

Very well said, Dieter. IHSA is very concerned about officials being properly and consistently trained for 7-man mechanics before adding them to the playoff crews. There is also very little, if any, interest in individual schools and conferences paying for the larger crews during the regular season. And we have tried many, many times to get the idea even pilot tested.

The benefits of 7-man mechanics at the high school level would be tremendous, as someone mentioned the ability to narrow your focus is a huge advantage. But as others also mentioned, there are so many other things wrong with the situation now (poor pay, poor sportsmanship, poor facilities, etc.) that I believe the crises will be getting much worse in the near future.

I was only suggesting during the playoffs