Your First Season
Built from VFOA officers, recorded in docs/sources.md. Last checked August 27, 2026.
Dues, fees and association practice change. Confirm with the association before relying on this.
You have registered and you are on the schedule. This page is what to do between now and your first game, and what to do after it.
If you have not registered yet, start at Becoming a Football Official.
Before your first game
- Registration complete and the background check cleared.
- Concussion training done on NFHS Learn.
- Equipment bought or borrowed.
- Availability entered in Arbiter.
- Preseason meetings attended — three or four, at least one in person.
- You have talked to at least one experienced official who knows you are new.
The rule book
Your rule book comes with your membership, in both print and digital form —
you do not need to buy one. The NFHS also publishes them directly:
Veteran officials quote rules from memory with the rule number attached. That is not where you start, and nobody expects it in your first year — but it is worth knowing what you are working toward, because being able to cite the rule ends arguments faster than being right does.
What to study, in what order
The site has ten reference cards and a rules summary, which is a lot to face with no entry point. This is the order that works.
1. The rules, in outline — a couple of evenings. Read Cliff Notes — the NFHS Rules Book straight through once without trying to memorise it. You are building a map of where things live, not learning the rules yet. Come back to it constantly.
2. Your position — this is the one that matters most. Most new officials work as a wing, so start with Linesman and Line Judge. Learn your pre-snap position, your keys, and what you have on each kind of play. Read the card for whichever spot you are actually assigned. The others — Referee, Umpire, Back Judge — are worth reading later so you know what your crewmates are doing.
3. Between downs — an hour, and the highest-value hour on this list. Between Downs covers what happens after the whistle and before the snap. New officials lose the game here, not on spectacular plays: getting the ball spotted, the chains set, and everyone ready.
4. Run and pass plays — the bulk of what you will see. Run & Pass Plays. Most snaps in most games are one of these.
5. Kicking plays — every game has them and they go wrong fastest. Kicking Plays.
6. The clock, then fouls. Clock & Timing and then Fouls & Enforcement. Enforcement is the one thing you can genuinely defer — your white hat will walk you through it, and you will learn it fastest by watching it happen.
Two more when you have room: 7-Man Mechanics if you ever work a larger crew, and Recommended Reading.
The quizzes
The quizzes are the fastest way to find out what you do not know yet. Start with the two rookie sets, which are the association's own first-year take-home quizzes:
Answer them out loud with the rule, section and article. The remaining quizzes are expert-level case plays — save those for your second year, or work them with your crew.
There is no rules exam to pass. The association uses quizzes as a group activity to build knowledge, not to grade you.
Your first game
Arrive early — early enough for a full pregame with your crew, not early enough to just make kickoff. Ask your white hat when they want you there and then beat it.
Bring your uniform, flag, beanbag, whistle, down indicator, a pen, and your rule book. Bring a spare of anything small enough to lose.
In pregame, say out loud that it is your first game, or one of your first. Nobody will hold it against you and everyone will adjust to help you. Listen for your keys, your responsibilities on kicks, and what your crew wants on measurements and on the goal line.
When you do not know a rule mid-game — and you will not — talk to your crew. Kill the play, get together, get it right. That is the whole answer. A crew conference that takes thirty seconds and produces the correct ruling is a good outcome. Guessing quickly is the only actual mistake available to you here.
After the game
- Write down every situation you were unsure about, while it is fresh. That list is your study plan for the week.
- Ask your white hat for feedback, specifically. "How did I do?" gets you "fine". "Was I in the right spot on the sweep to my side?" gets you something you can use.
- Look up the rules behind whatever you wrote down, and read them properly, not just the summary.
Working with a mentor
The association has experienced officials who will go out of their way to help you learn — this is a team effort in the same way the game is. There is no formal sign-up. Ask someone whose work you noticed, or ask the director to point you at someone.
The officials who get good fastest are the ones who ask questions all season, not the ones who wait to be corrected.
Moving up
You are assigned to the level you are ready for. What determines that is your knowledge of the mechanics, your knowledge of the rules, and your character on the field — not the number of seasons you have served. When you are ready for JV, you will be assigned JV; the same is true of varsity.
Playoff assignments lean on seniority, but the association deliberately tries to give newer officials playoff experience each year rather than reserving it.
How assignments actually reach you is on Getting Assigned.