On February 25th and 27th, the Southwest Chapter of the OAFO will be hosting a free clinic geared towards first, second, and third year NCAA football officials.
The last year has been very difficult for everyone due to COVID-19, but it's time to get back in the football frame of mind and prepare for the upcoming Spring and/or Fall football seasons. Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions all over the state it has been difficult to get together for in-person officiating training. Everyone has done a great job with virtual training and film study, but it's time to get back on the field and get some reps...especially the new officials who have minimal or no NCAA 7-person mechanics experience and/or have never worked college football at all. We've figured out a way to get everyone together and we have plenty of volunteers to make for a great learning experience in Cincinnati.
On February 25th (7:00pm-8:00pm EST), there will be a virtual webinar that will introduce the OAFO, expectations for a new NCAA official, and introduce the conferences/coordinators in the Midwest.
On February 27th (12:00pm-4:00pm EST), we will head to a high school on the northside of Cincinnati (more details to follow) that will graciously be providing everything we need to get in some fantastic training. The event will start with a mechanics walk through and then spend the majority of the remaining time working plays in a 7-on-7 format. This will present an opportunity to have real in-game scenarios with mechanics and foul calls critiqued immediately by NFL and Division 1 officials standing right beside you.
If you are a newer official, sign up quickly because free training like this doesn't exist anywhere else in the Midwest and there are only 50 slots available. If you know an official that could benefit from this, please forward it to them as we would love to show them the benefits of being a part of the OAFO and provide them with an opportunity to learn as well.
Below you will find a list of officials on the ever-growing list of veterans planning on attending and providing instruction. If you are a veteran official and would like to be involved in some way, please reach out to either Billy Willis or Matt Cook as soon as possible.
Clinicians for the 2021 On-Field Clinic:
Referee: Gabe Tomlin (GMAC) & Greg Gompf (PAC & MEC)
Umpire: Terry Killens (NFL) & Rob Cowles (GLIAC)
Center Judge: Ron Kay (MAC)
Head Linejudge: Adam Loudin (AAC) & Marcus Allen (MVFC)
Linejudge: Jon Shelton (MAC) & Daryl Crosthwaite (OVC)
Field Judge: Joel Clay (B1G) & Chris George (GLIAC)
Side Judge: Kirt Shay (Former OVC Deep Wing, Current NFL Replay Assistant) & Ken Cloud (MVFC)
Back Judge: Tony Josselyn (NFL) & Billy Willis (OVC)
