2020
C’MON, REF!: WACO TASO FOOTBALL CHAPTER EAGER TO TRAIN NEW RECRUITS
As president of the Waco chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials, Brad Strickland is sending out a three‑pronged message to potential and current football refs.
1. Come join us, 2. Stay ready, and 3. Wait and see.
On Monday, the TASO Waco Chapter will begin summer training of new football officials through the McLennan Community College continuing education department. The training sessions will be held on Mondays for the rest of June. This year, most of the training will take place in online meetings, though Strickland said he is hoping to get on a field somewhere in Central Texas so the new recruits can get a real‑world feel for the material they’re covering.
“With new members our primary focus is on mechanics,” Strickland said. “This is the umpire. This is the line judge. This is the head linesman. These are the requirements. This is what they’re looking for. You have keys. We start teaching them about keys, pre‑snap keys, who you focus on once it’s snapped. There’s a progression you go through.”
While the summer program is not mandatory for potential new officials to complete before the season begins in August, Strickland said it helps rookies know what they’re doing and ultimately leads to better retention of refs.
