By Michael Preston
It’s easy to forget when watching football that there’s a third team on the field in addition to the two opponents going toe to toe on the gridiron: the officials.
While it is taken for granted that the players and coaches competing at the 2024 IFAF U20 World Junior Championships are busy on the practice field and in the film room in-between games, rarely do spectators consider demands put upon the officials to perfect their craft.
A total of 28 officials from 11 nations are here in Edmonton as that third team and their ‘head coach’ is Davie Parsons, the head of IFAF Officiating. As the players drilled on the practice field this past week, the officials were dutifully reviewing their own performances in the unglamorous surroundings of a meeting room at the city’s Chateau Lacombe Hotel.
“Some people think it’s quite nerdy, but going through every play individually is what you have to do as an official,” explains Parsons. “It’s quite laborious, but everyone’s very engaged.
“My job is to get everyone on the same page and to assess which crews are working the best and have the best game tempo. We have four crews that are well balanced.”
Following each game day, a total of 12 officials based in the UK and Canada review game film and provide a spreadsheet of observations that are the basis for feedback and game film review.
“Nobody wants to be told what they’ve done well, they want to know where they can improve and that happens on that next day,” says Parsons. “We consider all feedback to highlight areas for improvement; the areas where we can do better. How can we look at things differently, how can we move differently on the field? It's all about being in the right place to make the right call.
“Modern methodology is that we don't start highlighting people's mistakes we look for any improvements that need to be made. People accept that feedback a lot better that if you tell them they messed up. You need to take a balanced and positive approach and it’s all about learning opportunities.”
Having watched his officials take charge of a total of eight games during two game days, Parsons has selected the crew led by Referee Veikko Lamminsalo from Finland to officiate Sunday’s Gold Medal Game between Canada and Japan. That crew includes two female officials, with Canada, Denmark and Italy also represented.
“Veikko’s crew were better at game management, which is not just about looking for fouls, it’s about your administration, housekeeping during the game, how you walk off penalties, how you do the ball handoffs and how you manage timeous,” added Parsons. “Most of the officiating takes place during dead ball situations and that’s how you keep the game flowing. We can’t impact the game by delaying the start of the next play.”
The day before heading to Commonwealth and Clarke stadiums to take charge of games, the officials discuss how they are going to work on the game, addressing a list of topics, considering previous games, and whether the teams prefer to run or pass, or are physical in their approach.
On game day, they arrive onsite two hours before kickoff to meet coaches, test the game balls and complete administrative tasks such as reviewing game rosters. Then when whistle blows to signal the opening kickoff, they’re ideally in the background while on a mission to keep the game running smoothly to allow the two teams to take the spotlight.
There has been time to relax this week in Edmonton and build chemistry, which is as important to establish among the officials as it is among a roster of players. They eat meals together, have been go kart racing, watched a baseball game and one evening returned to that meeting room to watch a CFL game via their projector.
“The camaraderie has been excellent,” adds Parsons. “By the time you get to a certain stage in the tournament everyone has become friends, and they tend to stay in touch for a long time afterwards via social media, just like many of the players will.”
For Parsons, who has been officiating for 38 years, he feels it is important that he gives back to the football community.
“Football has taken me all over the world, so I can’t disappear without passing on my knowledge to younger officials,” he says. “It’s not words of wisdom, it’s just experience and the sort of things you can’t find in books.”
