NFL clinic aims to develop and attract football officials

While working his delivery route for the U.S. Postal Service, Brian Alos noticed a particular piece of mail that piqued his curiosity.

The issue of Referee Magazine was earmarked for Matt Sumstine, and as Alos handed off the bundle of mail, the two began to chat. As it turned out, Sumstine worked as a high school football referee, and that conversation led Alos to don the iconic black and white stripes in 1999.

He worked alongside Sumstine and fellow referees, and learned the craft by working Pop Warner and JV games before making his way up the ranks to become one of Hawaii’s top officials at the varsity level by 2011.

"Matt lived on my route and I would deliver to him, so we started talking story," said Alos of the chance meeting.

"He invited me to join the group, and at first I was reluctant. I’m a fan of football, my kids played, I played, I coached a couple years, and I didn’t want to officiate because there’s just so much stress involved with being correct under that pressure. But, he invited me to a meeting with no obligations, I went and ended up sticking it out, and here I am 13 years later."

Alos and Sumstine are currently refereeing NCAA games as members of the CFO West, which officiates games in the Mountain West, Big 12 and Southland conferences. Longtime Hawaii officials George Gusman and Frank White also work within the organization, as a head linesman and replay official, respectively.

Alos spent this past football season in his first year at the college level, and worked a "partial schedule," which included two games as the head referee or "white hat." He traveled to Texas for those two games, one at Sam Houston State and the other at Lamar, and served as an alternate official throughout the remainder of his schedule — a job that entailed logging penalties and standing by in case an acting official suffered an injury.

That scenario played out on Sept. 2 as Baylor took on SMU to open the season. When the umpire officiating the game bowed out with an ailment, Alos stepped in and worked more than three quarters of the game.

To attract and inform those budding football officials across all levels of the game, the NFL is hosting a special clinic. Via its Football Officiating Academy, the league will host the You Make the Call NFL Officiating Clinic: "Each One, Teach One" in conjunction with the Pro Bowl on Jan. 26. The goal is to interest those who may be hesitant and provide them with helpful information, much the same way Sumstine assisted Alos at the mailbox.

At the clinic, attendees will be introduced to the multitude of opportunities that football refereeing presents, from developing into a championship-level high school official to taking part in a mentorship program through which veterans helps rookies.

"The mission is to inspire an increased and elevated awareness of officiating by encouraging people who are interested on all levels to develop strong social skills through programs focused on building officiating knowledge and character development," said David Coleman, Director of Officiating for the NFL. "It’s an outreach effort. We want to broaden the pool of officials on the national level and provide them with the necessary skills to be successful."

The clinic will be held at the University of Hawaii’s athletics department auditorium. The event will run from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and includes food and refreshments.

Experienced referees attending the clinic will be charged $25 (credit card, check and money orders only), but for Potential Officiating Candidates (POCs), there is no cost to attend. Also, those experienced referees who bring a POC will earn free admission.

Event organizers encourage interested participants to register by Sunday, but attendees are allowed to sign up through the day of the event. To register, or for more information, log on to http://www.nflofficiating.com/, email Sumstine@aol.com or call 927-8665.