First and Ten

January 2015 Volume 9 Issue 1

66666

From the First and Ten Editors and the CFOA executive

First and Ten Mandate 3

First and Ten Editors 4

Tips for being a Better Football Official Contributed by Rob Christian 6

How Successful People Stay Calm Dr. Travis Bradberry 9

Video Analysis 15

2015 Rule Change Proposals 17

Outstanding Achievers

2014 Grey Cup Officials 18

Veteran CFL referee thrives under pressure Fresh off third Cup 19 assignment by Evan Radford

Drinkwalter earned his stripes one game at a time by Ken Peters 21

Tony Corrente returns to Baltimore where his life was saved 24 by Mark Schultz CFOA executive 25

Football Canada 26

Working for the development of officiating and football in Canada in cooperation with

La version française du "First and Ten" va suivre chaque version anglaise. Ron Paluzzi, Vice président responsable de la traduction, sera responsable de s’assurer que chaque communiqué soit disponible en français dans les plus brefs délais. D’ici là, je demande à tous

First and Ten Editor Ron Hallock

Co- editor Rob Christian

As you prepare for the upcoming season (and it will be heresooner than you think) Remember the following found on (http://goodthingsgoingaround.com/)

Last year is gone, it will be no more. So many experiences still to explore. And so welcome this day with a hurray. A new year has come, it’s given me wisdom To live each day without regret, to live with purpose and with zest to be my very best.

What might you do to prepare for another year? Consider your conditioning, rules knowledge and mechanics. Think of using video your own, associations or First and Ten YouTube site https://www.youtube.com/user/MrRef204 Getting or talking with your mentor, or reviewing your journal to identify areas for improvement

Remember that there are always areas you need to make improvement in. No one is perfect so make SMART resolutions you for your development in 2015

Rule change proposals due January 21, 2015 Anyone can propose change by submitting to local FOA . If the local FOA agrees it is worthy of submission, the President will sign it and submit it to Football Canada. LINK FOR FORM INCLUDED IN THIS ISSUE

Check out video repository for training support

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrRef204

Tips for being a Better Football Official

PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

1. Each position is of equal importance. We are team and we will work as a team. We will not criticize other members of our crew to other people and we will support each other’s efforts. If something needs to be said, say it directly to the other person or together with the crew or not at all.

2. We will adhere to the mechanics as presented from the CFOA to the best of our ability. Do not deviate just because you may or may not like a particular mechanic. If you don’t like something, bring it up. If we need to make a change, we will collaboratively.

3. Know your areas of responsibility and carry that out first, but be prepared to assist in those areas concurrent to yours.

4. Remember the sequence of plays in every series of downs.

5. Do not miss a down—ever. Check with a partner every play, every single play.

6. Work within the crew. If there is a question on a ruling, then stop the game before the ball is next put in play and discuss the situation. We will huddle as a group only when necessary, but this hopefully will not be often. Competence is compromised by numerous huddles. In the end, no matter how it looks, if we get it right, then we have a leg to stand on.

7. Football is an emotional game. Players and coaches are allowed to get excited. You are never allowed to be excited. You must remain calm.

8. Be alert for all friction between players and get between them at the first sign. If you decide to penalize, make sure you have seen all the action before you penalize one or the other.

9. Never miss the number of a player who committed a foul.

10. Never tell or threaten a player that he will be thrown out. Coach correctness if you can, but no threats.

11. Abusive language must be stopped immediately. You may want to ask the coach, “Would you like to repeat that, coach?” If he does, throw the flag. By the way, you don’t have to hear everything, but if it is abusive then stop it.

12. Do not get too close to the play, you see more from seven yards away then you do from one yard away.

13. When you have foul, throw your flag with authority and confidence. Bad body language can make a good call look bad.

14. Be slow and positive on recovery of a loose ball.

15. Don’t talk in front the chain crew about teams or other officials or anything that could be repeated for that matter.

16. Officials should not be too familiar with players, but should try to establish an air of respect and confidence.

17. We will not put an arm around a crewmate because it makes you look uncertain when you do.

18. We will not carry on idle conversations with coaches.

19. Know the captains. They will help us control the game.

20. Use common sense—it is your best asset.

21. Blow the whistle only when the ball is your responsibility.

22. Control your sidelines—use the get back coach—use the head coach.

23. Give advice when needed to crewmates, accept it and use it when it is offered to you.

24. Never turn your back on the ball or turn around to the sidelines after a play.

25. Listen before you talk. Successful officiating demands work in five areas.

PROFESSIONALISM…Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Am I easily agitated or always complaining? Do I bark at coaches or players? Am I on time for everything and is my equipment ready to go? Do I look the part when I arrive in business casual, clean shaven, etc? Do I avoid drama? Can I accept criticism or do I act as though there is nothing I can learn? When things don’t go my way or I get a bad break, how do I respond?

RULES KNOWLEDGE…How much time this week did you spend studying the rules and case book plays? Was it 20 minutes? 60 minutes? A couple hours? Did I participate in quizzes from the association? Do I rely on someone else to know the rules when I should? Would I be able to answer any question given to me from a 7

coach?

MECHANICS…Do I know the mechanics for my position and the mechanics for other positions? Do I work them or do I think it does not apply to me? Do I accept the fact that the game changes every year, getting faster and wider, and the mechanics reflect that? When there is something new, do I immediately complain without trying it?

DEDICATION…Do I readily work extra games, scrimmages, and help others out? Do I go to all the meetings or do I just do the minimum? Do I think that I have nothing to contribute and I did all that stuff in the past? Do I mentor anyone? Do I incorporate good time management so I can balance family, work, and football among my other values? When I’m called upon do I respond?

PREPARATION…How much time off the field do I spend getting ready for what I’m going to do on the field? How do I spend that time? What could I do to be more prepared? Take great pride in the fact that your name is on our product.

DON’T FORGET...Your game assignment actually begins well in advance of game day. Below is a list of important things to do as the assignment approaches:

Verify the assignment. Confirm the time and location of the game and any special conditions that will exist. If you can, exchange cell phone numbers with the convenor, so you can inform each other of any last-minute problems all the way up to game time.

Firm up your travel arrangements. The crew needs to know the driver, the meeting point, who will provide the snacks and so on. The good crew chief also insists that the whole crew has each other’s contact information.

Check your equipment. Check everything in your bag well ahead of time in case something needs mending or cleaning. A good approach, if somebody besides you washes your uniform, is to have the person return it fresh from the dryer so you can check, fold and account for it going into your bag yourself.

Do some homework. Opinions vary on how much you should find out about the teams before the game. You owe it to them and yourself to have at least some idea of how competitive and skillful it will be, plus what’s on the line for each team. Conversely, you don’t want to have so thick a book on the teams that you anticipate things that don’t actually occur.

Check the weather on game day. If a monsoon or blizzard is in the forecast, consider padding your travel plans. Remember that one person’s short sleeve weather is another person’s visit to

the South Pole. Get to the crew ahead of time to agree on dress and an updated travel plan well in advance.

Physically prepare. Each person has his or her own standard for sleep and food intake before a game. The best plan is to stick to it. Don’t experiment the night before the championship game, especially when you travel to a place where the water or menu is likely to be different from what you’re used to.

Adjust your workout routine and preparation as the season progresses. Watch for the signs of feeling stiffer and less flexible that comes when you’re working too much. Allow yourself more recovery time. It’s easier to stay in shape than get back in shape with each passing year.

In all your preparations for an assignment, bear in mind a sure way to ruin a reputation is to miss an assignment in a way that was avoidable. Never assume details. Look after yourself and you’ll be a long way toward being the type of official who keeps getting invited back.

How Successful People Stay Calm

Dr. Travis Bradberry Influencer Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of the #1 bestselling book,Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and the cofounder of TalentSmart, the world's leading provider of emotional intelligence tests, emotional intelligence training, and emotional, serving more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies. His bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than 150 countries. Dr. Bradberry has written for, or been covered by, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140805002649-50578967-how-successful-people-stay- calm?trk=eml-mktg-inf-m-top14-1210-p

The ability to manage your emotions and remain calm under pressure has a direct link to your performance. TalentSmart has conducted research with more than a million people, and we’ve

found that 90% of top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress in order to remain calm and in control. If you follow our newsletter, you’ve read some startling research summaries that explore the havoc stress can wreak on one’s physical and mental health (such as the Yale study, which found that prolonged stress causes degeneration in the area of the brain responsible for self-control). The tricky thing about stress (and the anxiety that comes with it) is that it’s an absolutely necessary emotion. Our brains are wired such that it’s difficult to take action until we feel at least some level of this emotional state. In fact, performance peaks under the heightened activation that comes with moderate levels of stress. As long as the stress isn’t prolonged, it’s harmless.

Research from the University of California, Berkeley, reveals an upside to experiencing moderate levels of stress. But it also reinforces how important it is to keep stress under control. The study, led by post-doctoral fellow Elizabeth Kirby, found that the onset of stress entices the brain into growing new cells responsible for improved memory. However, this effect is only seen when stress is intermittent. As soon as the stress continues beyond a few moments into a prolonged state, it suppresses the brain’s ability to develop new cells.

“I think intermittent stressful events are probably what keeps the brain more alert, and you perform better when you are alert,” Kirby says. For animals, intermittent stress is the bulk of what they experience, in the form of physical threats in their immediate environment. Long ago, this was also the case for humans. As the human brain evolved and increased in complexity, we’ve developed the ability to worry and perseverate on events, which creates frequent experiences of prolonged stress.

Besides increasing your risk of heart disease, depression, and obesity, stress decreases your cognitive performance. Fortunately, though, unless a lion is chasing you, the bulk of your stress is subjective and under your control. Top performers have well-honed coping strategies that they employ under stressful circumstances. This lowers their stress levels regardless of what’s happening in their environment, ensuring that the stress they experience is intermittent and not prolonged.

While I’ve run across numerous effective strategies that successful people employ when faced with stress, what follows are ten of the best. Some of these strategies may seem obvious, but the real challenge lies in recognizing when you need to use them and having the wherewithal to actually do so in spite of your stress.

They Appreciate What They Have Taking time to contemplate what you’re grateful for isn’t merely the “right” thing to do. It also improves your mood, because it reduces the stress hormone cortisol by 23%. Research conducted at the University of California, Davis found that people who worked daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude experienced improved mood, energy, and physical well-being. It’s likely that lower levels of cortisol played a major role in this.

They Avoid Asking “What If?” “What if?” statements throw fuel on the fire of stress and worry. Things can go in a million different directions, and the more time you spend worrying about the possibilities, the less time you’ll spend focusing on taking action that will calm you down and keep your stress under control. Calm people know that asking “what if? will only take them to a place they don’t want—or need—to go.

They Stay Positive Positive thoughts help make stress intermittent by focusing your brain’s attention onto something that is completely stress-free. You have to give your wandering brain a little help by consciously selecting something positive to think about. Any positive thought will do to refocus your attention. When things are going well, and your mood is good, this is relatively easy. When things are going poorly, and your mind is flooded with negative thoughts, this can be a challenge. In these moments, think about your day and identify one positive thing that happened, no matter how small. If you can't think of something from the current day, reflect on the previous day or even the previous week. Or perhaps you’re looking forward to an exciting event that you can focus your attention on. The point here is that you must have something positive that you're ready to shift your attention to when your thoughts turn negative.

They Disconnect Given the importance of keeping stress intermittent, it’s easy to see how taking regular time off the grid can help keep your stress under control. When you make yourself available to your work 24/7, you expose yourself to a constant barrage of stressors. Forcing yourself offline and even— gulp!—turning off your phone gives your body a break from a constant source of stress. Studies have shown that something as simple as an email break can lower stress levels.

Technology enables constant communication and the expectation that you should be available 24/7. It is extremely difficult to enjoy a stress-free moment outside of work when an email that will change your train of thought and get you thinking (read: stressing) about work can drop onto your phone at any moment. If detaching yourself from work-related communication on weekday evenings is too big a challenge, then how about the weekend? Choose blocks of time where you cut the cord and go offline. You’ll be amazed at how refreshing these breaks are and how they reduce stress by putting a mental recharge into your weekly schedule. If you’re worried about the negative repercussions of taking this step, first try doing it at times when you’re unlikely to be contacted—maybe Sunday morning. As you grow more comfortable with it, and as your coworkers begin to accept the time you spend offline, gradually expand the amount of time you spend away from technology.

They Limit Their Caffeine Intake Drinking caffeine triggers the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the source of the “fight-or- flight” response, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills 12

when faced with a threat. The fight-or-flight mechanism sidesteps rational thinking in favor of a faster response. This is great when a bear is chasing you, but not so great when you’re responding to a curt email. When caffeine puts your brain and body into this hyperaroused state of stress, your emotions overrun your behavior. The stress that caffeine creates is far from intermittent, as its long half-life ensures that it takes its sweet time working its way out of your body.

They Sleep I’ve beaten this one to death over the years and can’t say enough about the importance of sleep to increasing your emotional intelligence and managing your stress levels. When you sleep, your brain literally recharges, shuffling through the day’s memories and storing or discarding them (which causes dreams), so that you wake up alert and clear-headed. Your self-control, attention, and memory are all reduced when you don’t get enough—or the right kind—of sleep. Sleep deprivation raises stress hormone levels on its own, even without a stressor present. Stressful projects often make you feel as if you have no time to sleep, but taking the time to get a decent night’s sleep is often the one thing keeping you from getting things under control.

They Squash Negative Self-Talk A big step in managing stress involves stopping negative self-talk in its tracks. The more you ruminate on negative thoughts, the more power you give them. Most of our negative thoughts are just that—thoughts, not facts. When you find yourself believing the negative and pessimistic things your inner voice says, it's time to stop and write them down. Literally stop what you're doing and write down what you're thinking. Once you've taken a moment to slow down the negative momentum of your thoughts, you will be more rational and clear-headed in evaluating their veracity.

You can bet that your statements aren’t true any time you use words like “never,” “worst,” “ever,” etc. If your statements still look like facts once they’re on paper, take them to a friend or colleague you trust and see if he or she agrees with you. Then the truth will surely come out. When it feels like something always or never happens, this is just your brain’s natural threat tendency inflating the perceived frequency or severity of an event. Identifying and labeling your thoughts as thoughts by separating them from the facts will help you escape the cycle of negativity and move toward a positive new outlook.

They Reframe Their Perspective Stress and worry are fueled by our own skewed perception of events. It’s easy to think that unrealistic deadlines, unforgiving bosses, and out-of-control traffic are the reasons we’re so stressed all the time. You can’t control your circumstances, but you can control how you respond to them. So before you spend too much time dwelling on something, take a minute to put the situation in perspective. If you aren’t sure when you need to do this, try looking for clues that your anxiety may not be proportional to the stressor. If you’re thinking in broad, sweeping statements such as “Everything is going wrong” or “Nothing will work out,” then you need to reframe the situation. A great way to correct this unproductive thought pattern is to list the specific things that actually are going wrong or not working out. Most likely you will come up with just some things—not everything—and the scope of these stressors will look much more limited than it initially appeared.

They Breathe The easiest way to make stress intermittent lies in something that you have to do everyday anyway: breathing. The practice of being in the moment with your breathing will begin to train your brain to focus solely on the task at hand and get the stress monkey off your back. When you’re feeling stressed, take a couple of minutes to focus on your breathing. Close the door, put away all other distractions, and just sit in a chair and breathe. The goal is to spend the entire time focused only on your breathing, which will prevent your mind from wandering. Think about how it feels to breathe in and out. This sounds simple, but it’s hard to do for more than a minute or two. It’s all right if you get sidetracked by another thought; this is sure to happen at the beginning, and you just need to bring your focus back to your breathing. If staying focused on your breathing proves to be a real struggle, try counting each breath in and out until you get to 20, and then start again from 1. Don’t worry if you lose count; you can always just start over.

This task may seem too easy or even a little silly, but you’ll be surprised by how calm you feel afterward and how much easier it is to let go of distracting thoughts that otherwise seem to have lodged permanently inside your brain.

They Use Their Support System It’s tempting, yet entirely ineffective, to attempt tackling everything by yourself. To be calm and productive, you need to recognize your weaknesses and ask for help when you need it. This means tapping into your support system when a situation is challenging enough for you to feel 14

overwhelmed. Everyone has someone at work and/or outside work who is on their team, rooting for them, and ready to help them get the best from a difficult situation. Identify these individuals in your life and make an effort to seek their insight and assistance when you need it. Something as simple as talking about your worries will provide an outlet for your anxiety and stress and supply you with a new perspective on the situation. Most of the time, other people can see a solution that you can’t because they are not as emotionally invested in the situation. Asking for help will mitigate your stress and strengthen your relationships with those you rely upon.

Video Analysis For video of this paly check out playlist Rulings?? In YouTube channel MrRef204

How is the positioning of the official?

Not Often Seen Play On a kickoff in the playoff game between Winnipeg Rifles and Saskatoon Hilltops, the receiving Team Hilltops blockers held hands and made an initial block while still holding hands. What should be the call ?

Check out video clip on MrRef204 link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lSt3h05d5Q&list=UURxVm6R0WkbPtWudy0hAC-g

2015 Rule Change Proposals les modifications des règles de jeu proposés

Patrick DeLottinville [email protected]

Please be advised that all proposed rule changes for the 2015-2016 rule book must be submitted to the Football Canada office by January 21, 2015. Please see the attached rule change proposal form.

Download the form here: http://footballcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2015-2016-Rule- Change-Submission-Form_final.pdf

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Happy holidays!

Veuillez être avisé que tous les modifications des règles de jeu proposés pour la livre des règlements du football amateur canadien 2015-2016 doit être soumis au bureau de Football Canada avant le 21 janvier 2015. Veuillez voir le fichier pour le formulaire pour présenter vos propositions de modification des règles de jeu.

Téléchargez le formulaire ici : http://footballcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2015-2016- French-rule-change-form_final.pdf

S’il vous plaît n’hésitez pas de me contacter si vous avez des questions. Joyeux temps des fêtes!

These proposed changes will be reviewed by the rules committee, all approved changes will be amendments for the 2015-2016 Canadian Amateur Tackle Rule Book.

2014Grey Cup Officials:

Referee #28 Andre Proulx and his crew

Left to right

Backup Official #57 Marty Carreau, Backup Official #34 Ritchie Miller, Backup Referee #48 Kim Murphy, Field Judge #51 Bryan Taylor, Back Judge #42 Carey Anderson, Side Judge #21 Don Carmichael, Line Judge #74 Tim Kroeker, Head Linesman #67 Justin McInnes, Umpire #31 Ben Major

The crew was supported by an off-field officiating staff, including: Vice President, Officiating Glen Johnson, Director, Officiating Darren Hackwood, Supervisor, Officiating Larry Rohan, Replay Official Jake Ireland, Assistant Replay Official Jeff Harbin

Q&A: Veteran CFL referee thrives under pressure Fresh off third Cup assignment http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/veteran+referee+thrives+under+pressure/10435496/story.html

By Evan Radford, The Star phoenix December 3, 2014

Saskatoon CFL referee Tim Kroeker with a game ball from the 2014 Grey Cup game he refereed in, December 2,

2014. (Gord Waldner/The Star Phoenix photographer)

When Saskatoon teacher Tim Kroeker isn't busy teaching his grades 6, 7, and 8 students at St. John school, the former baseball player travels around the country keeping grown men in line.

Kroeker is a veteran CFL official of nine years who lists former referee Jake Ireland as a role model.

Fresh from officiating the 2014 Grey Cup as a line judge in Vancouver, he sat down to talk about reffing the big game and pressure that goes with it.

StarPhoenix: After this year's Grey Cup, you've officiated three. Your first game was in 2008 with Montreal hosting Calgary. What was that like?

Tim Kroeker: I hadn't been to a Grey Cup before. I didn't know what to expect. It was in Montreal, it was my referee's last game - Jake Ireland. Everything was new and unexpected. It really was special. People come from all over. It doesn't matter if you're 18 or eight; it's for everybody. It's a celebration of our game that anybody can enjoy.

SP: What was it like working the 100th Grey Cup in Toronto in 2012?

TK: It was all amazing. It was my first game that I was chosen by individual merit and it was my second Grey Cup. I wanted to get back. Once you get a taste of being there you always wanna get back.

SP: Among the three Grey Cups you've worked, is there one play or moment that stands out?

TK: The most memorable things are sometimes are not in the games. I really remember walking off the field in my '08 one. I knew it was my mom's last one, the only one she'd ever see. She passed away shortly after that. I really remember that moment, walking off the field. I knew she watched it, but I knew there wouldn't be another one.

In the '12 game, I remember the introductions. I told my kids I'd tip my hat to them. That's something I remember and I know they were watching for that.

SP: What's it like dealing with the pressure of officiating the big game?

TK: The pressure's the fun part. Being prepared allows you to thrive under pressure. If I'm prepared as best as I can, I kind of relish in the pressure. I like that part of it. It really gets your blood going and there's a lot of nervous energy; even more so because it's the Grey Cup. But I knew I was prepared. I use a lot of ... mental imagery.

SP: Do CFL officials and referees have any pre-game music or rituals?

TK: (Laughs) We don't have music in the dressing room.

But we have some pre-game reading stuff that I do and I put on music for white noise. It's a lot less of the rah-rah than what it would be in the dressing room. It's a lot more of a businesslike, sombre preparedness. More quiet than anything.

SP: What's the most creative taunt you've heard from a fan?

TK: I was doing a game in Regina. I was on the east side (of Taylor Field). I went to Holy Cross high school; I played basketball and football against Regina teams.

And some guy in the stands said, "hey Kroeker! Holy Cross sucks!" It had nothing to do with me being a ref or anything. But I thought that was really funny. At the old Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, we were so close to the stands we could hear conversations. There was this one

section where the fans knew all of our first names and where we were from. They'll called us out by name.

SP: What does it mean for you to be chosen to officiate the Grey Cup?

TK: (Pauses) We never win or lose as officials, right? If we can make the Grey Cup that's the ultimate goal every year. When we start training months in advance every year, that's the reason you do it: To be great and to make the Grey Cup. It's an absolute thrill to be chosen. [email protected]

Drinkwalter earned his stripes one game at a time

Brings Canadian football passion Hamilton Spectator By Ken Peters [email protected]

If you love Canadian football — with its rouge, three downs, wider field and other idiosyncrasies — go watch an Ontario University Athletics game this fall. Take Murray Drinkwalter's word for it. He has been on the field for more than 2,000 Canadian contests, and for the past four seasons has been one of eight head referees in the OUA. The 58-year-old Burlington resident is also president of the OUA officials association, and is an executive member of the 130-member Burlington Lakeshore officials association. "It's the purest form of Canadian football," Drinkwalter said of the university game. "The kids are playing for nothing more than the love of their school." Drinkwalter knows the Canadian game like few others. And when the McMaster Marauders beat Laval 41-38 in double-overtime to claim the 2011 Vanier Cup in Vancouver — arguably the greatest Canadian football game ever played — it was the retired Halton cop who was at the centre of the action as the head referee. Drinkwalter remembers it well. He has watched that championship tilt about a dozen times. Mac jumped out to a 23-0 lead at halftime, prompting the head referee to caution his crew at intermission.

"I said to the guys: 'This ball game isn't over by any means.' Because I had had Laval in the Mitchell Bowl in 2009, and I knew Laval was a good football team. I even said: 'I smell overtime.' "I don't think we as officials realized how momentous that football game was until after the game. We had seven guys from all over Canada. We got into town on Wednesday morning and we just gelled." His long-time pal, Hamilton's great George Montani, was also on the crew. "In my mind, that game did more for CIS football than any other game has done." The focused crew was relieved when it was over, and that it was the two teams, and not the officials, who determined the outcome. Drinkwalter said the contest remains the high-water mark of a stellar career. He got involved in officiating in 1982 at the behest of long time Burlington high school sports convener Peter Moore. A Port Hope native and huge Ottawa Rough Riders fan, Drinkwalter had played the sport in high school. His staff sergeant, Paul Chapman, who was in the Lakeshore association, also encouraged him to put the stripes on. He was a 28-year-old cop in Halton looking for a way to give back to the community. He found policing and refereeing a natural fit. "I absolutely fell in love with football officiating," he said. He was officiating minor football and high school games, earning $12 a game. He still referees those games to this day, moving more to the OUA in the fall. The Burlington Lakeshore association is responsible for all amateur football in Peel, Halton and Niagara. "We do a lot of football. And the more football you do, the better you get." Each officials association develops their members, with good prospects getting chances to call games at the Ontario Varsity Football Conference and Ontario Football Conference and Northern Football Conference. Each official must pass four levels of certification as mandated by Football Canada to advance to the top assignments. The best ones then can land OUA spots, a loop the CFL monitors closely as a training ground for its own officials. Drinkwalter got the call from the OUA in 1999. But only after a couple of Burlington officials gave him an "attitude adjustment seminar" and told him in no uncertain terms to rein in a runaway ego. He moved up from side judge to umpire to head referee and became the OUA officials' president two years ago. Just last month, the 48 OUA on-field officials handed him another two- year term as president. And, yes, all the officials in the OUA are men.

Drinkwalter said in the past he has refereed close to 100 football contests a year. These days, with the gridiron work taking a toll on the knees, he may do 50 games. But, with the growth of the sport, OUA officials could be carrying the whistle from June to December. Drinkwalter has seen his share of terrific Canadian football games and some terrific players. Former Mac star Jesse Lumsden, former Western passer Mike Faulds, former Western receiver Andy Fantuz, one-time Queen's passer Danny Brannagan, former Mac passer Kyle Quinlan and one-time York star Andre Durie all make the list. And he admits there are always a few calls he would like back. "I remember in my first years (in the OUA) I made a call down the middle that I called a catch. Two game-day evaluators were in the press box. "They clearly saw that the ball had skipped. And, for a few years afterwards, they called me skippy because I had allowed this skipped pass." Drinkwalter always watches the game tape of his work. "The best evaluation and the most critical evaluation from an official's standpoint is self- evaluation," he says. These days, Drinkwalter is thinking about the day he hangs up the whistle. He thinks the 2015 OUA season will be his final one. He hopes he may have a few high school seasons left after that. Officials are easy targets for critics. More rare is to find players who admire their work. Former Queen's star and two-time Hec Crighton award winner Tom Denison is one of them. He has known Drinkwalter since his days of playing Niagara minor football. "He is great. He is fun to have back there. He has a great personality. It's great when you can have a back and forth with them, because you realize they are real people too and they have a job to do. And he certainly has done his job as good as you can do at the level he does it at," Denison said. Former Mac Hec Crighton award winner Ben Chapdelaine is another admirer. "I always had respect for all officials, but I had good respect for Murray because he always spoke to the players, not as peers, but as people. And that is something as players we always valued."

PERSONAL INTEREST STORY-OFFICIAL DEMONSTRATES COURAGE IN FACE OF HEALTH PROBLEMS CONTIBUTED BY CO EDITOR ROB CHRISTIAN OUTSIDE THE STRIPES, WEEK 15 Tony Corrente returns to Baltimore where his life was savedby Mark Schultz • December 14, 2014 Week 1 of the 2011 season was not going well for referee Tony Corrente and his crew. The California native and his six other partners worked the Ravens-Steelers game in Baltimore — a heated rivalry then, as it is now. The Steelers and Ravens were determined to intimidate each other during the play, as well as after the whistle. The officials had to work hard to keep the players separated and keep peace. Finally, the hatred boiled over into a full-fledged fight. Corrente did his job — he separated the players, but in the fisticuffs, he took a hard spill and hit his head.

Corrente recovered and continued the "I'm not sure that all of this has sunk in yet,'' game. Afterward, he Corrente said. "Today, I feel like -- no, I know - was still sore and had - I have been granted a second chance at life because of the power of friendship, prayer and a choice between the greatest team of doctors you could ever acetaminophen or imagine. I will use this second chance to help ibuprofen. He chose others achieve their dreams and to live and the ibuprofen, which experience all that I can take in with whatever thins the blood. Over amount of time I'm fortunate enough to have. the next few days, he wokeThis up secondwith blood chance on hisis not pillow. going He to alsobe spent coughed up blood. Alarmed,ideally he wentwatching to the the doctor, world go and by.'' physicians made a devastating discovery. There was a cancerous tumor at the base of Corrente’s tongue. He had throat cancer. At the time, the referee stated that if he hadn’t been knocked down, and if he hadn’t taken painkiller that thinned his blood, causing the tumor to bleed, the cancer would have stayed hidden until it was advanced and more difficult to treat. In a strange twist of fate, the fight saved Corrente’s life.Corrente immediately began a cancer treatment that included radiation. He continued to work during the 2011 season, but by Thanksgiving, the cancer treatment had begun to take a toll on the referee. He stepped away from the field for a few weeks, but returned to officiate a playoff game. He then began intensive cancer treatment in Houston, which turned out successful. Corrente was given a medical okay to return to the field and officiate the 2012 NFL season.

Editor note: demonstration of officials’ desireto share their knowledge and experience to support the development of other officials

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