I usually just politely ask them to watch for holding on my def ends and stuff like that since I realize they have a lot to try and see with only 5 man crews. Some of them really do seem to care about the quality of the game and doing their best. Some as I mentioned don't seem to care about much more than getting paid at the end of the evening. When the calls are blatant, it is frustrating watching the film but mostly I focus on how we can improve and avoid the officiating from having as big an impact.
Unfortunately the OSSAA found very few takers a couple years ago when they offered a type of scholarship program to entice younger people to learn the officiating craft.
With OH (offensive holding), an official has to ask himself,
"did the hold affect the play?" in a split-second. Some holds are obvious, but we were trained to describe the action, "grab & restrict", "hook & turn", "takedown", etc. Some nights, we've got assistant coaches screaming for a hold on damn near every play. Needless to say, that can get annoying for the flank officials.
The best thing you can do as a coaching staff to improve officiating is to share your HUDL game film with your local OSSAA chapter. I assume yours is in Tulsa. The officials who are serious about getting better will review their games every week. Those that aren't, won't, so maybe you can "scratch" the really poor, lazy, or ineffectual crews.
The key is hustle. Crews are gonna miss a few calls with only 5 guys. But, y'all should encourage those who show up on time, prepared, and are hustling on film. You know who they are and I'll bet your local 6A schools request them every week.
