The Coin Toss

A week’s worth of practice, fired up stadium, lights are on, and everyone is warmed up. Kickoff is minutes away. There is only one thing left to do. The one thing that allows everyone one last opportunity to gather before three hours of intense competition. The Coin Toss. The coin toss is a tradition where representatives of both teams meet at midfield in a show of sportsmanship prior to the contest. At that point the referee will give any final instructions and navigate the process to see which team will kick off to start the game. For officials, the referee in particular, the coin toss is an opportunity to accomplish three things: Gauge the Temperature, Establish Expectations, Gain Trust. Here is an example of a typical coin toss along with Do’s and Don’ts.

Click on the following link for the Basic Coin Toss Video.

DO NOT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT A COIN

It is IMPOSSIBLE to have a coin toss without a coin. Size is important, so I suggest investing in a silver dollar sized coin. Most vendors have special coins with fun designs, this is a way to show your personality. Stay away from challenge coins or three-dimensional styled coins because they either tend to be weighted on one side or ergonomically difficult to flip. The perfect coin should be evenly balanced with sides that are easy to distinguish from one another. Also, a good way to find out if your umpire is a keeper is if they carry a coin also. Do not get caught at midfield without a coin. All credibility will be lost and I’m pretty sure the entire association will know before the next meeting.

BE AWARE OF THE TIME

Most coin tosses are scheduled five minutes prior to kickoff before the national anthem. If the national anthem on average is two minutes long, simple math gives us 3 minutes to complete the task. This includes ushering captains to and from midfield. Get used to having a consistent process that takes between 60 to 90 seconds. Practice in the mirror with a stopwatch and nail that time down. As referees, we must be able to control everything that we have power over. The coin toss is the easiest thing that we can maintain consistency over.

GET YOUR POINT ACROSS

In the brief amount of time that you have with the captains, it is important to have an idea of what to say. This is the moment where you set the expectations of all involved for the duration of the contest. This message will be relayed to the teams. Take a moment to go over your pregame monologue the night before as you are keeping track of time. Be clear, direct, and firm because in this moment each captain is also reading you as an authority figure. Set the example early.

10 STEP COIN TOSS

Here is an example of my 10 step coin toss procedure. Feel free to use it and make it your own. Remember to follow your associations guidelines as far as mechanics are involved.

#1 – Square Up. Get set on the Press Box side of the field with your umpire. Some mechanics may have you set facing the press box or naturally on the left/right of the 50-yard line. Remind your wings to line up the captains so that the speaking captain is the one nearest you prior to coming out. Jog to midfield.

#2 – Bring Em Out. Signal both sidelines to have the captains escorted to midfield. Players are flanked by the wing officials until they reach the hash mark. At that point, the players will continue to the referee and umpire.

#3 – Greet the Captains. At this point I’m offering the players the opportunity to shake hands. Here, I’m doing two things: Encouraging Sportsmanship and Gauging the Temperature of the Game. In the rare instance there is no handshake, my antennas are up, and I will alert my crew to be assertive early in the game due to the nature of the encounter. I never want to “force” sportsmanship because I do not know about anything that may have been brewing prior to the contest. This may cause more hurt than harm due to the opportunity of a cheap shot or a sly remark. However, as a crew we will continue to encourage it throughout the night so hopefully by game’s end we get to that mutual level of respect. I then introduce myself and set expectations for everyone.

#4 – Establish Expectations. After introducing myself and the crew, I set my two main expectations: Sportsmanship and Safety. Depending on if we had a handshake prior, this statement directly acknowledges that or is the first official warning that unsportsmanlike behavior will not be tolerated.

#5 – Assume Responsibility. I let the captains know what we are responsible for and what they are responsible for. This is our contract for the evening. Our job as officials is to make sure no one gets an unfair advantage. Their job as players is to make sure that the best team wins the game. Any issues with players from the opposing team should be reported to us.

#6 – Acknowledge the Away Team and Explain the Process. It is the Away team’s responsibility to call the toss. Show both teams the coin and which side is Heads and Tails. Ask the captain for their call.

#7 – Toss the Coin. I prefer to let the coin hit the ground because of Murphy’s Law and the embarrassment of bobbling a silver dollar is not a good look.

#8 – Options. Acknowledge the result of the toss and give the winning team their options. There are technically 4 options: Receive, Kick, Defer, or Choose a Goal to Defend. If properly explained, you can minimize the number of choices to 3 by eliminating the option to Kick. Think of it in these terms: The winner of the coin toss has the FIRST OPTION to (1) Receive the Opening Kickoff, (2) Defer this Option Until the Second Half, or (3) Choose which goal to defend. Deferring to the second half ensures 99% of the time that the opposing team will Receive the opening kickoff meaning that you will Kick. Allowing a team to Kick with the first half option is asking for trouble as they will Kick both halves due to the opposing team choosing to receive with their second half option.

#9 – Alert the Press Box. If the option was deferred, let the press box know by tapping the shoulder of the captain who won and their decision by crossing your arms (incomplete signal). Otherwise, turn the captains so that they are facing each other with their backs to the goal that they are defending, and stand next to the team that will be receiving and give the completed catch “signal”.

#10 – One last Sportsmanship Check and Record Results. Before sending the captains back to the sideline, offer them one more opportunity to shake hands and seal the deal. Record the results with your crew and get ready for the national anthem and kickoff.

Remember, the coin toss sets the tone for the entire evening. Despite it being the least eventful part of the game, each toss has the potential to signify the start of an unforgettable battle with memories to last a lifetime. Let’s remember to take it just as serious as the game itself.