For 30 plus years David Almand has been in the game. A 1978 Franklin-Simpson Graduate and then from Western Kentucky in 1982 with a Masters degree, David Almand passion for the game of football has continued since he was a kid. "I started running the clock for the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades games when I was only in the fourth grade. While in high school I worked refereeing middle school games until I graduated high school when I became officially licensed" said Almand. Instead of playing the game Almand spent all of his time running the clock and learning the rules. "While I did not have the experience of playing football on the field I feel I have been around the game my entire life and I really have" said Almand.

David still has his license in baseball but says he has not umpired the game in quit sometime because of the amount of games played during the season and his teaching responsibilities it would have made it tough to manage. In football he only has one or two games a week to work.

Becoming a referee was a way that Almand could be involved in the game. "It was a great way for me to stay involved in a game I really enjoyed. Some of the best high school, college and pro referees once played the game, becoming a referee is a way for them to remain involved. Another thing it was something I thought I had the potential to do and was very confident with the rules and generally was able to get people to listen to what I had to say;' Laughed Almand.

There are three different state levels of license for refereeing and Almand has been at the top level for a long time. "The sad reality of it is that we have so few football referees in the state that it does take a long time once you become a referee to get a varsity schedule. We have 5 people in there first year that are working a varsity schedule because of the shortage of football referees. It's just a matter of supply and demand." said Almand.

David is the Director of Officiating for region 4. The only time you will find him on the field is if there are more games then the regular officials can cover.

Moving to the 6 class system there are now 50% more playoff games. "Last year in the first week we had 64 games. This year in the first week we will have 96 playoff games, so it is no longer an honor to officiate a playoff game in the first couple of rounds, but a necessity to utilize all your crews to cover these games regardless of their level of experience. By the third and fourth rounds we will be back to using our most experienced and best crews." said Almand

With framed pictures hanging in Almand's office it is easy to tell he is a football fan. But why the Cleveland Browns? "When I was growing up in high school and in my college years during the late 70's early 80's the Browns were known as the "cardiac kids". We would watch Cleveland play on television come back from behind in games, play in snow and the freezing cold, the crowds going wild, I said now that's football up there, so I have been a season tickets since 1981 to present.

David also has close ties to the Tennessee Titans "I have to clear things up because people think I work for the Titian's, and that I have tickets to the game, the answer is no. I am employed by the NFL as a clock operator. I have been running clocks for nearly 40 years. I started in high school, then at Western Kentucky University and finally for the NFL and the Titian's since 1997" said Almand.

Almand admits that he gets paid a whole lot more for pushing a button as a NFL clock operator, but on any given Friday night or Saturday he will be out refereeing or watching, observing and evaluating the performance of other referees do their jobs. On Sundays he will either be at the Titian's game or on his way to Cleveland to watch his Browns play.

Almand will be the first to tell you that being an official has been a passion of his for over 30 years, but it is not for everyone. "There are plenty of opportunities to get lice sensed in the sport of your choice and that you really enjoy." said Almond.

To find out more information on becoming an official log onto KHSAA.org .