How do we add quality officials to HS Sports?

[wallyworld1832]

Sorry if this isn't the purpose of this forum.  But I had to ask for insight.  I saw a post that went into all about pay as the main way to grow official numbers, which as an Econ major, I get.  But I think we need to think outside the box on things for a better way to add quality, young officials.  We have so many young people graduating HS or College that their playing days are over; it seems criminal not to keep them engaged.  What would the thoughts be to something like this?   We add 1 probationary official to every HS game in Indiana for the 9-week season.  With 317 teams listed, and adding in a few out of state games, at make it 165 games a weekend, and paying say $75 per Probationary official and then do the same but have them but an extra for JV or Frosh games on Saturday (most schools run 3 for Frosh and JV).  It would cost about $225K a year.  Obviously, funding is an issue for this, but it is my opinion that the NFL or in our case, the Indianapolis Colts, might be willing to donate to the IHSAA to help deepen and grow the official pool.  Having seen and heard we have officials with major health issues and concerns still officiating, not for the money, but for the simple fear that if they can't go, then the games won't be played.  Just trying to see if an idea like this is worth pursing or has already been tried.  Thank you.  

[Bobref]

You want outside the box? I’ll give you some outside the box. Recruit female football officials.

More young women than ever are participating in athletics. And the opportunities for rapid advancement are there. We have had a woman officiate in the Super Bowl, and in major bowl games. Go to people who are already softball or basketball officials and recruit them for football. That, in addition to recruiting at the grass roots, e.g., just-graduated senior athletes.

[Bobref]

25 minutes ago, wallyworld1832 said:

Sorry if this isn't the purpose of this forum.  But I had to ask for insight.  I saw a post that went into all about pay as the main way to grow official numbers, which as an Econ major, I get.  But I think we need to think outside the box on things for a better way to add quality, young officials.  We have so many young people graduating HS or College that their playing days are over; it seems criminal not to keep them engaged.  What would the thoughts be to something like this?   We add 1 probationary official to every HS game in Indiana for the 9-week season.  With 317 teams listed, and adding in a few out of state games, at make it 165 games a weekend, and paying say $75 per Probationary official and then do the same but have them but an extra for JV or Frosh games on Saturday (most schools run 3 for Frosh and JV).  It would cost about $225K a year.  Obviously, funding is an issue for this, but it is my opinion that the NFL or in our case, the Indianapolis Colts, might be willing to donate to the IHSAA to help deepen and grow the official pool.  Having seen and heard we have officials with major health issues and concerns still officiating, not for the money, but for the simple fear that if they can't go, then the games won't be played.  Just trying to see if an idea like this is worth pursing or has already been tried.  Thank you.  

I love the train of thought, and I do agree that higher pay would probably help both recruitment and retention. The Colts are already the IHSAA’s biggest sponsor. Certainly the schools would never foot such a bill these days, let alone for a single sport.

[JustRules]

6 hours ago, wallyworld1832 said:

Sorry if this isn't the purpose of this forum.  But I had to ask for insight.  I saw a post that went into all about pay as the main way to grow official numbers, which as an Econ major, I get.  But I think we need to think outside the box on things for a better way to add quality, young officials.  We have so many young people graduating HS or College that their playing days are over; it seems criminal not to keep them engaged.  What would the thoughts be to something like this?   We add 1 probationary official to every HS game in Indiana for the 9-week season.  With 317 teams listed, and adding in a few out of state games, at make it 165 games a weekend, and paying say $75 per Probationary official and then do the same but have them but an extra for JV or Frosh games on Saturday (most schools run 3 for Frosh and JV).  It would cost about $225K a year.  Obviously, funding is an issue for this, but it is my opinion that the NFL or in our case, the Indianapolis Colts, might be willing to donate to the IHSAA to help deepen and grow the official pool.  Having seen and heard we have officials with major health issues and concerns still officiating, not for the money, but for the simple fear that if they can't go, then the games won't be played.  Just trying to see if an idea like this is worth pursing or has already been tried.  Thank you.  

Definitely an idea worth pursuing. We would have a hard time finding 165 (or possibly 200+) that would be necessary to fill these spots. These officials would also need to work sub-varsity, middle school, and youth games. That's where we lose a lot of new officials. The behavior of parents and coaches at those levels are the worst. This is true in all youth sports and why most have shortages. Until that behavior changes we will have a hard time retaining new officials. Money will help some of them stick it out long enough, but most leave because it's not worth it. Something similar that would help would be getting these people to be on the chain crew and/or clock operators. That's something other states do with new or retired officials. The main issue will be finding the people to do it.

[foxbat]

17 hours ago, Bobref said:

You want outside the box? I’ll give you some outside the box. Recruit female football officials.

More young women than ever are participating in athletics. And the opportunities for rapid advancement are there. We have had a woman officiate in the Super Bowl, and in major bowl games. Go to people who are already softball or basketball officials and recruit them for football. That, in addition to recruiting at the grass roots, e.g., just-graduated senior athletes.

We used to use this model, not so much for refs, but for coaches in the youth league and junior high.  We always tried to catch guys that were sticking around town to go to Purdue or Ivy Tech or just back taking a gap semester.  LCC has at least four current coaches that played high school ball there not too long ago.

 

17 hours ago, wallyworld1832 said:

Sorry if this isn't the purpose of this forum.  But I had to ask for insight.  I saw a post that went into all about pay as the main way to grow official numbers, which as an Econ major, I get.  But I think we need to think outside the box on things for a better way to add quality, young officials.  We have so many young people graduating HS or College that their playing days are over; it seems criminal not to keep them engaged.  What would the thoughts be to something like this?   We add 1 probationary official to every HS game in Indiana for the 9-week season.  With 317 teams listed, and adding in a few out of state games, at make it 165 games a weekend, and paying say $75 per Probationary official and then do the same but have them but an extra for JV or Frosh games on Saturday (most schools run 3 for Frosh and JV).  It would cost about $225K a year.  Obviously, funding is an issue for this, but it is my opinion that the NFL or in our case, the Indianapolis Colts, might be willing to donate to the IHSAA to help deepen and grow the official pool.  Having seen and heard we have officials with major health issues and concerns still officiating, not for the money, but for the simple fear that if they can't go, then the games won't be played.  Just trying to see if an idea like this is worth pursing or has already been tried.  Thank you.  

When I coached in the youth league, we paid money for Friday night refs to ref the youth games.  Great experience for the kids as these guys spent lots of time helping the kids understand why things were being called and, probably more importantly, helped us coaches understand a lot of what was being called so we could then go back and reinforce with the kids.  The other thing too is that they were ALWAYS dependable.  We had a couple of older, really involved refs who I think headed up their own crews on Friday nights.  They often brought some of the younger guys from their crews to come and get extra practice in a less hectic environment on Sundays to help them out.  Toward the end of my time coaching, there was one head ref who was bringing an "extra" ref to the games and this was usually a guy who was training to be a ref, but hadn't been certified yet and the other refs helped him understand all of the things like communication, placement, working with the chain gang, etc.  

[JustRules]

31 minutes ago, foxbat said:

We used to use this model, not so much for refs, but for coaches in the youth league and junior high.  We always tried to catch guys that were sticking around town to go to Purdue or Ivy Tech or just back taking a gap semester.  LCC has at least four current coaches that played high school ball there not too long ago.

 

When I coached in the youth league, we paid money for Friday night refs to ref the youth games.  Great experience for the kids as these guys spent lots of time helping the kids understand why things were being called and, probably more importantly, helped us coaches understand a lot of what was being called so we could then go back and reinforce with the kids.  The other thing too is that they were ALWAYS dependable.  We had a couple of older, really involved refs who I think headed up their own crews on Friday nights.  They often brought some of the younger guys from their crews to come and get extra practice in a less hectic environment on Sundays to help them out.  Toward the end of my time coaching, there was one head ref who was bringing an "extra" ref to the games and this was usually a guy who was training to be a ref, but hadn't been certified yet and the other refs helped him understand all of the things like communication, placement, working with the chain gang, etc.  

Youth leagues is where most new officials get their start. It's also where the most abuse happens from parents and coaches. It's also why we lose a lot of new officials. Cleaning that up will go a LONG way to addressing our shortage. The problem is the people doing the abusing don't see what they do as abusing. They feel they are in their right to yell at officials if they feel they are getting something wrong. Cheer for your kid and their team and buy them ice cream after. Leave the officials alone.

[foxbat]

1 hour ago, JustRules said:

Youth leagues is where most new officials get their start. It's also where the most abuse happens from parents and coaches. It's also why we lose a lot of new officials. Cleaning that up will go a LONG way to addressing our shortage. The problem is the people doing the abusing don't see what they do as abusing. They feel they are in their right to yell at officials if they feel they are getting something wrong. Cheer for your kid and their team and buy them ice cream after. Leave the officials alone.

We weren't perfect with this, but the league took steps to have the refs as a part of the league as opposed to like just gameday work.  The refs were part of the league's board.  They were part of the season prep and the season debrief.  They also provided inputs to the coaches throughout the season.  There were some coaches that just wanted to play on Sunday and win, but there were enough other coaches out there that would remind parents, before games, kind of exactly what you said; that they were there to cheer for the team and support their kid and let everyone else, coaches, refs, players, chain gang, concession stand folks, etc. do their jobs.  For the most part, coaches did a good job of nipping stuff in the bud really quickly if a fan yelled out. 

Even got the kids involved in helping out and understanding the refs' role that, whenever there was a timeout or halftime, the kids bringing out the water would ask the refs if they needed some too.  It was the only time the kids got to talk to the refs in games except to say "good game" at the end of the game or "heads" or "tails" or "that one" for the endzone to defend at the coin flip, so they thought it was something special.

[Impartial_Observer]

12 minutes ago, foxbat said:

We weren't perfect with this, but the league took steps to have the refs as a part of the league as opposed to like just gameday work.  The refs were part of the league's board.  They were part of the season prep and the season debrief.  They also provided inputs to the coaches throughout the season.  There were some coaches that just wanted to play on Sunday and win, but there were enough other coaches out there that would remind parents, before games, kind of exactly what you said; that they were there to cheer for the team and support their kid and let everyone else, coaches, refs, players, chain gang, concession stand folks, etc. do their jobs.  For the most part, coaches did a good job of nipping stuff in the bud really quickly if a fan yelled out. 

Even got the kids involved in helping out and understanding the refs' role that, whenever there was a timeout or halftime, the kids bringing out the water would ask the refs if they needed some too.  It was the only time the kids got to talk to the refs in games except to say "good game" at the end of the game or "heads" or "tails" or "that one" for the endzone to defend at the coin flip, so they thought it was something special.

Working on putting a similar system in place here. I asked the local youth league leaders if I could be in charge of dealing with out of line parents and they said NO, we’ll handle that. OK, but rest assured if you don’t I will, you’re asking me to train HS kids, I’m not letting some idiot run them off. 

[foxbat]

4 minutes ago, Impartial_Observer said:

Working on putting a similar system in place here. I asked the local youth league leaders if I could be in charge of dealing with out of line parents and they said NO, we’ll handle that. OK, but rest assured if you don’t I will, you’re asking me to train HS kids, I’m not letting some idiot run them off. 

The best of luck to you and the HS kids!  That's doing God's work there and one day those HS kids will realize what a role they played in helping the next generation enjoy the game.  Hope you get all the support you and those kids need from those coaches.  I'm encouraged by their "enthusiasm" in handling their fans.

[FarmerFran]

Why not allow high school aged kids to ref at the junior high and youth level for extra cash to get them in the door prior to leaving school? Could be a win-win for schools and kids. Kids make some pocket money, schools instantly have a pool to ref lower level games. You could run some regional courses for different sport's offerings to teach the rules/train. 

[Impartial_Observer]

29 minutes ago, foxbat said:

The best of luck to you and the HS kids!  That's doing God's work there and one day those HS kids will realize what a role they played in helping the next generation enjoy the game.  Hope you get all the support you and those kids need from those coaches.  I'm encouraged by their "enthusiasm" in handling their fans.

I think they’ll do it, they know how I’ll deal with it, and I don’t think they want to deal with that either. In fairness I’ve never really had any issues at Seymour. They play at the HS and parents have to be in the stands. I’m more of the mindset you’re starting your AB with an 0-2 count.

[oldtimeqb]

I think there are a few HS who have started "officiating" as PE class for upper grade students.  The goal being to teach them a little about officiating and even get them licensed as patched officials.  No offense to avid bowlers and pickleball players out there, but I would rather see students enrolled in that than a Lifetime Sports PE class.  

I attended a MS volleyball game last week (read: torture lol) and someone remarked that the HS girl working as a line judge was doing so as a requirement for her officiating class. This is all secondhand info but I'm fairly certain it is happening, and a positive change IMO. 

[JustRules]

1 hour ago, oldtimeqb said:

I think there are a few HS who have started "officiating" as PE class for upper grade students.  The goal being to teach them a little about officiating and even get them licensed as patched officials.  No offense to avid bowlers and pickleball players out there, but I would rather see students enrolled in that than a Lifetime Sports PE class.  

I attended a MS volleyball game last week (read: torture lol) and someone remarked that the HS girl working as a line judge was doing so as a requirement for her officiating class. This is all secondhand info but I'm fairly certain it is happening, and a positive change IMO. 

Correct. The IHSAA piloted this class last year with a few HSs around the state. They are very involved with the efforts to recruit new officials as well. We'll see how good engagement and follow up is from them and the local officials as well.

[Yuccaguy]

I had a HS student the other night complement me at a MIDDLE SCHOOL game on my officiating.  (No comment on what I was doing there) 

But the larger point is. 

He said he'd like to become an official.  Then asked.  "What do I do take a couple of classes?".... 

I tried as best as possible to speak with him, (since I was the LJ this evening) about the art of officiating.  But it seems that no one understands that just like PLAYING the game, we ALL must practice/practice/practice to become better;  This is NOT a hobby!  It is much more than that. 

UGH!   🤔

[Bobref]

On 8/28/2023 at 6:07 PM, Bobref said:

You want outside the box? I’ll give you some outside the box. Recruit female football officials.

I’m not the only one who feels that way.

https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2023/09/27/arizona-high-school-ref-shortage-women-officials/

‘Without refs, it’s only recess’: Former ref says recruiting women could be answer to high school officiating shortage

Sept. 27, 2023

PHOENIX – Every year, hundreds of Arizona high school football officials come together in one room to discuss the upcoming season. For too many of those years, Anne Montgomery was the only woman in attendance.

Still, Montgomery always wanted to be in that room. She even continued working as a high school official while striving toward her dream as a television anchor, which included a stint as one of the first women to anchor ESPN’s SportsCenter. She also was among the first women to work in the Valley as a sports anchor.

She’s been the lone female voice in a lot of rooms.

Montgomery was an official for 40 years, refereeing games in Arizona for 29 of them before retiring in 2019. She also has authored six novels along the way.

“Over the years, other women have appeared, but for the most part they don’t stick around very long,” Montgomery said of her days as an Arizona Interscholastic Association referee.

Many men don’t, either.

Montgomery’s experiences as a ref exemplified one of the AIA’s biggest challenges: recruiting and retaining officials in all sports.

A quick look through social media sites or on YouTube will explain why. Abuse of officials by parents, coaches and athletes is rampant. Many officials decide it isn’t worth the stress. The result is a growing shortage of high school referees and umpires across the country.

In Arizona over the past few seasons, the AIA has required high school football programs to play a Thursday night football game to compensate for the shortage of refs.

Montgomery is not surprised by the downward trend in one of the most important roles in Arizona high school sports. She believes the constant bombardment officials take is a reason many are leaving the profession.

Ultimately, that will damage high school sports.

“Without the ref, it’s only recess,” Montgomery said. “If people want to continue treating us that way, they’re going to end up going to a field, and there’s not going to be a game. You can’t play without us.”

She believes the solution to the officiating shortage could be recruiting more women into the profession. 

“There are so many more girls who play high school sports now that they like sports,” Montgomery said. “Recruit them, teach them, make them feel accepted and you’re going to solve a lot of the problem of not having any officials.”

The officiating shortage is not an Arizona-specific problem. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), the United States lost approximately 50,000 high school officials between the 2018-19 school year and February 2022.

Still, according to the NFHS, more than 3.2 million girls participated in high school athletics during the 2021-22 season – just below the average before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. More than 51,000 girls played a high school sport in Arizona during that season.

Anne Montgomery, a former official and ESPN SportsCenter anchor, emphasizes the need to recruit more women to officiating roles in Arizona high school sports. (Photo courtesy of Anne Montgomery)

Additionally, Arizona has become one of eight states to offer girls high school flag football during the 2023-24 school year. Montgomery believes the new sport provides the AIA a perfect opportunity to find more officials.

“That’s football,” she said of the flag game. “It’s the same idea, so I would go out and recruit some of those young ladies and say, ‘Look, football is a great sport, whether it’s flag or tackle. Would you like to be involved in the game and get paid for it?’”

The high school official shortage has especially affected tackle football. Friday Night Lights has turned into a Thursday Night Showdown for about 15 high school programs each week in Arizona. On Sept. 14, for example, powerhouse Saguaro High School played Shadow Ridge High School in Shadow Ridge’s only Thursday night matchup of the season.

Fourth-year Shadow Ridge coach Sean Hegarty said that, while the schedule is a challenge for a mid-week game, his players needed to roll with the punches.

“It definitely moves things up. It’s a little more difficult at times, but you make do with what you have,” Hegarty said. “The boys have to adapt. Coaches have to adapt.”

Zak Hill is in his first season coaching Saguaro, following two seasons as Arizona State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He understands the difficulty of the AIA’s recent officiating struggles.

“I’ve heard about the referee shortage, and it seems to be a growing concern,” Hill said. “More people don’t want to jump into that world, and it’s a tough world. You’re getting criticized every game. There’s a lot of stress involved and not a lot of compensation.”

Both head coaches praised their players and coaching staff for their ability to maneuver around the difficult circumstances. Saguaro is nearly an hour east of Shadow Ridge, but Hill said his players are emphasizing the “student” first in student-athlete. They are proactive with schoolwork and deal with the grind of being a football player. Hill’s players understand the dedication of being a student-athlete.

Hill said the players in his program understand how difficult officiating can be. Making the referees’ lives as easy as possible is important for Hill, his staff and players.

Matt Kuffel, assistant principal and athletic director at Shadow Ridge, noted that the shortage of officials takes an even greater toll on spring season sports than it does on football.

Kuffel said programs that play numerous times a week are affected more heavily. Sports like baseball and softball experience a domino effect when the AIA is unable to find officials to assign to freshman and junior varsity games.

“If they’re full, now all of a sudden you get a cancellation,” Kuffel said. “Those cancellations will lead into pushing games back. Now all of a sudden you’re not playing two days a week, or three days a week. You’re asking some of your varsity programs to play four days a week.”

And there is another trickle-down effect. Kuffel said game management has become more difficult for the program for a number of events. Some games have been pushed to Saturdays due to the official shortage, and hiring support people to work those games has been a struggle. 

Montgomery has been the lone female voice during a majority of her professional sporting career. Whether it be officiating on the field, or describing events to people on the television screen, she has been an ambassador and opened the door for future generations to come.

 

[snrmike]

On 9/29/2023 at 6:06 AM, Bobref said:

I’m not the only one who feels that way.

https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2023/09/27/arizona-high-school-ref-shortage-women-officials/

‘Without refs, it’s only recess’: Former ref says recruiting women could be answer to high school officiating shortage

Agreed Bob.
We will have a young lady working as the back judge (sub) on our crew Friday night!