Column: Men, women needed as sports referees

Thirty years officiating games, from entry-level youth to professional football — and the experiences have been some of the greatest of my life.

In order to service youth and prep sports, each year new officials need to be trained and qualified. With each passing year, the number of officials has declined.

Children don’t usually dream about being an official when they grow up; it is mostly entered into by chance.

My first experience with officiating was in the 1970s: NFL football on Sundays had a “you make the call” rule segment. I remember being upset, really upset, if I missed the ruling. My second was a pick-up baseball game. Something about seeing the runner’s foot hit the base and listening for the sound of the ball hitting the glove was exhilarating. My third was being asked by a current high school official if I would like to referee some games, and the rest is history.

These events spanned over 12 years. It took me, an avid football fan, three exposures and 12 years to give it a shot.

The majority of sports officials are men, but women are welcome and encouraged to join the ranks. Women officials are steadily making headway in prep, college and professional sports. Consider this an invitation to lace them up.

The benefits are numerous and include: getting physical and mental exercise, helping the kids, earning extra money, making new friends, and gaining an outlet to have some fun.

Most sports have training clinics and new official mentor programs. The football program is run through the JPS (Jr Prep Sports America) spring and fall seasons and consists of the following process:

1. Find people with an interest and have a one-on-one conversation about their connection to sports, interest in participating and develop a schedule based on their needs.

2. Upfront the $150 cost of the uniform and equipment. The cost will be deducted from game pay but it removes the financial barrier to entry.

3. Develop a schedule of six games under the guidance of a clinician. The clinician will work the same position and have authority over the position should something need to be corrected. When the training official feels comfortable, he or she will alternate snaps with constant coaching and feedback. The clinicians rotate so training officials are exposed to different styles. The clinician will manage coach questions and act as a buffer in order to maintain a comfortable training environment.

4. Clinicians provide a report after each game highlighting what was covered, what the next likely step will be, and an overall evaluation of the training official’s comfortability.

5. After the six clinician games have been completed, if the training official and the clinicians feel ready for a solo game, a youth game will be scheduled and observed by an evaluator.

6. Throughout the process, clinicians are available to talk whenever coaching or guidance is needed. There is also access to training material in the form of an illustrated rule book and game video evaluations.

This process eases officials in and provides a solid base of education to build on. Game times do vary, but the compensation at the JPS level is roughly based on $30 per hour for field time. This rate was selected to compensate the officials for their time at a level competitive with working somewhere else, removing one of the obstacles associated with maintaining an officiating staff.

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MORE ONLINE

See the “Interested in Officiating” link on the Hawaii High School Athletic Association site at www.sportshigh.com.

Kapolei resident Matt Sumstine is HHSAA and JPS football officials coordinator, a Hawaii football rule interpreter and NFL replay official.