You'd Look Good in Stripes

[theguru]

This organization has been a major sponsor of the State Championships and I wanted to call attention to it and encourage anyone interested to consider becoming an official.  From their website:

There’s a shortage of high school officials in almost every sport. In some communities the shortage is critical and high school games are being either postponed or cancelled.

Becoming a high school official is the easiest call you’ll ever make. High school officials protect the integrity of the games our kids love to play by demonstrating qualities like honesty, objectivity, consistency, courage and common sense. They have the opportunity to help teenagers learn life lessons that will benefit them for a lifetime. As veteran officials continue to retire, new officials have an opportunity to make a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of young people every year.

Consider the many benefits of becoming a high school official:

You’ll be a role model for the youth in your community
It’s a great way to stay in good physical condition
Hours are flexible
You’ll earn extra income
You’ll expand your network of friends and have fun

https://highschoolofficials.com/

[Voice of Reason]

You can make some nice side money as an official while being involved in a sport you enjoy. I have several friends who are officials and they really like it. 

[theguru]

Just now, Voice of Reason said:

You can make some nice side money as an official while being involved in a sport you enjoy. I have several friends who are officials and they really like it. 

Me too on friends and the officials I know are awesome people so it would give you a new circle of friends that are smart, honest, and dependable. 

[Voice of Reason]

17 minutes ago, theguru said:

Me too on friends and the officials I know are awesome people so it would give you a new circle of friends that are smart, honest, and dependable. 

I know football officials that worked together as a group for years and became great friends.

[theguru]

Just now, Voice of Reason said:

I know football officials that worked together as a group for years and became great friends.

Exactly!  And BGP put me in a position to join them on occasion and I feel very fortunate. 

[Tigerpride94]

Surprised not more people are refs with all the experts I hear in the stands telling the refs they missed the call. 😂

[LongTimeReader]

My grandfather was an official and is part of the KFOA HoF, my Dad is a part of the KFOA (retiring after this season, but he’s said that the last 10 years) and is in the KFOA HoF, and brother started officiating in the KFOA and now is an official in the Sun Belt Conference. It is a challenge, but is a great way to stay involved in the game with the same level of commitment and work ethic players and coaches put into the game. 

[9068]

Great post! Always encouraged my students and players (male and female) to consider officiating or umpiring after hs or college. You can make a little money, but the networking is very good too. I was so fortunate to officiate with so many excellent people.....not just as officials, but great folks. Worst part was attending son's games and sitting in crowd with folks( more moms lol) that would look at me over a questionable call.... always replied I didn't see it....my wife knew otherwise lol. Get involved...it's a labor of love!

[FootballBobcat]

I too encourage folks to sign up. Even if you become an umpire in baseball or an official for football at the youth level, it’s worth it. I umpired baseball for years with my son and we really enjoyed working games together. We still joke about some comments thrown our way. We also learned what it’s like to make a call in real time and how hard that can be. We’re not perfect and missed some calls but hey, we’re human! I really side with officials now. More often than not they get it right. 
 

We also encourage people to relax about being nasty towards the officials. I personally know refs who got tired of the abuse. The result over time is the situation we’re facing. Even if you don’t want to become a ref you can still help by supporting them! Thank them after a game—even if your team loses. Goes a long way in keeping them! 

[9068]

2 minutes ago, FootballBobcat said:

I too encourage folks to sign up. Even if you become an umpire in baseball or an official for football at the youth level, it’s worth it. I umpired baseball for years with my son and we really enjoyed working games together. We still joke about some comments thrown our way. We also learned what it’s like to make a call in real time and how hard that can be. We’re not perfect and missed some calls but hey, we’re human! I really side with officials now. More often than not they get it right. 
 

We also encourage people to relax about being nasty towards the officials. I personally know refs who got tired of the abuse. The result over time is the situation we’re facing. Even if you don’t want to become a ref you can still help by supporting them! Thank them after a game—even if your team loses. Goes a long way in keeping them! 

Oh so true. As a coach I really appreciated officials as I worked another sport. Always tried to encourage younger(newer) officials, but never hesitated to talk to their assigner especially if they were struggling. Conversely, never hesitated to tell assigners to consider good ones for bigger and tougher assignments.

[theguru]

Bump.

[Randy Parker]

[gchs_uk9]

On 12/19/2020 at 8:43 PM, Voice of Reason said:

I know football officials that worked together as a group for years and became great friends.

A couple of years ago I was responsible for making sure the referees got safely from their halftime spot back to the field. As I walked with them heading into halftime you could tell they were all friends, they were chatting, making comments about good plays made by both teams. On the way back after halftime, one of the refs even stopped and thanked the cheerleaders for being supportive of their teams.

Point being, there are lots of good people refereeing who enjoy the job and do it well. They also enjoy the atmosphere and making things better for all players, participants, and fans. Hopefully once Covid eases up their numbers will increase.

[theguru]

17 minutes ago, Randy Parker said:

Only you RP!

[theguru]

13 minutes ago, gchs_uk9 said:

A couple of years ago I was responsible for making sure the referees got safely from their halftime spot back to the field. As I walked with them heading into halftime you could tell they were all friends, they were chatting, making comments about good plays made by both teams. On the way back after halftime, one of the refs even stopped and thanked the cheerleaders for being supportive of their teams.

Point being, there are lots of good people refereeing who enjoy the job and do it well. They also enjoy the atmosphere and making things better for all players, participants, and fans. Hopefully once Covid eases up their numbers will increase.

I agree with every word you said gchs.  As a group, I am not sure you can find better and that is not hyperbole.  Guys like Matt Young, Steve Fromeyer, Pete Schierloh, and Joe Frank are among some of the absolute best people I have ever met/became friends with and they were all high school officials in NKY.