The Officials Shortage

This is my 15th year in education and often after a game the complaint is not about the why the wining team was better.  It is usually first the poor officiating, the poor coaching performance and yes, if your kid was playing I'm sure we would have won.  Lets be honest and say that we are not good to our officials and yes this includes me.  I will never poke at anyone without including myself.  I have found myself in each status that I occupy criticizing an official.  I've been a coach, an athletic director, an administrator and yes a parent when I've been critical of an official.  I'm not proud of it but I am always right.  Right?

Before we get to the heart of the matter let me make this request.  All that I ask of officials in any sport are these two things, you have to operate with player safety in mind and realize that you are a part of the coaching process.  I have minimized all of my concerns into those two things and think that is fair.  We do not want kids hurt and we want them to learn their game.  Yes officials, when you don't make a call or try to keep things "even" you are not helping kids learn.  Let's move on.

We have teacher and administrator shortage going on also.  It seems to be caused by factors outside of education that have nothing to do with how awesome it is to be an educator.  Officials are seeing the same thing.  Most officials I speak to and know like to officiate because it is a way to stay close to the sports they love and to serve their community.  A recent survey done by NASO found that 76% of the high school sports governing bodies say that poor sportsmanship by parents is the single biggest reason officials quit.  68% said that poor sportsmanship by coaches and players was a factor for officials quitting.  One of my favorite movies is "Clerks" and a great line from that film was "This job would be great if it wasn't for the F-ing customers."  Randal might have been on to something.

The New York Times published a good article on the situation and told of two officials dying after being punched by players.  We have all seen the internet videos.  Take a look at this one where a pitcher, catcher and likely the coach are unhappy with the umpire's strike zone and they conspire to intentionally hit him with a pitch.  This is the tip of the iceberg.  I dare you to search for videos like this.  Watch the conduct and listen to he fans shout.  You could easily make a day of it.  It is quite embarrassing for us people who claim to love our sports.  We can't seem to show an ounce of respect for the few people left that put up with our crap for just a few bucks.

There are lots of ways to combat this problem.  Yes, we have to be better.  I attended a game recently that the wining team's fans rode the officials the entire game.  Every time I see this team in a gym they act like this.  All the officials everywhere they go cannot be that incompetent.  Fans must do a better job of letting the player's level of play determine whether they are happy or not.  All we are really doing is allowing our kids to shift the blame for poor play to someone else.  They are kids, let them mess up and learn.  Besides that, I can't tell you how off-putting it is to walk into a gym excited to see a game and the first thing you hear upon entering is some idiot yelling "WALK!"

Let me share a story.  My daughter is a 7th grade basketball player fortunate enough to get to play on the 8th grade team for a couple quarters a game.  One night we had a fast break and she trailed our eventual layup shooter.  A defender raced down the floor and couldn't catch up with the shooter so she shoved my daughter in the back, snapping her head back and sending her to the floor.  I was livid and stood to my feet shouting as loud as I could.  Yes, I was emotionally connected to the incident and was concerned for my daughter but the event did not surprise me.  An official was only eight feet or so away form the situation and did not blow the whistle.  My shouting continued until my wife pulled me down into my seat.  This particular official, in my opinion, should not be working ball games.  He has proven to be ineffective and had very public personal problems take place over the past couple of years.  Athletic directors need to hire the best they can for our kids.  We can't encourage others pick up the whistle if we put bad ones on the floor.  That's not a fraternity that anyone wants to belong to.

That's the trick isn't it?  Nobody good will step up so we cant get rid of the bad ones (much like politics). This is a recipe for continued and worsening shortage of officials.  Like other things that drive us crazy, this problem is layered and requires everyone to do their part.  The bottom line is that if we can do a better job then pick up some gear and go to the IHSA officials page and get started.  If we only find a singular reason why things are bad we will only continue to create shortages in the most important aspects of our lives.  That statement goes far beyond officials.  Teachers, police officers and other public sector professions are seeing too few people step up.  That's because we play the blame game too much instead of doing our part.

I would like to personally apologize to any official that I have been abrasive to over the years (and there have been quite a few). As a coach I am only trying to keep my kids in a winning situation, as a administrator I worry about the safety of my teams, and as a parent I want my child to be safe and learn the game.  I will do a better job of being a coach, administrator and fan.