Always Aiming to Provide a 'Fair Start'
June 6, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Tom Truscott was glad where he stood as he raised his hands to start the 100-meter boys Regional race at Lansing Sexton in 1987 that featured Corey Pryor of Jackson, Tico Duckett of Kalamazoo Loy Norrix and the host Big Reds’ Alan Haller.
They’d go on a few weeks later to finish first, third and fourth, respectively, in arguably the fastest MHSAA Finals race of all time. And on this afternoon, Truscott was glad he didn’t have to referee at the finish and figure out who crossed the line first.
To be honest, he’s never paid much attention to finishes during 42 years as an MHSAA track and field and cross country official who has launched a few generations of athletes in the classroom, on various playing fields and as one of the best-recognized race starters in the Lansing area.
His philosophy is simple – and surely has stretched across an educational career that began with his first MHSAA officials registration for the 1959-60 school year.
“I start,” Truscott said, “because I want to give the kids a fair start.”
Truscott has officiated for 42 years in addition to the nearly four decades he spent as a coach and athletic director. In keeping with that desire to give a “fair start,” Truscott quietly told organizers of the longtime Lansing Area Honor Roll Track and Field Meet that last Wednesday’s would be his 32nd and last as starter – not because he doesn’t love it still, but because it’s time to give younger officials the opportunity to run the prestigious show.
It’s a decision consistent with a career of creating opportunities – in track speak, starts – through sports.
“That’s typical Tom. He’s a gracious, humble man,” said retired longtime Grand Ledge and Fowler coach Kim Spalsbury, who now serves as director of the Honor Roll Meet. “That’s what Tom’s all about.”
Standing tall
There’s no way Truscott is 75 years old, one might conclude as he stands tall and instructs runners at the start of a race in a smooth baritone voice.
But he’s been involved as a high school athlete, coach, director or official for more than 60 years – and has officiating dates already stamped on his 2013-14 calendar.
Truscott remains best known in school circles for his more than three decades as a coach and administrator at Potterville High School. A three-sport standout at Lansing Everett from 1953-56 and then two-sport athlete at Hillsdale College, Truscott joined Potterville schools in 1961. He went on to coach Vikings boys basketball teams to more than 300 wins and four District titles during 35 seasons, and he also led the football program for 24 seasons over two tenures – five of his teams won league championships, and he joined the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1986.
He also served as Potterville High School’s athletic director from 1963-96, even during a brief time when he also coached football as an assistant at Lansing Sexton. Potterville was one of few small schools in the mid-Michigan area with full track and field facilities, so Truscott hosted just about every significant event. He served as meet manager for 16 Regionals and also the 1977 and 1978 Lower Peninsula Class D Wrestling Finals.
Truscott also was a strong advocate as girls sports began to grow after Title IX. Among his best coaching hires was Sheryl Mox – who ended up leading both the girls basketball and volleyball teams to MHSAA championships and also became the athletic director.
“He’s a tall man in stature, and that’s a good way to list his long list of accomplishments,” said Spalsbury, who met Truscott in 1980 as their schools belonged to the same league, the Central Michigan Athletic Conference.
Truscott took an officiating course while at Hillsdale, and soon after debuted as an official for a few Thursday night football games. He was a third base umpire during the inaugural Capital Area Diamond Classic baseball tournament, which finished up its 52nd running this week. Cross country and track and field became his sports of choice for officiating because they best fit into his schedule as a coach and athletic director. He took a break from officiating for most of the 1970s, but has been a consistent presence again for the last three decades.
“You can stay associated with athletics by doing it. And you’re the person that’s going to influence the charisma of the game, how the game goes,” Truscott said, explaining how he'd sell the avocation to someone who might be considering it. “You don’t want to be noticed; you’re there to make a fair call and give kids a fair start.”
Seeing the big picture
That's another way Spalsbury described his longtime colleague.
Truscott continues to love the sports he played and coached. But running sports he officiates have earned a special place in his heart.
“You’re always going to the dugout or the locker room (with other sports). You never socialize with your competitors,” Truscott said. “With track and cross country, that’s the marvel of it; you talk to each other, know each other and then get into the blocks and try to beat each other. Then associate with each other again.”
History is among Truscott’s favorite non-sports pastimes, although he certainly finds ways to tie the two; he emulated his Everett history teacher and coach Ted Bauer and so became a history teacher as well who often found a way to mix historical context into halftime speeches.
Truscott is an active member of the Michigan Historical Commission and has dedicated roughly 60 landmarks across the state. An officiating experience recently crept into one of those dedications – when placing a marker at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Community College last month, he likened the continuing education aspect of junior college to a Fulton-Middleton runner who despite trailing by laps continued until she had finished her race.
As word began to spread Wednesday that Truscott was retiring from the Honor Roll Meet, a few admirers made sure to pass on what he’d meant to them. Former Lansing Catholic standouts Zach Zingsheim and Jimmy Hicks – now running at Georgetown University and the University of Georgia, respectively – made sure to let Truscott know he was the best they’ve had start them, including those they’ve seen during their first seasons at the college level.
“They made a point to search him out and go and talk to him and tell him what they thought of him,” Lansing Catholic coach Tim Simpson said. “It is rare that kids would gain that much respect and like for an official.”
But Truscott has earned it by understanding how best to relate to high school athletes.
His son John Truscott, a former athlete at Sexton, remembered a situation concerning a championship-caliber competitor who was committing a minor violation that would've meant disqualification – but before taking that step, Tom Truscott gave the athlete a head's up instead. “He’s always looking out of kids,” John Truscott said.
Simpson recalled another occasion when one of his more “fiery” freshman girls threw a baton in the infield after a disappointing finish. Truscott called out “Ma’am” – which might’ve been a first for the stunned runner – and then explained why what she did was wrong. “Instead of just disqualifying her, he took the extra time. And that incident was never forgotten by that girl,” Simpson said. “It could have been a negative, and he turned it into a positive.
“He treats the kids with respect and in turn gets it back.”
Truscott started the Big Ten Cross Country Championships in 1991 at Michigan State University, and early in his career started meets at Olivet College and the University of Michigan.
But officiating at those levels never stacked up to the fun he’s had starting high school athletes.
John Truscott still hears from his dad after meets about the latest standout he saw or the one showing the potential to do great things. John knows better than most what the high school games mean to Tom – he often assisted his father during Saturday events – and why providing that "fair start" became a life's work.
“That really is his philosophy,” John Truscott said. “Over his career he coached great athletes, mediocre athletes and bad athletes. And he wanted them to all enjoy sports and learn from them, no matter what the future held for them.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Tom Truscott starts a race during last week's Lansing Area Honor Roll Track and Field Meet at Holt High School. (Middle) Truscott oganizes the 3,200 relay teams before their race. (Below) The 100-meter finalists await Truscott's start. (Photos by Geoff Kimmerly.)
Referee Camaraderie: Bloopers, 'Nerding' Out, Lots of Laughs Create Powerful Bond
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
February 13, 2024
KALAMAZOO — When it comes to blooper highlights, four MHSAA hockey officials don’t hesitate to share their miscues.
One of them, Bob Corak, even has his pratfalls set to music on an internet site called Zebras with Pucks.
Laughter is the sound of the day when the four gather every Tuesday after their yoga class at Nisker’s Char-Grill & Slap Shot Hockey Bar in Kalamazoo.
The camaraderie between Corak, Corey Butts, Nick Schrippa and Nat Swanson is evident, but the tone gets more serious once the talk turns to officiating.
“We’ve all played, we’ve all coached to some extent, but officiating is just what speaks to us,” Schrippa said. “That’s our niche.
“Every player on the ice has a fan in the stands. Every player on the ice has support on the bench. We’re the only support we have in the arena. We’re the only ones we can lean on. We’re kind of on an island.”
Most times the friends are part of different four-man crews made up of two referees and two linesmen for South Central High School Hockey League games. But that just gives them more to talk about when they get together on Tuesdays.
“We spend an hour every Tuesday with Bob’s wife (Susan) just kicking the crap out of us and then come to (Nisker’s) to debrief,” Schrippa said. Susan Corak runs Be Well Yoga and Fitness in Kalamazoo.
"We never talk about the workout. Somebody will bust out a phone and we’ll go over a video and we’ll talk about a situation, talk about rule differences,” he continued. “We are nerds to the nth degree, and that’s just how we’re wired.”
Yoga is a good way to keep in shape, the four friends agree.
“I’m a little older than most of the referees I meet,” said Corak, who retired after 35 years with Pfizer in information technology. "It keeps me limber, keeps me in shape to an extent, not a lot of cardio but the strength is there that we get from yoga, especially the core, plus injury prevention.
“If I’m not skating, I’m officiating or I’m working the books for the association (Kalamazoo Ice Hockey Officials Association).”
Corak assists in the scheduling, billing, etc., leading Schrippa to quip: “Remember when Bob said he did information technology? We take full advantage of that. He is, in fact, the glue that holds a lot of our shenanigans together. He really is.”
Referees vs. Linesmen
Butts and Corak prefer wearing the referees’ armbands, while Schrippa and Swanson like working the lines.
“’I’m a smaller guy,” said Butts, who has been officiating for 14 years. “Linesmen typically tend to be 6-foot-5. When you’re smaller than most of the players, it doesn’t work out well.
“I like the freedom to be able to get out of the way. It’s a high traffic area as a linesman.”
When not spending evenings officiating, Butts is the penalty box timekeeper for the ECHL Kalamazoo Wings home games. His day job as a third-party examiner for the state of Michigan means he gives driving tests, and that leads to some interesting conversations.
“I’ve given most of (the players) their driver’s licenses,” he said. “I’ve had a group of players in the middle of a high school hockey game, getting ready to drop the puck at the start of the third period, and they’re trying to schedule a driver’s test for the next day. I’m like, ‘Guys, not now. Talk to me after work.’”
Swanson is the newest of the quartet, moving to the area three years ago from Syracuse, N.Y., where he started officiating at age 11.
He is a pilot in the U.S. Air Force International Guard in Battle Creek flying MQ-9 Reaper Drones.
“I like refereeing better (than being a linesman) because I like managing the game and look at the big picture,” Swanson said. “Sometimes it’s great to be a linesman because they get to communicate with the players, crack jokes and sometimes throw the referee under the bus, ‘Yeah, I agree that was a terrible call. But you’ve got to move on.’”
All four also officiate college and youth hockey, which can lead to a dilemma.
“Those are all different rule books, so we don’t have to know just one set of rules,” Schrippa said. “None of them are what you see on TV.
“While we have a couple hundred people in the building who are yelling at us that we got it wrong because that’s what they saw on ESPN, that’s not how it works. So not only do we have to know the rules, we have to know the differences in the rules.”
With mentorship programs available, some current prep players are also officials for younger leagues.
“They’re learning, we’re teaching them,” Corak said. “We have games with them as officials, then we’ll officiate their games when they play for their schools.”
Swanson added: “I think that makes them better players because they understand the rules, where they can bend rules and where they can’t.”
That is what led Schrippa to officiating.
“(Late referee) Mike Martin was officiating a game and pulled me aside,” he said. “I was 22 years old and he asked if I wanted to become a ref.
“‘(Heck) you’ve broken all the rules,’ he told me. ‘You probably know most of them already. He wasn’t wrong. I talked to a couple friends who had done it, and they talked me into doing it 29 seasons ago. I fell in love with it.”
Fun with bloopers
All four laugh as they regale each other with their funniest and most embarrassing moments.
For Schrippa, it was the college game where he made his refereeing debut.
“I was given the rookie lap,” he said. “I was jazzed. I came out of the gate, turned left, went around the back of the net, got to the blue line, caught a toe pick and Supermanned, slid from the blue line to the top of the next faceoff circle and was soaked because the ice hadn’t set yet.
“I got a standing ovation from the few hundred fans that were in the rink. Both my linesmen were doubled over laughing. It was a very cold first period.”
Something similar happened to Swanson.
“I was taking a hot lap, not seeing they’ve got a carpet out for somebody, hitting the carpet and Supermanning,” he recalled. “Then having a linesman watch you do it as there’s a few hundred people in the stands and give a big washout sign.”
Butts and Swanson had moments that actually delayed the start of a game.
For Butts, “I forgot my pants because I washed them separate and my wife had to bring them to me, and we could not start the game until my pants arrived,” he said, while the others laughed and nodded in agreement.
Swanson actually found himself at the wrong rink one time.
“I’m like, ‘Where is everybody?’” he said. “My phone starts ringing. ‘Hey dude, game starts in 15 minutes. You going to be here? Uh, yes, in 20.’’’
The four agree most officials go through highs and lows, funny times and embarrassing times, and that’s one thing that brings them all together.
“What’s unique about what we do is I could meet another official from Sweden tomorrow who I’ve never met before, and within minutes we’ve already got that relationship,” said Schrippa, who is the Southwest Michigan communications representative for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).
“That’s something we all share, we all know that feeling, we all understand that bond and it just takes a second. It’s so neat, it’s powerful.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) MHSAA hockey officials, from left: Nick Schrippa, Bob Corak, Nat Swanson and Corey Butts get together recently for one of their weekly hangouts. (2) Schrippa makes a call. (3) Corak, center, confers with a group of players. (4) Swanson prepares to drop the puck. (5) Butts monitors the game action. (Top photo by Pam Shebest; following photos provided by respective officials.)