MHSA(Q&)A: Official Lyle Berry
May 7, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Rockford’s Lyle Berry Berry received the MHSAA’s Vern L. Norris Award on Saturday for his contributions to officiating, mentoring and officials’ education.
An educator and official beginning in 1960, he also has officiated cross country and basketball, and has been a long-time member of both the West Michigan Officials Association and the Association of Track Officials of Michigan – having served both as president and rules chairman.
Berry also coached football for 36 years, with 32 at the high school level at Tawas, Farwell, Wayland and Wyoming Godwin Heights before spending four seasons as an assistant at Grand Rapids Community College. He was a head coach for 27 of those high school seasons, and was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2008.
What keeps you coming back?
Just working with the kids, basically. There was a time, a turning point, when I did not know if it was as ego thing or an obsession. At some point, it was just a thing I wanted to do. It became so much fun, I didn't want to quit.
What was that turning point?
Ten or 12 years in officiating, I was in the process of building a career and wanting to take the next step each time. I got to the point where I was doing varsity basketball, and I got established there and wanted to move to the college ranks. And I did that. But 12 or 13 year in, there was a Grand Rapids City League game that went to double overtime. The two teams were undefeated at the halfway point (of the season), and it was a tight ballgame. After the game, we used to stand in front of the scoring table waiting for the books to get finalized. I looked over and saw the coach from the losing team talking to his kids, and the next thing we know, a few of them are coming over toward me. I’m thinking “Oh boy; here we go.” But the kids came up and said their coach wanted to make sure (they) congratulated (us) on a job well done. And the next thing out of their mouths was, “Wow, was that a great game?” And that’s where they left it. They said thanks and left. I thought I would’ve worked that night for nothing. And it just went from there.
What do you enjoy most about officiating?
It’s being with the kids more than anything. I do college track, high school track and junior high track, and some of the most fun situations are with the junior high kids. … Those kids either don’t know what’s going on, or keep you hopping, keep you on your toes. Being around them, it helps keep me a little young.”
You’ve been a teacher, coach and official. Are there similarities among the three?
All three blend together really well. You get to look at coaching as having the ability to teach kids how to have fun, and officiating you look at as watching kids have fun. Those two things go hand in hand. And teaching, of course; I was in the physical education field and I’d see all these kids and athletes who I’d eventually be coaching. Being around them all the time was just a bonus.
Is recruiting officials tougher now than it was in the past?
It’s a little bit tougher now. At the banquet the other night, there were only seven or eight 50-year people. Ten or 15 years ago, we didn’t even have a 50-yard award. And when that came in I thought it would be great because there would be a lot in that class. Last year I got my 50, and there were only 12 or 13 of us. The 40-45 (year) class had only 20 or 25. It just seems like the numbers are dwindling. You don’t see the commitment to carry on.
You see the same thing in coaching. I coached football 36 years, and you don’t see that. You see coaches get out after 10 or 12 years, burned out. I don’t know what the situation is causing that, but it’s definitely getting hard.
What advice do you give to young officials?
At this point in time, I’m working in the O-K Conference as a basketball observer of officials. Over the last six or seven years, I’d gotten 10-15 young guys. I like to go watch the JV, the freshmen guys, talk to them at halftime or after the game, like having a mini clinic with them. I encourage them to go. Last year I saw a dozen of those guys move on to the varsity ranks. Basically, I just tell them just to stay with it. And when the opportunity comes, you’ve got to jump in with both feet.
PHOTO: (Below) Lyle Berry speaks to the audience during Saturday's Officials’ Awards & Alumni Banquet at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.
Official Loved Giving Back to Community
November 10, 2020
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
MORENCI – Before referee Jerry Hoffman died that Friday night, he knew the two football teams were going to gather in the center of the football field to pray for him.
“They were starting to take him off the field and I went to him and told him that we were going to circle up and pray for him,” Sand Creek football coach Scott Gallagher said. “He said, ‘Thank you Scott. I appreciate your faith.’”
A short time later, while he was being readied to be transported from ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital in Adrian to Toledo Hospital, Hoffman, 78, died. A football referee for decades, Hoffman’s last assignment ended up being the Oct. 30 Sand Creek-Pittsford playoff game.
During the game Hoffman, who was one of the line judges, dropped to a knee and collapsed. At times he was unconscious on the field. Medical personnel raced onto the field to assist him. At one point he said he wanted to sit up, but quickly went back to the ground.
“They responded immediately,” said Sand Creek athletic director Robert Wright, who has known Hoffman for more than 35 years. “They were right there with him. When I got to him, I was able to tell him that I would call Dan (his son). There was this calmness through it all because we had the right people there to take care of it.”
His son, a longtime area educator, football coach and track coach, Dan Hoffman, said he and his family were touched by how the players, coaches and fans from the two schools came together.
“What a blessing we have in these small schools,” said Dan Hoffman. “I don’t think they could have responded in a better way.”
Jerry Hoffman was a native of Wauseon, Ohio. He and his wife, Mary Ann, moved to Morenci in 1966. He worked at a variety of jobs, from a chemical company in Weston to being self-employed for a long time. While not working, he did things like garden. One of his passions was being involved in sports as an umpire and referee.
“He had probably been to Sand Creek hundreds of times to referee a football game or baseball game or basketball,” Wright said. “His heart was always with kids. He was a great guy – always had a smile on his face.”
Dan Hoffman said his dad was a referee when he was young, then stepped away from it when he and his siblings were in high school to watch them participate in sports. He picked it back up a few years ago and was not really thinking about getting out of it despite being 78 years old.
“He was a hard worker,” Dan said. “He taught us that. He loved many things, but being a referee was one of them. We would talk about him retiring, and he said he wanted to referee football until he was 80. This year he thought he was going to cut back on basketball, but then his schedule started filling up.
“He loved being out there, out with the kids and giving back.”
Always a devout Christian, Hoffman became a substitute pastor at Canandaigua Community Church in recent years, then interim pastor and finally, pastor.
“He kept living, that’s for sure,” Dan Hoffman said. “He always wanted to push things. Everything he did, he did to extreme. He taught us a lot."
Kay Johnson, a former Morenci athletic director and softball coach for more than 40 years, said she welcomed seeing Hoffman come to Morenci to referee a sporting event.
“He really loved doing it,” she said. “He was there for the right reasons, the kids. He was always really kind. He’d arrive early and always talk with the kids.”
Jerry and Mary Ann had seven children, 16 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. They were foster parents to more than 20 children over the years.
“He rubbed a lot of elbows with a lot of people, especially in Morenci,” Dan said. “He volunteered a lot, served on some boards. He definitely made an impact on his community.”
Sand Creek and Pittsford were in the middle of their playoff game on Ernie Ayers Field at Sand Creek when Hoffman collapsed. Gallagher and Pittsford head coach Mike Burger met and decided to circle the players up. The photo has been widely circulated on social media the last couple of days.
One of Sand Creek’s captains, Jackson Marsh, helped organize the prayer and spoke to the two teams.
“I saw the referees blowing the whistle and stopping the play,” said Marsh, a senior. “Someone said they saw him grab his heart. When I heard that I was like ‘Oh, no. That is not good.’”
Marsh said the two teams went to their respective sidelines and he and a teammate began praying. When the teams came together on the field, he led the prayer.
“I just prayed the Lord be with him and watch over his family,” Marsh said. “You hear about things like that, but you never expect to go through it. For me, it did not really click until after the game and we were walking off. That’s when it hit me what had happened.”
Hoffman said he saw the photo on social media late Friday, and it brought tears to his eyes.
“My dad loved great displays of sportsmanship, and I’m sure he would have loved to see that,” Dan Hoffman said. “When I saw the picture of the two teams circling up, I just thought it was an unbelievable display of compassion. Our family was touched by that.”
PHOTO: (Top) The Sand Creek and Pittsford football teams meet at midfield to pray for official Jerry Hoffman. (Top photo courtesy of Red Letter Productions/Sand Creek High School. Head shot from obituary posted by Anderson Funeral Home.)