Seeing Need, New SE Officials Work to Fill It

October 26, 2018

By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half

TEMPERANCE – Clyde Canales says his life experiences have prepared him for this. Bryant Moore says his new role as a football referee has taught him a new respect for the game. And Herb Bertz says he signed up to stay part of a game that has meant so much to his family the last several years.

The three southeast Michigan men are among new high school football officiating recruits for the Michigan High School Athletic Association. And they are a welcome addition to the ranks.

More and more, the lack of high school officials is starting to take its toll, forcing game times to be shifted and leaving athletic directors scrambling to fill crews for sub-varsity and even varsity games.

The shortage has hit southeast Michigan particularly hard. Earlier this season, multiple Tri-County Conference and Lenawee County Athletic Association games were moved from the traditional Friday night under lights start time to Saturday morning. There are several reasons contributing to this shortage – among them officials retiring, some leagues moving toward seven-man crews instead of five and the lack of sportsmanship being shown by adults.

Bertz has watched his sons play the last several years for Ottawa Lake Whiteford. He’s been on the chain gang for much of that time, volunteering his time and getting an on-the-field view of the games. He became a referee just this year.

“I wasn’t ready to give up the game,” he said. “I love football.”

Bertz said he’s worked about 40 games this fall, at all levels, and is already putting together a schedule for next year with a crew made up of all second-year officials. He said his experience has been great. The players, he said, are for the most part very respectful of officials. If the adults are yelling from the stands, he says, he’s able to tune them out.

“I don’t let any of that bother me; I just don’t,” Bertz said. “If you understand that football is an emotional game and emotions are going to run high out there, you won’t let that stuff bother you. Some people are rude, sure, but that doesn’t bother me. If it does bother you, you probably shouldn’t be a ref.”

Two years ago, Moore was a two-way starter for the Sand Creek football team. The only time he worried about the referees was when he’d spot a yellow flag on the field. Now, he’s carrying the flag around and throwing it when necessary.

“Most of the experience has been good,” he said. “Coaches for the most part are supportive, but they’ll let you know when you screw up. You have to be thick-skinned, that’s for sure. It gives you a new perspective and respect for the referee. As a player, you think it would be easy to step into their shoes. It’s not easy being a referee.”

The shortage, he said, is real. He has received text messages and calls on game days asking if he is available. Most of his weeks are filled with football nights, something he is juggling around attending Adrian College. The money he’s earned helps pay the bills, he said, and he’s learned a lot about the sport and interacting with others.

“The more you go out there and do it, the more comfortable you get,” he said. “I’ve been busy every week. They definitely need us.”

Canales was a member of Erie Mason’s 1987 Class C championship football team. He’s worked several jobs since then, from being in the restaurant business to probation officer. He signed up to be an official this year for the first time. He’s working games almost every day of the week, from youth games to varsity competition. And, he said, it’s been an eye-opening ride.

“The first few times, I felt bad taking their money,” Canales said. “I felt like I was out there to give back and these organizations needed the money. After a while, though, for all you have to go through, I don’t mind taking the money.”

For the most part, Canales said, it’s been a positive experience becoming a registered MHSAA official. He researched the rules, took online tests and went through a training period. He had the idea to become a referee because of a shortage of officials that has hit the region, state and, really, the country.

“This is my first year, so it’s good to have a lot of things thrown at me,” said Canales, 49. “Everyone thinks they can make the right call from the stands. It’s not that easy. But, I’m doing this now. I’m enjoying it. I think I’ve made it through the rough times.”

If he and the others do continue being a referee, that’s good news to the MHSAA. Once a referee has been working games for three years, officials say, they tend to stay with it.

The reasons officials cite most when they leave the sport is they are getting older and don’t feel they can continue to perform at the level they want, work or family changes and adult sportsmanship.

The MHSAA held an in-service for athletic directors this month and one of the topics was the situation with officials.

“In 2006-07, there were 12,000 officials; today there are 10,000,” said Whiteford athletic director Jason Mensing. “The numbers are going down. If we want to continue playing games, we need to have people that are willing to step up and do those jobs.”

Mensing said new guys like Canales, Bertz and Moore need to be welcomed.

“Our goal as an athletic department is to show them more gratitude if we can,” he said. “We’ll continue to work with our coaches and our community to make sure we are showing them great respect. They aren’t making a lot of money, but they are giving back to the game. It’s something we should be appreciative of.”

The MHSAA has a new executive director and director of officials. They have worked on initiatives to bring attention to the issue and recruit more officials to the avocation, while also developing strategies to retain those currently taking part.

Blissfield athletic director Steve Babbitt cautioned it’s not just football affected by the high school officials shortage. He’s had soccer matches this year forced to go with two instead of three referees.

“There is still a shortage in all sports,” he said. “We had three scheduled for one of our soccer matches, but due to a shortage one was pulled to fill in another match. This is not just a Michigan issue, as there are stories across the country about the same issue.”

Babbitt said if everyone showed a little more respect for the game and officials, the situation likely would improve.

“Officiating is one of the few professions where you are expected to be perfect on day one,” he said, “and get better from there.”

The MHSAA and National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) encourage all interested to consider becoming an official. Click to check out MHSAA resources and the NASO's "Say Yes to Officiating" website.

PHOTO: Clyde Canales officiates a game this season. (Photo by Cari Hayes.)

Officials Eager for New Hockey Format

July 12, 2019

By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor

Tuesday, Feb. 26, was a particularly busy day on the ice as the 2019 MHSAA Ice Hockey Tournament reached just its second day around the state.

On the slate that night were 27 Regional games, bringing the two-day total to 48 on the heels of Monday’s busy calendar.

As teams were busy setting their sights on the ultimate goal, so, too, was another group of accomplished skaters who toil with much less fanfare. Nonetheless, the games can’t start without them – the folks in the striped shirts who call the games.

Just as players and coaches will welcome the expanded playoff format in 2020, the officials are looking forward to the change as well.

“When we got to the first week of the tournament, it seemed like we were going every day,” said Jim Gagleard, who assigns officials for the Livonia Ice Hockey Officials Association. “There are only so many officials to go around in any sport. By allowing us as officials a day or two to catch our breath, it’s good. Good for us, and good for players more than anything.”

If it seemed like every day, well, it was. A total of 66 games were played over the first three days, and 89 over the first four. Considering each game at the Regional level has three officials, that computes to 267 officials needed during that span. On the busiest day, 81 had to take to the ice.

Given that there were a total of 302 playoff-eligible officials in 2019, filling those slots can be a logistical nightmare for assigners at times.

“Regional week will see a huge burden alleviated for officials and especially assigners. There will be so much more flexibility under the new format,” said Dan DiCristofaro, President of the Northeast Hockey Referees Association. “Last year, we were faced with so many doubleheaders at single sites, and the first games needed an early start so that the second games would not last late into the evening on school nights.

“At times, the most important factor for the assigner was scheduling those officials who could get to the arena for the early start times. Merit and ability sometimes had to take a back seat.”

Gagleard agrees, saying, “Assigning-wise, early games are the toughest to fill. Everyone has a job, and in order to work a game they have to tell the boss they’re leaving at 2:30 for a 5 o’clock game. You start to look for officials who are retired, or can get out of work, instead of the most qualified. That’s not fair to the teams playing.”

In the northern reaches of the Upper Peninsula, the problem is more acute.

Sean Jacques is the athletic director at Calumet, and also an experienced official, having skated the Division 2 Final in Plymouth in 2016.

“Not enough,” Jacques said, in reference to the number of playoff officials in the UP. “Not enough. When I get the list of eligible officials that is sent to tournament managers, I have to search and scramble to find three people within an 80-mile radius.”

Moving the Quarterfinals to the weekend will definitely help matters, and eliminating Regional doubleheaders should ease the scheduling anxiety as well.

“With Regionals spread out more, without doubleheaders, officials potentially could work more days,” Jacques said. “And there should be more availability for the Quarterfinals. The last few years, it was in the Sault, and getting four guys to the Sault on a weeknight, whether from Escanaba or northern lower Michigan, was difficult. There were times I’d turn down a Quarterfinal because I just couldn’t get there and back and make it to work the next day. Saturday makes it easier.”

On the west side of the Lower Peninsula, assigner Randy Sheahan uses a mathematical approach to illustrate his challenges, even for the regular season. Sheahan calculates that 98.88 percent of all West Michigan games are scheduled for Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday. Breaking it down further, 84.39 percent skip Wednesday and schedule only Friday or Saturday.

With the shortened regular season coming in 2019-20 to allow for a three-week tournament window, Sheahan took a proactive approach.

“When the MHSAA announced the change to a three-week tournament, I emailed all West Michigan coaches, plus a handful of athletic directors and booster leaders who may be involved in team scheduling,” Sheahan said. “I encouraged them if they are having difficulty squeezing all their games into a window which is now one week shorter, to give further consideration to playing on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays to greatly alleviate some of the stresses we place on the West Michigan officiating staff.”

As for the MHSAA Tournament, Sheahan agrees with his brethren across the state in metro Detroit that the expansion will benefit assigners, officials, and teams.

“I only see positives,” Sheahan said. “This gives me tremendous flexibility with our staff to maneuver around their professional and personal schedules to keep our best officials on the ice every round, which is an expectation teams have for playoffs. It also provides (at times) much needed rest for officials and teams, especially if they are involved in overtime affairs. This could help with the quality of overall game play.”

That’s the goal for everyone. Fresher legs for players and officials alike will provide a better experience for all involved.

“This allows for physical recovery for everyone on the ice,” said DiCristofaro. “It also allows for better time management for student-athletes, officials and coaches. Even at the Quarterfinal offerings with four officials for each game, we’d run into issues as far as which people could get to places, or wanted to travel and skate late on a work night. Saturday give us much more flexibility and should create more interest in the state tournament.”

The Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals have employed a four-official system in recent years, affording an extra position each game for deserving officials while adding to the quality of the game for participants at the highest level.

Sheahan plans to utilize the new format to continue to reward those among his troops who have earned their stripes for such contests.

“In theory, I may have opportunities to increase game counts for some of our perennial playoff officials, but I have no plans to do that,” Sheahan said. “We have other officials every season who are good enough to skate playoffs and have earned it, but simply couldn’t quite break the playoff bubble. Now the opportunity presents itself to reward some of those officials. It would be counterproductive to officiating development if fewer officials are getting opportunities for important games.”

Similarly, DiCristofaro is hoping the time will come when four officials will be assigned to skate Regional Finals, and perhaps the new length of the postseason will open the door.

“Some of most important games are the Regional Finals. Maybe this new schedule can help,” DiCristofaro said. “Four officials offer teams the best possible ice coverage, and they deserve that.”