Refereeing In Your Future? D o you love having sports? From what I can tell, a large portion of our population does enjoy sports. Any type of sporting event requires officials. Sadly, referees are scarce at all levels of competition from youth leagues to high school play. According to the National Federation of State High School Athletics (or NFHS for short) 50,000 officials, which is a fifth of all middle and high school officials, have quit their jobs since the 2018-19 season. There are many factors, but the two main ones seem to be the unsportsmanlike behavior of spectators toward officials and challenges brought on by the pandemic. We want this area of the state to be a welcoming place. A significant part of our area’s industry is hospitality based. While visitors receive most of this hospitality, it also extends to customers and other members of this area’s community. I would like to see sports teams, coaches, and officials experience that hospitality. I believe that officials should have just as much fun as players, coaches, and fans at sporting events. I would like to see officiating become a coveted job in the Gallup area because of how well they are treated. Can our community treat officials in such a way that they look forward to calling games here? I believe that there are ways that our community can make officials feel welcome. “Thank You” these words are some of the most important words that you can say to an official. Officiating any type of game isn’t easy and officials are putting themselves out there when they are doing their job. I guess my challenge would be: can we say thank you even if we didn’t agree with all of the calls an official made? I think another way of helping officials to feel welcome is to treat them well as they are doing their job. I think it should be remembered they are humans and that they will not ever call a perfect game. Can we be a bit more forgiving and gracious
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May 2022
when we think they have made a mistake? Officials appreciate little gifts as well. A bottle of water, a gatorade, or a simple snack is something that they really enjoy and makes them feel appreciated. As we develop this community, we need more people to join as officials to fill in the empty positions. My hope is that the officials we have now, and the next generation of officials will have a wonderful experience and improve the experiences of players, coaches, and fans as they participate in sports. The author is currently a senior in high school. He has been a soccer official for 8 years for our Gallup youth soccer league. Last year as a junior he was able to begin officiating high school soccer games. This year, in addition to officiating soccer games, he also was able to be an official at some basketball games. Gallup could use some more officials. If you would like to sign up, below are some options of how to get started in the process. We would love to see you out there! For high school sports, games pay between $50 and $80, depending on the sport. You must be 16 years old or older to be a referee for mid school or high school games. Sign up information: • Talk to an official. • https://nmofficials.arbitersports.com/front/102895/ Site • Communicate with an Athletic Director at a local school.
The author is currently a senior in high school. He has been a soccer official for 8 years for our Gallup youth soccer league. Last year as a junior he was able to begin officiating high school soccer games. This year, in addition to officiating soccer games, he also was able to be an official at some basketball games.
