It’s official: More referees needed in high school sports

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — It is the Tuesday after Christmas and about 100 people are in the San Gorgonio High gymnasium in San Bernardino for the San Bernardino Kiwanis Tournament. Granite Hills High of Apple Valley battles Ramona of Riverside in the cavernous gymnasium.

“Well, at least not that many people will be yelling at you,” it is suggested to veteran official Dan Van Gorp of Redlands.

“You should have seen it yesterday at Arroyo Valley,” Van Gorp says. “There were only about six people in the stands.”

The pressure is not high at the Kiwanis tournament, but elsewhere high school officials are in a fishbowl. Harangued by fans and discouraged by low pay, the number of officials in basketball and other sports has dropped.

“There was unemployment and a recession and then the jobs came back, and a lot of officials got regular jobs,” said Frank Paz of Aptos, the former assigner of officials for the Santa Cruz area who also officiated prep sports for 40 years. “A lot of them don’t want to get yelled at every night and don’t find it rewarding enough.”

Brian Seymour, the associate executive director for the California Interscholastic Federation state office, agreed.

“Nobody wants to be berated from the opening tip to the end of the game, to being followed out to the parking lot,” Seymour said. “We’re emphasizing that that won’t be tolerated.”

There is a movement to increase the number of officials in all sports.

“We’ve worked with the section offices to recruit and retain officials,” Seymour said. “There’s been a national campaign to find new officials and funnel them to assigners. We find that if we can keep an official for three years that they are likely to stay.”

Survey says: Yikes

“Have you heard? High school officials are needed in every sport,” CIF-State trumpets on social media. “You can help fill the gap and make sure students always get to play the games they love by signing up to become an official today! #BecomeAnOfficial.

The statistics are bleak. A survey by the National Association of Sports Officials reported that more than 78 percent of high school officials quit due to adult behavior and 80 percent quit after only two years of officiating.

In a NASO survey of 17,000 officials, nearly half said they have feared for their safety because of adult or player behavior.

But at the 64^th San Bernardino Kiwanis Tournament, where professional athletes such as Ronnie Lott, Fred Lynn, and the late Ken Hubbs once played, there are no such concerns.

Wisecracked official Rick Hutchins of his partner Van Gorp before the game, “I’m gonna have to be carrying him the whole game. I have to keep these young whippersnappers going.”

For the love of the foul

Clearly, not everyone frets about the state of officiating. Many have called games for years and will continue.

Two examples are Tisha McAfee of Compton and Matt Zamora of Whittier who officiated a recent girls’ game between Etiwanda and St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs.

“I do it for the joy of it,” said McAfee, a seventh-year official who played basketball at Harbor College. “It’s my way of giving back to the game. We’re like a family. We depend on each other and there’s always a mentor to guide you.”

Don Fleming and Bryan Ferguson of Long Beach and Amanda Weber of Orange County are officials who have guided her and helped her through rough patches, McAfee said.

“Playing was my passion and I also coached girls for 11 years at Santa Fe High and Cantwell Sacred Heart,” said Zamora, a former Santa Fe High player. “When I got done coaching, I wanted to still be a part of the game. I love the action and the fact that if I do my job correctly, both teams will know I didn’t determine the outcome.”

There is also a monetary carrot. Officials in Zamora’s unit earn $84 for a varsity game and $72 for a lower-level contest. Community college officials can earn $175 per game and NCAA Division I officials in say the Pacific-12 Conference pocket $3,500 to $4,000 per game.

Shake and survive

Back at San Gorgonio High, Van Gorp and Hutchins are among the officials not getting rich.

One coach complains about a disparity in fouls. The other complains about an illegal pick.

But when the game ends, losing coach Michael Grant of Granite Hills shakes Van Gorp’s hand and thanks him and Ramona players Jordan Daniels and Nathan Johnson do the same.

“Well, we survived,” Van Gorp says with a smile. “Not unscathed, but we survived.”It’s official: More refs are needed in prep sports

Aspiring officials may sign up at www.highschoolofficials.com.

Photos below by John Murphy