Making the calls: Collier course teaches teens how to be officials for games

Whistles, shouts and the smacks of skin on volleyballs reverberated through the open air of the gym.

Students blew their whistles for points and out-of-bounds balls, trying their hand at sounding firm and confident.

With the guidance of sports official Carl DeFurio, the teens were learning to make the call.

Officials and administrators alike hope a sports officiating class piloted by two Collier County high schools will mitigate the effects of a shortage of sports officials in their school system.

The class, offered by Palmetto Ridge High School and Golden Gate High School, is the first of its kind in Collier County. It teaches students the intellectual and practical skills for becoming officials in sports. That includes line judging, calling fouls and administering first aid. About 50 students take the course. 

Students will be tested to become actual officials for a sport or two of their choosing, according to curriculum coordinator Tracy Bowen.

“We’re trying to have kids have more opportunities to develop skills,” Bowen said.

Jeremy Hernandez, assistant director of officials at the Florida High School Athletic Association, said there is a nationwide shortage of officials. He highlighted a point made by the National Federation of State High School Associations: On average, only two out of 10 officials return for their third year of officiating.

In Florida, the number of officials has been declining steadily over the past few years. In the 2012-13 season, there were 8,402 officials registered, but in the 2017-18 season, there were 7,786 officials registered.

In a survey of more than 17,000 officials  by the National Association of Sports Officials, most respondents said they were treated unfairly by spectators and coaches. Smaller yet significant numbers of people reported unfair treatment from officiating associations and sports leagues — about 26 percent and 36 percent, respectively. 

Reasons for leaving include poor pay, treatment from fans, or a "good ol' boy" mentality among officials, where certain officials might exclusively get certain sports, Hernandez said. 

The Collier officiating program might address another problem — aging. As officials age, they might become unable to keep up with officiating and exit the industry. The average age of officials in the National Association of Sports Officials survey was about 53.

"What they have come up with (in Collier) is important because now we’re getting younger individuals into officiating and possibly helping with the loss of those who are retiring because of age,” Hernandez said.

“We don’t have the numbers right now in the younger age groups to supplement those who are aging.”

The Greater Naples Officials Association rotates officials to prevent them being mistreated, though the group must consider an official's level of proficiency when determining what grade level they will officiate, said the association's president, Robb Mackett.

The group had 289 officials registered for eight sports in the 2017-18 season, said Hernandez, of the Florida High School Sports Association. They include baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, soccer, softball, volleyball and wrestling. 

Active recruitment in Collier County

The association is doing well compared to other parts of the country that have shortages of officials, Mackett said, but Collier still could use some more officials.

"We have been, in Collier County, extremely proactive in trying to recruit, train and develop," he said.

In the case of too few officials, Hernandez said, the officials might need to ask schools to change sports schedules.

In some instances, Mackett said, revenue generators such as traditional Friday night high school football games might not even be on Friday nights anymore. 

Even so, some schools are able to work through some of the problems themselves, Hernandez said.

“We don’t hear of every problem, every situation because local associations, local schools are able to work through the problems themselves,” he said.

The process of the Collier schools including the classes as a pilot program took between two and three years, said Bowen, the curriculum coordinator. The idea is to test the success of the pilot program for a year or two and adjust as necessary.

Currently, the sports available for students to become officials in are football, basketball, volleyball and soccer. The selection might grow as the course does, Bowen said.

Bowen attributed part of the success in getting the course’s first version to the classroom to the Greater Naples Officiating Association, which provided some materials and officials who provide training. 

Mark Rosenbalm, interscholastic athletics supervisor at Collier County schools, attributed some success to the Florida High School Athletics Association, too, for providing guidance and some learning materials. 

The students who become officials and stay interested likely would begin officiating at middle school and junior varsity sports. With more experience. they could move to higher levels, Rosenbalm said. The officials would be paid. 

Part of learning practical skills is practicing. Occasionally, students will gain officiating experience by practicing during gym classes.

Benefits of taking the course

Samantha Bulnes, a soccer player and junior at Golden Gate High School, took the course to get into the “mindset” of the officials, she said.

“I get to see how officiating works,” she said. “It’s a lot that the officials go through and they have to learn.”

Part of that learning includes knowing how to stay calm in emergencies, Bulnes said.

Kimberlee Fletcher, who teaches the course at Palmetto Ridge High School northeast of Naples, said students like the officiating class.

“I’m really pushing for this class to continue,” she said.

Not only does the course give students another job opportunity , it also teaches respect.

LeighAnn Martin, a senior in Fletcher’s class, said she probably won’t be an official in the long run, but she thought the first-aid training would help her in pursuit of a medical career.

Martin was surprised by how much officials do.

“I thought they did less, but I’ve learned that there’s a lot that they look for and a lot that they do call,” she said.

A junior at Palmetto Ridge, Ashley Shaw, said the officials do a good job of teaching what can be a confusing array of calls.

Like Martin, Shaw said she probably won’t become an official, though she would if she had to and she appreciates the option.

DeFurio, a former teacher and school administrator and a current Greater Naples Officials Association member, said he enjoys teaching the students because it enables him to pass on his knowledge to a new generation of officials, he said.

“It’s a nice way for me to give back,” he said.

DeFurio said officials do more than it seems.

“It looks easy sometimes, but it’s not,” he said.

DeFurio thinks of officiating as a metaphor for life.

"Really, what officiating is, is handling people and situations," he said.

Martin agreed, saying the course teaches her effective communication skills and how to stay calm. 

Other officials from the organization, including Mackett, volunteer to work with the students based on their areas of sports expertise.

Hernandez applauded the collaboration with the officials and said that if the course succeeds, it could serve as a template for other schools statewide.

“They did a phenomenal job,” Hernandez said. “Getting more officials in any shape or form helps out.”

Related:Collier, Lee school districts ban backpacks at sports events

The Greater Naples Officiating Association will accept officials for any sport. Members are actively seeking about 20 officials for basketball, 12 for soccer and 10 for baseball, Mackett said.

"We coach them up, we mentor them, we develop and train them," he said.

Trying to promote gender equality

Mackett sees a need for more women representation in the Greater Naples Officiating Association, which he said was majority male.

"We're trying to change that culture," he said, and promote more gender equality.

Collier County Public Schools Superintendent Kamela Patton praised the course.

“This class provides our students another opportunity to get a certification, and potentially a career in officiating," Patton said in a statement.  "Partnering with our local officials association, the Great Naples Officials Association, and the Florida High School Athletic Association fulfills a community need while producing our own qualified officials to help boost our school athletics programs.”

If the courses succeed at Palmetto Ridge and Golden Gate, administrators plan to offer it to other schools in the local system as an elective in their education programs.