They’re needed at every sporting event, yet New Hampshire and most states across the country have experienced a shortage of referees in some form or another at the high school level.
Which is why the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials is trying a slightly different approach.
“Numbers are down plus officials are getting older. There aren’t a lot of young people, that’s why I’m doing the youth movement,” said Michael Walchak, director of recruitment for the IAABO. “My idea is to put the kids out there with a mentor or somebody that can go to the game and work it with them. The kid will be like the apprentice so they can learn to do it and hopefully take it on.”
This will be the first attempt at a youth refereeing program (for ages 13 and up), which will work in conjunction with the IAABO’s normal officiating course scheduled to begin during the second week of September.
Walchak is optimistic that the youth program will help plant the seed of a possible officiating career at an earlier age.
“This is the first year this is going into play,” Walchak said. “This is a fly-by-your-pants type of thing because it hasn’t been done in the state. I expect to see kids stay on.”
The IAABO’s standard yearly officiating course, which used to take place at NHTI, will now instead begin with eight weeks of classes online as aspiring referees pour through each chapter of a detailed rule book and learn the ropes.
After the online portion of the training, the course will pick up, transitioning to on-court mechanics at a venue somewhere in Capital area to be determined at a later date, whether it’s Concord High School, Bishop Brady High or NHTI, according to Walchak.
“We bring you in with trainers there and go over floor mechanics: where you have to be on the floor, how to make a call, what to do, how to handle things. Basically just learning how to officiate,” Walchak said.
Completing the course can lead to a career or just serve as a way to earn some extra cash on the side by officiating recreational, middle school or high school games around the state.
Part of the training will also include how to deal with the uglier side of refereeing, which includes a variety of issues – notably angry parents and irate coaches – that have driven referees toward other professions.
“You have to have thick skin because people are yelling at you. You have to just let it roll off your back,” Walchak said. “Everyone makes mistakes. It’s just accept the mistake was made and move on and that comes with time. Kids and other adults coming in aren’t going to learn that right away.”