Rick Boedy, GHSA Official – Georgia High School Football Daily

Today’s interviewee is Rick Boedy, a long-time GHSA official who, at age 73, remains deeply involved in GHSA rules, training and education. Boedy has competed in state finals in three sports, 12 in total. He helps prepare the annual state civil service exam and evaluates playoff teams. He is considered one of the GHSA’s leading acting rules experts. Boedy started on Roswell’s 1968 state-winning football team and 1970 state-winning baseball team and played football at Florida. Boedy is a retired neonatal doctor.

1. It has become common knowledge among those who follow high school football closely that the GHSA does not have as many officials as it would like. We have been hearing about the “shortage of civil servants” for several years. What is the current status of civil servants and their number? How would you present the problem for those who need to understand it, and how has it changed (better or worse) in recent years? “There is a shortage of officials in every sport. Football games will be moved to non-traditional evenings such as Thursdays or Saturdays. There are some varsity games that are refereed by five-man teams, whereas normally there are six, or in some places seven, teams present. Last year, due to the shortage, I came back and helped with basketball. In Georgia, the numbers are declining across the board. The reasons are different. Certainly COVID has led to changes, but the national downward trend began before that. Young men and women are more distracted, and when they play sports, they are aware of the verbal abuse officers receive. Nationwide, verbal abuse and, in rare cases, physical abuse are the main reason younger officers leave office. More money hasn’t increased the numbers. Football is a difficult game to officiate. Each piece consists of 22 moving parts. Each official has certain keys that they start with and then expand their vision as the game progresses. It takes several years of work to learn the intricacies of the trunk mechanics – being in the right position to make a call. Many do not want to spend time studying, attending meetings, summer camps and studying films. Basketball is another example. The rules have changed slowly but significantly. It’s hockey in tennis shoes now. Lots of legal contacts. The parent sitting in the stands watching their son or daughter play may be very verbal because the game is very different from the one they played in. Developing a consistent strike zone takes years of experience as a baseball officiant. Children throw and run faster. Have you ever heard the phrase “The tie goes to the bishop”? Well, that’s simply not true. As a runner you have to master the throw. Therefore, rule changes and misunderstandings between parents, coaches and fans create problems. In football, the rule differences alone between high school, college and professional football cause problems because fans, parents and some coaches simply don’t know the differences. So all of this together contributed to the shortage.”

2. What strategies have the GHSA and civil servants associations taken to address the problem, and what suggestions may you have to help? “The GHSA and NFHS [National Federation of High School Associations] have worked with officiating sites to recruit new officials across all sports. Every week I write emails to potential officials on this site for all sports. I would like to see more representation at career days, senior days and similar events. Of all the emails I write, maybe one in ten people actually make contact. As you can see, the shortage is many times greater.” [Persons interesting in becoming a high school sports official can click here for more information from the NFHS.]

3. What does the annual training of officers include? What do they need to do, from in-season training at the local level to state requirements? “Annual education requires both local and state activities. The GHSA requires the individual officer to attend a summer camp, participate in an online clinic and pass a rules test with a score of 85 or higher. We are the only state that has a video-only test, which I’m pretty proud of. I spend hours reviewing films and putting together the review. Several states have requested copies. All of this requires time investment, storage fees and travel costs. These are part of every sporting commitment.”

4. How did you start in charge and what big changes have you seen in football over the years? How have the changes helped the game? Did they make things easier or harder for the officials? “I began as a resident intern in pediatrics and continued as a neonatology fellow at the Medical College of Augusta. For me it was an opportunity to be with normal children, since premature babies were my constant environment. The game of football has changed a lot since I was in high school and college. Most of the recent rule changes were implemented for safety reasons. The first major change many years ago was the restriction of blocking below the waist to a specific area, called the free block zone. This is a square with an outline four yards on each side of the ball and a depth of three yards in either direction. More recent changes include targeting, helmet-to-helmet contact and most recently limiting contact to defenseless receivers and players. I attend the national regulations meeting every year and safety is always discussed.”