IHSA seeks to restore respect for youth sports referees through the Officially Human partnership

If you’ve ever played or even watched sports, this is probably a pretty familiar scene: a parent, a coach, or a fan yelling at a referee at a youth sports game. Maybe you’ve even yelled at a referee or two from the comfort of your living room while watching TV. They’re an easy target in their zebra-striped shirts.

But the mistreatment of youth sports officials has real consequences for the children who are there to play. Just as sports were getting back on track after the coronavirus disruptions, the Illinois High School Association had fewer referees than it had in at least a decade.

“Our referee numbers were at a low point,” said Kurt Gibson, IHSA director of refereeing, “and schools were really struggling to find referees who could cover all the games they had on their schedule.”

For every 100 newly patched referees, 70-80 will be gone after the first few years.

“The treatment they received,” he said, “mostly from the fans, was the reason people left.”

That’s why IHSA has been working with Officially Human for two years. Officially, Human produces PSAs and training videos to encourage fans and coaches to put themselves in the role of a referee and blow the whistle.

Brenda Hilton is CEO and Founder of Officially Human. She says her PSAs and videos need to go deeper than “Please don’t be an idiot.” Her course for coaches, for example, asks them to explore the craft of refereeing and think about why people become referees in the first place.

“Each section takes someone on an officer’s journey,” she said. “Ralph is the officer in the video.” How did Ralph become an officer? He was a former athlete. He wanted to stay connected to the game. He has a wife and two children.”

This is true for so many officers. Many played as adults, often up to the college level. Officially, Human surveyed thousands of referees and 70% said they do it for the love of the game.

That’s definitely true for Jeff Carr. He has been officiating football for nearly half a century, from 10-year-olds all the way up to the Big 10.

He played college football and wanted to stay connected to the game he loved and found that through his work as a referee.

And he puts a lot of work into his craft. That means attending seminars, watching film of his games and seeing how coaches teach techniques and what to look for.

“When you go to practice with these schools and stuff, and here, how they train and stuff, you get a whole different look at the game,” he said.

Jeff Myles is another long-time referee. His story is similar to the other Jeff. As a child he played and loved sports and wanted to stay true to sports. At first it was also about making a little extra money, but for Myles, refereeing is also about giving back to his community – creating a safe and fun place for children to play.

“It has given me great joy and comfort to referee and give back, whether to youth or adults,” Myles said, “but it is now a way of life for me.”

He says that not only has helping children helped him, but it has also helped him grow a lot.

“It taught me so many disciplines,” he said. “Your preparation, getting to the game an hour beforehand, getting to grips with your conflict resolution skills.”

These conflict resolution skills are critical when fan or coach behavior gets out of control. And unfortunately he sees it often.

“When the game is over we still have to go outside to our car and sometimes that can be difficult,” Myles said. “People are looking over our shoulders. That’s real.”

There are other challenges too. You don’t get paid much. For high school varsity games, Myles will earn about $80. He also travels a lot, especially when officiating four to five days a week during peak basketball season.

When there is a shortage of referees, sometimes they don’t have enough. Matches are postponed or delayed while waiting for referees to arrive. Sometimes inexperienced officials are forced to cover games they are not ready for – which can lead to mistakes.

And then officiating itself is difficult, especially without the help of immediate repetition at the youth level. Referees say technology on television also makes fans expect referees not to make a single mistake.

Jeff Carr reflects on how fans on both sides sometimes believe the officials are cheating in the other’s favor. But honestly, there are a lot of moments where he doesn’t even know the score.

“Every play, the concentration is so high,” he said, “that you only look at the things that concern you, like the game clock or what this guy is doing or how many seconds are left in the game.”

At IHSA, the number of referees is starting to increase again. They have made several changes to make it easier to become an official and give recognition to great referees. But Kurt Gibson says their officially human partnership played a key role.

Because civil servants play a key role. Youth sports can be very important in a child’s life. And without a referee there is no game.