I imagine this is a problem throughout the state....not just District-3.
Mid-Penn scheduling some football games for Thursday, Saturday nights in fall due to shortage of officials: ‘We’re hopeful for an influx’
Updated: Mar. 08, 2022, 3:51 p.m. | Published: Mar. 08, 2022, 2:20 p.m.Plans to move some Mid-Penn high school football games to Thursdays and Saturdays, as well as continuing to play on Friday nights in the fall, are moving forward.
Mid-Penn Conference athletic directors and coaches have been provided skeleton schedules, Lower Dauphin Athletic Director Dave Bitting said. He floated the proposed changes to the conference.
“There’s no formal vote,” he said. “We’re doing one division at a time. Schools are working on adjusting their schedules.”
Most schools are in favor of the change, Bitting said. And, so is the Capital Area Football Officials Association.
“We did it out of necessity,” said Jerry Hocker, Mid-Penn Conference football assigner. “Each year we are losing quality officials to retirements and injuries, and we have not seen an uptick in replacements.”
The move is beneficial to allow “quality officials” to “work more often and not jeopardize the level of officiating,” Hocker said.
Games on Thursdays and Saturdays are most likely going to continue for at least the next two years, Bitting said. It will also support temporary relief to bus drivers and maintenance crews.
“We’re hopeful for an influx,” he said. “The issue we’ll run into is how quickly we can get officials up to the varsity level across the board. You don’t just walk out of the class and you are suddenly a varsity official. It takes a lot of games to get to that point.”
The Mid-Penn Conference needs about 20 more “seasoned officials to be able to go back to having all of the games on a Friday night,” Hocker said.
“We have had a few dedicated officials sign up over the last couple of years, but you cannot just jump right into a varsity football game without some on-field experience,” Hocker said. “It takes a couple of seasons working at the lower levels to be able to handle a varsity game.”
Beginner officials should understand that they need to put in the time, Hocker said. There has been a misconception that once you pass the PIAA-administered rules test, then you can officiate at the highest level, he said.
“They want and expect to work at the highest level without putting the time in,” Hocker said. “That’s not how it works in your daily job and it sets you up for failure. We have the tools in place within our chapter with our new official’s class that is taught by our best officials that prepare the people to sign up to complete the PIAA exam.
“This then allows you to officiate the lower levels and move your way up the ranks. We also have on-field clinics and sessions that are taught by our senior officials to help educate the committed officials who want to get better. This has been promising the last couple of years. The PIAA also has been helping in the recruitment of officials through social media and other ways. We just need the people to sign up and stay committed.”
Today’s current sports culture is another reason Hocker said he thinks people are “reluctant” to sign up to officiate.
“They do not want to put up with the unruly fans and coaches,” he said. “My take on that is that it is an issue and people, in general, need to realize that without the officials we cannot have the games. So, cheer for your kids and let the officials do their jobs.”
