By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
GREAT BEND — The goal of a good sports official is to remain invisible; to act as a fair and competent arbiter of the rules. But that goal becomes more difficult as those with a stake in the outcome of the game - parents, coaches, and athletes - become more vocal.
Groups like the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) are making a social media push to "bench bad behavior" in an effort to recruit and keep more officials. As the slogan goes, "With no high school officials, there can be no high school sports." In February, the NFHS reported that 50,000 officials nationwide had discontinued their service since the 2018-19 school year.
Great Bend High School Activities Director Matt Westerhaus has seen the impact at his new job and at his old position at Junction City High School.
"I have observed a decline in the availability of officials at all levels, varsity and sub-varsity," he said. "At both places, we have been very fortunate to have local people to help out with our sub-varsity schedules for officiating. Varsity officials need to be registered with KSHSAA, sub-varsity officials do not need to be registered, and that level provides a great opportunity for officials to get their feet in the door, learn the game and then hopefully move up to be able to help at the varsity level."
Mark Goodheart assigns officials for three leagues in central and western Kansas: the Western Athletic Conference, Central Kansas League, and Central Prairie League. Bad sportsmanship has always been an issue, but Goodheart said a new challenge is for officials to find coverage at their full-time jobs so they can leave early to cover games. That particularly impacts non-varsity level sports.
"I think there's always been somewhat of a shortage, but I think it got more critical during COVID," he said. "We had begun to pick up a few more people in the last few years. Varsity officials, we can usually cover."
A shortage at the beginner level of officiating ultimately leads to a shortage at the varsity level. Young officials are turning away from the job because of an increasingly hostile atmosphere.
"Kids tell me I sometimes don't like how my coaches yell at me, I don't like how my parents yell at people," Goodheart said. "I just don't want to get yelled at. That's the hard part."
Goodheart got his start in officiating as a college kid wanting to make money. Then it grew into a passion. Athletics are important to communities, coaches, parents, and the athletes themselves. They are also important to the people trying to ensure fairness by enforcing the rules.
"Officials just want to go out and do the best job they can do," Goodheart said. "It's kind of like any job that anybody takes. No one takes a job and tries to fail at it."
There are many ways to boost the number of officials. Goodheart said female officials are an untapped resource, and organizations like KSHSAA offer plenty of training opportunities for new officials. Westerhaus said it's also about creating a positive culture so new officials stay in the game and get better.
"We need to continue to recruit, and encourage those that have a love for a sport or sports to give back by officiating," he said. "As schools, we also want to ensure that we make those early opportunities for officials as rewarding and as positive as possible. Fans, coaches, players, and administrators all play a part in providing a great atmosphere for not only our teams, but a positive, understanding atmosphere for beginning officials, so we encourage them to continue in their pursuit to provide a much-needed service to our educationally-based athletic programs.
"I encourage anyone that may have an interest in officiating to reach out to a coach, activities directors, the Activities Association so that we can get them in touch with the right people to get them started."
Goodheart said more teams have been appreciative of officials lately. Something as small as a "thank you" from athletes and coaches goes a long way. That and the camaraderie of officials, he said, make the job worth doing.
"Probably every county in Kansas, I can think of somebody I know," he said. "It's the greatest fraternity or sorority I know of in Kansas."