Ref Shortage Hurts on Numerous Levels

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Anyone who plays or watches high school sports knows how the biggest elephant in the room hangs a cloud over the entire landscape. “We simply don’t have a pool of officials to fill all the games on the schedule,” clarified John Jay AD Christian McCarthy.

The soccer field is where the largest omission is from. Pointing to the retirement of officials, a new generation is not forthcoming. “The pool is not being replenished on the back end,” he said.

The main reason shouldn’t be a surprise. “If you go to the games, you see the reaction that officials get from the fans, and even the players in certain sports. I just don’t think they feel it’s worthwhile for them,” he said.

So John Jay staff, coaches and administration are doing what they can from their corner of section one. One level begins with the players. “We work hard with our kids to ensure they are respectful, and that they are representing John Jay,” he said. “That sports are an extension of the school day. So we expect them to be part of a culture that does not allow for that type of bad behavior.”

As for what happens in the stands, the overwhelming majority remaining in line isn’t enough to alleviate the issue. “Ninety percent of the fans are just fine, and they are there to enjoy the game. But the ten percenters do impact the officials, the coaches, the players and the other spectators,” assured McCarthy.

From there, the first step means fans have to be aware when they are out of line. “When I talk to spectators, they often get caught up in the moment,” he said. “Then they realize and don’t feel great about their behavior.”

So simply kicking fans out of the arena is probably not productive. “The goal is that they are aware, and then move forward,” said the AD. “So it’s not repetitive behavior.”

That said, The chaperons aren’t there to be bouncers. “They are there to identify a problem. So if they need to have a conversation, they do or turn it over to myself or one of the sight supervisors,” said McCarthy.

Official channels thus in gear, he’s also certain that it takes a village. “The most powerful solution is for peers to speak up (in the stands),” McCarthy reasoned.

Unfortunately not all districts are trying to build the right culture. “We often go to places, and it’s brutal. There’s certain schools, it’s really not fun going to play there because the behavior goes unaddressed,” he lamented.

So without a unified front, the lacking pool of new officials is making its point, and the impact proceeds on multiple levels. The first occurs below the varsity level. Section One is on a schedule that must be met because of the postseason. As a result, officials are then drawn away from the lower levels to the higher. In turn, JV or freshman games revert to scrimmages.

First losing competitive juice, the omission causes a double duty that hurts the players even more. “It forces coaches to serve in both roles at the same time, which keeps them from being effective in both. Coaches should be coaching, and if they have to referee then they can't provide student athletes with proper feedback,” said McCarthy.

The problem then moves up the line. Once refs are certified, experience and ratings have them move up the ranks. So with the shortage, officials are forced into service that isn’t commensurate with their standing. “So then you have officials who are developing and are put into tough scenarios in order to get varsity games in,” said McCarthy.

All the deficiencies, sometimes the criticisms land at his door, but no district or director has a say. “We don’t have any authority. Officiating is a service provided to the section,” he said. “There’s no role for the athletic directors.”

So while recruiting efforts are in place, all John Jay and other responsible districts can do is to take care of their part of the problem. “We’re trying as athletic directors to change the culture of sport as much as possible,” McCarthy concluded.