Zebra Hunting
The Newest Member on the Endangered Species List
Everyone probably anticipated this topic inevitably arising at some point this season. I wanted to wait to write about the officials epidemic but I just couldn’t hold off. It’s no secret that there is a national shortage of officials across all sports. It is hitting specifically hard in the sport of Lacrosse. And there are a ton of problems that it is creating.
So what is the problem? Well putting it in simple chapter English, there is a bigger demand than there is a supply. Older officials are retiring and there aren’t enough young officials filling from the bottom up. Other forces beyond anyone’s control are also contributing factors, one major one being COVID-19. Pre-COVID times catered to an elder American who could ref in his/her free time. I think a lot of spectators would likely sneer at an elderly official, claiming things like “the game is passing him by,” or making some quip about their eyesight or whatnot. When in reality, the retirement age demographic would make the most ideal official in most sports. They have a ton of experience, and most importantly, have the time. Referees get paid but its modest and definitely not full- time salary at the youth/HS/college level. Retired adults can make a 4pm game or a 2pm double header that would be much tougher for working-age adults. Of course some sports would likely need younger, more fit refs to be able to run the field, but sports like basketball, football, and baseball could support officials well into their 60’s and 70’s.
Oh yea, COVID. Since COVID-19 the economy has been affected negatively. Inflation rising has led to more retired-age adults, to work longer which has directly affected some continuing to ref. Instead of having spare time to officiate games, many Americans have opted to work longer past retirement age, and continue with full-time employment vs part-time side gigs, which is what reffing basically is for most.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/sports/referee-shortage-youth-sports.html
Another key contributing factor is way more preventable, and thus, more frustrating. It is the treatment of officials in the U.S. The way we treat officials has led to more senior officials to hang up the whistler earlier and also not enticing younger officials to want to learn the trade. This is where the gap is. There are not enough young officials to make up for the fact that elder officials can no longer stand the constant verbal abuse (and in some incredibly horrible cases, physical abuse) to want to keep up with it any longer. It just isn’t worth it, and it’s all our fault (coaches, players, and spectators).
This is a particular problem in the sport of Lacrosse. Where I live in the Midwest, we have the highest paid officials in the country per game. That’s right! In region 5 (Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan) refs get paid more to officiate a game at University of Dubuque, than they do in New York State, New England, Maryland, and Philly. This is largely due to the mileage these officials travel, but it doesn’t change the fact that they know they have the bargaining power. But this isn’t a regional issue, it’s a national one. Tom Abbott, the head of officials, mentioned that there just aren’t enough qualified refs in the U.S. right now. The best ones are all retiring, and because of the shortage, what is happening is that they are bringing up guys that frankly aren’t ready for the college game yet. They are not bad HS refs, but they don’t have the field time, number of games, and just general experience yet. But we are forced as a sport to bring them up to the college level before they are ready because there are such low numbers. And this is happening everywhere, even in places like Upstate, NY.
So what is the result? Well, as you can imagine it’s a vicious cycle. Refs are not equipped to handle the college game and people get angry. Sadly, when your job’s main component is wins and losses, most coaches are not very patient with new refs. As a result, young refs might not be able to withstand the time it takes to get confident in their skill set, and all the abuse that comes with it. We’ll then continue to bring up people who aren’t ready, and the cycle will continue. Let’s face it, we don’t make it easy on them as a sport. With the goal mouth/crease prohibitions ( I am vehemently against), the shot clock, and the fact that the HS and college game are so drastically different. And now we are talking about adding video replay?? At the DI level, you can already see that the refs don’t trust themselves to make the right call. Turn on any DI game in 2024. Better yet, go on demand and watch some of the replays on ESPN plus. There are a number of examples of refs using the replay cam to get their missed calls right, which isn’t in the spirit of video replay (in my opinion). We don’t do them any favors. It must be a nightmare to learn frivolous rule changes every two years in a game that moves so fast. Lacrosse is incredibly hard to adjudicate.
It can’t be overstated how critical this issue is. It falls on all of us to help curve this trend to an upward trajectory. If refs are treated with more dignity and respect, more younger adults who are passionate about sports will be inclined to get involved and more importantly, stick with it long term. And the refs need to help themselves as well (when I said it takes all of us, that includes the officials themselves). They have a responsibility to really learn deeply about their craft. I’m sure any coach would tell you that no one likes their judgment questioned. I think if you are going to ref, you need to understand that your calls will be questioned from time to time. I can’t say that I am a perfect example, but I feel that for me personally, my response is dictated by the ref’s demeanor. If I have a question about a call, and am met with hostility from a standoffish ref, then that will set the tone for the rest of the game. We as coaches want communication above all else. We know it is unrealistic to expect a perfect game to be called. We would just like our concerns to be heard and to feel like we can have conversations with officials. That is hard out here. The older refs are much better about not ignoring coaches and are willing to give explanations. The younger refs have a huge problem with that. It’s just my opinion, but I find they have the propensity for making things personal if their judgment is questioned.
The second most important thing is consistency. I have no problem with flags. In fact, it has been a huge part of the game in 2024. We had 17 total penalties between 2 teams in our first game this season. But if that is the tone you are going to set, just make sure it is consistent throughout. Our second game we had 7 penalties to the other team’s 2, and both of their penalties conveniently came in the 4th quarter. Regardless if we had committed well-deserved penalties or not, that’s just not a consistent game called to have such a skew. And I know I will seem biased in this case, since it’s my team we’re talking about, but we had calls that showed the refs clearly didn’t know the rules.
Finally, the last problem seems to be control. Younger officials have this subconscious desire to want to control the game. Maybe not the outcome necessarily, but the needless caring of little things instead of seeing the big picture. We had some pretty horrible refs during our trip to Michigan this year. Our crew cared more about delay of games and interference calls than keeping the flow of a great back and forth lacrosse game. Both teams fell victim to horrible offsides calls. And we had the smallest infractions called deep into the 4th quarter when both teams are playing incredibly hard, too hard for their efforts to come down to a BS interference call on a tough ground ball situation. There just isn’t enough feel for the moment. I think in those moments, refs shouldn’t be actively looking for any reasons to throw their flags or blow their whistle. Contrarily, they should want to keep their flag in their pocket unless it is deemed absolutely necessary. Again, there is more at stake than merely “getting every little call exactly right.” At that point, to me it makes it seem like its more about them than the players. As an official, you shouldn’t want to put yourself in the spotlight late in the game unless it is the absolute, only choice to be made in that moment. Players and coaches have invested hundreds and hundreds of hours for it all to come down to a 50/50 call by a part-time ref. So I think for the most part, I did my job in hopefully playing devil’s advocate on the side of the ‘Stripes,’ but I will always put some onus back on the subject of discussion.
All in all, everyone has to get better. I remember hearing Tom Abbott speak at the Coaches Convention and his words moved me. I doubt that he’ll read this article but if he does, he will know he left an impression on at least one of the coaches in attendance. I said to myself, ‘Tom is right, I can do more. I can be better. I can improve on how I interact and communicate with officials. They are an important part of our game and I need to do my part in promoting their growth and not be a hindrance to it.’ And that lasted about 2 games, when my goalie is on his ass because the other team’s attackman is so deep inside the goal mouth, that he took my goalie out, while another player throws the ball into an open net. What should’ve been a dead ball was called a ‘play on’ and subsequently the goal was counted. Absolute worst call I have ever witnessed in my life. And we lost by 1 goal. You know a call is really bad, when the other team’s coach texts you after the game saying, ‘holy shit, I can’t believe they actually gave us that goal, that was horrible.’ It gets worse and worse every year. This is not something that has any sort of quick fix, as a solution. This is going to take years and years. Years of coaches, players, and fans changing the way the relate to officials on the field. Years of officials growing and educating themselves deeply on the rules and regulations. And years and years of both sides coming to a consensus that this game is imperfect. We all make mistakes from time to time. Human error is a huge part of sports and we all have to do a better job empathizing with one another. It’s either that or replacing refs with AI.
KASEY BURST
The HC at the University of Dubuque, Kasey brings all things college lacrosse to your inbox.