Launching Pad and Destination
November 30, 2012
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
Lamont Simpson’s “home” is a place he visits twice a week during his peak season, when NCAA Division I officiating duties have him navigating the Midwest like a person in a race for frequent flyer miles.
His travels pale in comparison to Stacey Thomas, who has lived in Latvia, Turkey and Sweden thanks to the game of basketball.
Then there’s Jim Garofalo, who authored his own cheat sheets to assist with the eight different rules books which intertwined during a period of time in his hockey officiating career, which included a trip to the Olympic Games.
So, naturally, there’s Simpson officiating an MHSAA Pre-District Football Playoff game in Detroit last fall, taking a postgame earful from a father who believed his son was the subject of a cheap shot during the game.
There’s Thomas, blowing a whistle with teenagers at the Healthy Kids Club in Detroit this summer
There’s Garofalo, ditching seven of the rules books over the last few years, and using only one now: the high school rules book.
It’s true that Simpson is at the pinnacle of his career, working Big Ten, Mid-American Conference and Horizon League men’s basketball, in addition to the WNBA in the summer, where he recently worked his eighth straight WNBA Finals.
And, yes, Thomas has her sights set on the NCAA Division I level and beyond, as her officiating career is still in its infancy.
Sure, Garofalo has achieved much on the ice both as an amateur and professional referee.
But, like so many in the officiating family, they deeply appreciate their roots and the people who helped them along the way. It’s a people business, first and foremost.
This week, continuing its "Making – and Answering – the Call" series, Second Half introduces Simpson, an officiating veteran of more than three decades. Profiles of Thomas and Garofalo will follow later this month.
It's about patience and honesty
The late June heat at the Kensington Valley Golf Course doesn’t seem to bother Lamont Simpson. The secret to his cool aura lies in his hand, a golf ball which he has identified as “Ref” in permanent marker.
Simpson is indeed a ref – permanently – thanks to a suggestion from Robert Menafee during the late 1970s, and the 1977 Detroit Redford grad has been most comfortable in the heat of competition’s spotlight ever since.
“I was at a football game at Henry Ford a year or two after high school, and Mr. Menafee, my former coach, saw me and asked what I was doing,” Simpson recalled. “He said I should try officiating. That’s the first I’d ever thought about it.”
It would be the impetus to a craft that has consumed nearly 30 years of Simpson’s life, as he now jets around the country as a top-flight NCAA Men’s Basketball official, and one of the senior officials in the WNBA, where he recently called his eighth consecutive Finals.
For all of his accomplishments, Simpson can still recall with great detail various moments that led to his current standing; mental snapshots which help to explain why he still registers as an MHSAA football official each year, and why he gives so freely of himself to anyone interested in getting a start in officiating.
“I still remember my first game, thinking, ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this,’” Simpson recalled. “In my second year I did a PSL (Detroit Public School League) playoff game, and to this day, walking into that gym is still one of my most gratifying times. There were about two or three thousand people in the stands, and I remember the butterflies.”
Fast forward to the Pontiac Silverdome in November 1992. In the waning seconds of the MHSAA Class A Football Final, a pigskin floats in the air doing its best butterfly imitation. Following a double-reverse pass, the tipped ball is finally corralled by Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Stacey Starr at the 10-yard line and carried into the end zone to give his school a 21-18 win over Walled Lake Western in one of the most frenzied finishes in MHSAA Finals history.
Simpson had a good view of the moment.
“I was the back judge, working my first MHSAA Final. My first thought is to get in position and then, ‘Oh man, the ball is tipped,’” Simpson replays in his mind. “You’re part of a game-ending situation and you don’t want to screw it up. You almost become a fan in a game like that—a moment like that—but you’ve got your job to do. Afterward, when it was all over, I just remember thinking, ‘What a football game I got to be a part of.’”
Simpson would also get a shot as a Football Final referee in 2003, and worked the 1995 Boys Basketball Final which featured Flint Northern’s team led by future MSU Spartans Mateen Cleaves and Antonio Smith. But, Simpson remembers that game for a different reason.
“It was the last time that the Final was worked with a two-person crew.” Simpson said. “I remember the great athletes in the game, and being part of history as the last two-man crew in the Finals is something to be proud of.”
Simpson is quick to point out, however, that simply having what it takes to officiate an athletic event at any level is something of which to be most proud. While it’s natural for new officials to covet championship assignments and careers beyond the high school level, Simpson stresses patience, hard work, and – in many cases – honesty with one’s own performance as the most valuable traits an official can possess.
“I work and speak at a lot of camps, and I stress that people need to work at the craft – mechanics, rules, physical appearance – and above all have patience.” Simpson said. “The thing I see in younger officials now that is so different than when I was coming in, is they don’t have the patience; they don’t want to pay their dues.”
Sometimes, even the greatest amount of patience, perseverance and hard work isn’t enough. And, that’s where honesty in self-evaluation comes in. Yes, there are egos in officiating. To some extent, it’s a prerequisite. However, humility can also lead to finding a niche in the game.
Simpson himself is an example.
“My goal was to work in the NBA, but after seven years in the CBA, I realized that it probably wasn’t going to happen,” he said. “But, you know, there was still a lot of good basketball out there to work. When I left the CBA, I did so on my own terms, and went to work on my college career. So, sometimes you weigh your options and focus on the next goal.
“The point is, work at being the best at whatever level you work. I’ve seen guys spend a lot of money at the same camps year after year, and never get that college assignment,” Simpson said. “Maybe it’s time for them to focus on a different level.”
In that respect, the very thing that drives officials and gets them in the game in the first place can by the very thing that drives them out. Passion and drive, the need to reach the next level, can keep people focused in their chosen quest; the frustration of not advancing can also lead to their exit.
True, Simpson is one of 32 officials in the WNBA, and just worked his eighth WNBA Final. He has a full NCAA Division I men’s basketball schedule. But, the father of three grown children and grandfather of five cannot express enough the fringe benefits that officiating brings at any level.
“You become a better people person through officiating. Your communication skills are sharper,” he says. “Not only what to say and when to say it, but you learn to listen. You have to be a listener in this business, and that’s a great skill to have in life.”
It also provides the opportunity to be a teacher and recruiter. It’s one of the reasons he’s closing in on nearly three decades as an MHSAA registered official. What better way to pass the knowledge forward?
“No matter where you end up, always remember where you started, and keep your friends,” Simpson said. “I return every call, every text. I still talk to the same guys I grew up with. From an officiating standpoint if we could all just bring along one person at a time, think of the effect that would have.”
Simpson does more than his share, from speaking at camps and clinics – all voluntarily, mind you – to the behind the scenes recruitment, such as the time he surrendered all of his baseball umpiring equipment to a friend under the condition that person register with the MHSAA and begin working games.
He thinks back to the suggestion from Coach Menafee frequently. “Oh, all the time,” Simpson said. “I think of the places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen, the people I’ve met and the person I’ve become. This is what being an official does.”
There’s a scenario that Simpson replays time and again when he talks of officiating, and it doesn’t pertain to his collegiate or professional experience. In fact, it’s not even about basketball.
“It’s Friday night, and you’re working the big rivalry game between two communities. You get on the field, the bleachers are packed, the bands are playing, and you’re right in the mix,” Simpson says with reverence. “That’s it right there. It doesn’t get much better than that. That’s it.”
PHOTO: Lamont Simpson officiates WNBA games during the summers, including this contest involving the Atlanta Dream and player Erika de Souza (14).
NOTE: This is the fifth installment in the series "Making – and Answering – the Call" detailing the careers and service of MHSAA officials. Click the links below to view the others.
Beaverton Legend Nearing Wins Record
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 18, 2017
Roy Johnston is three wins from tying and four from breaking the all-time wins record for boys basketball in Michigan.
But the longtime Beaverton coach isn’t interested in reflecting, at least not yet. That’s just not his style.
“During the season, you just concentrate on – at least I do – the games you’ve got coming up for the week,” Johnston said. “When you start reflecting on things, you’re not doing justice to what’s on hand.”
Johnston, who took over the Beaverton program in 1974 after short stints in Yale and Howell, has a career record of 725-301. Longtime River Rouge coach Lofton Greene holds the record for wins in the state at 728.
“There’s so much pride in our community,” said Shad Woodruff, Beaverton’s junior varsity boys coach and a former player of Johnston’s. “Beaverton basketball brings our community together. Beaverton basketball and Roy’s program brings our small-town community together. It’s a big feather in our cap, and we’re proud to have Roy and what he means – we understand that not every place has something like that.
“To really validate it with the all-time wins record, and be able to say our school has that – you can’t beat that.”
Building a program
Johnston graduated from Croswell-Lexington High School. He attended Adrian College for a semester, playing on the basketball team, before transferring to Eastern Michigan University. While there, he got his nose wet in coaching by helping in Ypsilanti.
He earned his first coaching win during the 1966-67 season at Yale. He was 13-24 with a District title in his two years at the St. Clair County school before he moved to Howell, going 5-28 in two seasons there.
After meeting with the Beaverton High School principal at a deer hunting cabin, he was on the move again – this time to the place he would make his home.
Johnston – who had been teaching high school classes – took a job as a fifth-grade teacher and JV coach in the fall of 1970. He took over the varsity program in 1974 and started winning immediately, going 16-8, 23-2, 18-3 and 22-2 in his first four seasons with three District titles, three conference titles and a Regional title during that stretch.
“Most of it was just discipline,” Johnston said. “I had to make sure the ballplayers got on the same page and that everybody had one common goal. So it was just a matter of making sure kids were disciplined, played with each other and did what you practiced.”
Eventually, players who entered the program knew what to expect and what was expected of them before they stepped foot on Johnston’s court.
“That takes a long time to create that environment,” Woodruff said. “He’s been there for 45 years, so it doesn’t happen overnight. But it does start to coach itself. When kids walk through the door knowing, ‘I have to bust my tail,’ part of that job is already accomplished for you. That’s what a program is. It’s no different than Alabama football.”
In his 42 seasons at Beaverton, the Beavers have won 20 conference titles, 15 District titles and five Regional titles. The team made a run to the Class C Semifinals in 1984.
More impressive, however, is the consistency. In his 42 seasons at Beaverton, Johnston has had just five losing seasons, and one of those still featured 10 wins.
“It has been stable,” longtime Beaverton public address announcer Scott Govitz said. “He is just a guy that is very disciplined in what he does and his coaching. It’s all about doing things right and repetitiveness. He doesn’t run dozens of offenses. He’s a stickler for defense. He just instills in every player that they’re going to have to work hard.”
Community gatherings
Don’t mistake discipline for not having fun, however. Beaverton basketball games are an event.
“(Games are) a community gathering, especially on Fridays,” Govitz said. “You can see as many as 10 kids clamoring to be water boy, hear the pep band with a director that’s been around 30 years and after each game, the floor fills with community members having conversations while dozens of kids race to one end to shoot baskets before the call comes to put the balls away. It’s just a real tradition.”
Beaverton’s student section, the Bleacher Creatures, won the MHSAA’s Battle of the Fans contest in 2014.
The team gets into it, as well, as pregame introductions include the Beaver Shuffle and the Beaver Slide (see video below). The final player introduced makes a run through the student section and slides from about halfcourt into his teammates waiting near the bench.
Even Johnston has his own very visible tradition, wearing a red blazer for every game.
The fun offers a bit of a window into who the coach really is.
“Roy is a disciplinarian, and he’s demanding,” Woodruff said. “But I’ve said this for years, if you think you know Roy Johnston by sitting across the gym and watching him coach, you might have a different perception. If that’s all you know Roy from, you don’t know Roy.
“He loves his kids. He expects a lot of us, but he loves his kids and he loves his community.”
Beaverton may not be Johnston’s hometown, but it certainly has become his home.
“I think that we have been very fortunate in Beaverton,” Johnston said. “We have had great teachers, we’ve had great administrators, and for the most part, we have had very good board members. I look at other places that go through a lot of turmoil, and we’ve been very fortunate.”
Johnston’s family has also been part of the tradition, including his wife Judy, who has served as his statistician. Two of his sons, and his three grandsons who grew up the district, have played for him. His daughter Jennifer (Northern Michigan) and son Jeff (Michigan Tech) each went on to play college basketball.
“I’ve had three grandsons live in the district, and I’ve had all three of them,” Johnston said. “Not too many guys have had that pleasure that I’ve had. It’s always been special, all along. I’m very lucky and very fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach those three.”
Spanning generations
The youngest of the grandsons, Carter, is at the center of this year’s squad which is 7-1 and sure to push Grandpa over the all-time wins mark.
It’s this latest group, which has included grandsons Carter, Spencer and Grant, that has accelerated Johnston’s chase for the record.
Since the 2012-13 season, Beaverton is 94-10, giving Johnston his winningest stretch near the end of his storied career.
“He has had multiple generations that he’s coached, and he does a lot of the same things with the kids,” Beaverton athletic director Ryan Roberts said. “He’s really good with the kids, getting them involved. I have an 8-year-old boy who sits at the end of the bench, along with about a half dozen others.
“All of the kids and most of the people in the town here have the utmost respect for him, know what he’s doing and how he is.”
For Johnston, reaching out to multiple generations of high school athletes isn’t as complicated as some make it seem.
“They are different, but high school kids and kids at that age are going through the same things we all went through at that age,” Johnston said. “Yeah, they’ve got cell phones that we never had, but they’re still going through the transition of being a little kid and becoming an adult. It’s something that we’ve all gone through.
“If you were out of coaching and came back, I think you would see a difference. Whereas I haven’t been, so you kind of grow with it. Kids are kids, always have been.”
Whenever the record is broken, several generations of Beaverton players and fans will be on hand to watch it. The Beavers play their next three games on the road before settling in for four straight home games Feb. 1 through Feb. 10.
Johnston is trying not to focus on it, but even he admits breaking the record will be special.
“You have to be concerned about your players and how to get them ready for the next game,” Johnston said. “My JV coach is the one who worries about most of this stuff, more than I do. It’s just another step.
“It’s more than that, let’s face it. But it’s another step.”
Others have no problem admitting that it’s much more than that. Woodruff became emotional thinking about the moment and all that Johnston has meant to him throughout the years.
Govitz said the community is already starting to fill with anticipation of the milestone victory.
“We’re a small community, and in small communities you have to rally around whatever successes you have,” Govitz said. “In this community, there’s a huge love for our school system, and this is something that really shines a positive light on our school system. It’s a point of pride.
“I’m already seeing more people in the stands. There’s a buzz in the community. There’s a buzz in the other communities that surround us. There’s a lot of communities that can point to state championships on their signs. This is one of those markers for us that will be around a long time.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Beaverton coach Roy Johnston, at right in 1984 and left more recently. The gymnasium at his schools bears his name. (Middle) Johnston, far left, celebrates an undefeated regular season with his 2014-15 team. (Photos courtesy of Stephanie Johnston.)