MHSA(Q&)A: Official Lyle Berry
May 7, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Rockford’s Lyle Berry Berry received the MHSAA’s Vern L. Norris Award on Saturday for his contributions to officiating, mentoring and officials’ education.
An educator and official beginning in 1960, he also has officiated cross country and basketball, and has been a long-time member of both the West Michigan Officials Association and the Association of Track Officials of Michigan – having served both as president and rules chairman.
Berry also coached football for 36 years, with 32 at the high school level at Tawas, Farwell, Wayland and Wyoming Godwin Heights before spending four seasons as an assistant at Grand Rapids Community College. He was a head coach for 27 of those high school seasons, and was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2008.
What keeps you coming back?
Just working with the kids, basically. There was a time, a turning point, when I did not know if it was as ego thing or an obsession. At some point, it was just a thing I wanted to do. It became so much fun, I didn't want to quit.
What was that turning point?
Ten or 12 years in officiating, I was in the process of building a career and wanting to take the next step each time. I got to the point where I was doing varsity basketball, and I got established there and wanted to move to the college ranks. And I did that. But 12 or 13 year in, there was a Grand Rapids City League game that went to double overtime. The two teams were undefeated at the halfway point (of the season), and it was a tight ballgame. After the game, we used to stand in front of the scoring table waiting for the books to get finalized. I looked over and saw the coach from the losing team talking to his kids, and the next thing we know, a few of them are coming over toward me. I’m thinking “Oh boy; here we go.” But the kids came up and said their coach wanted to make sure (they) congratulated (us) on a job well done. And the next thing out of their mouths was, “Wow, was that a great game?” And that’s where they left it. They said thanks and left. I thought I would’ve worked that night for nothing. And it just went from there.
What do you enjoy most about officiating?
It’s being with the kids more than anything. I do college track, high school track and junior high track, and some of the most fun situations are with the junior high kids. … Those kids either don’t know what’s going on, or keep you hopping, keep you on your toes. Being around them, it helps keep me a little young.”
You’ve been a teacher, coach and official. Are there similarities among the three?
All three blend together really well. You get to look at coaching as having the ability to teach kids how to have fun, and officiating you look at as watching kids have fun. Those two things go hand in hand. And teaching, of course; I was in the physical education field and I’d see all these kids and athletes who I’d eventually be coaching. Being around them all the time was just a bonus.
Is recruiting officials tougher now than it was in the past?
It’s a little bit tougher now. At the banquet the other night, there were only seven or eight 50-year people. Ten or 15 years ago, we didn’t even have a 50-yard award. And when that came in I thought it would be great because there would be a lot in that class. Last year I got my 50, and there were only 12 or 13 of us. The 40-45 (year) class had only 20 or 25. It just seems like the numbers are dwindling. You don’t see the commitment to carry on.
You see the same thing in coaching. I coached football 36 years, and you don’t see that. You see coaches get out after 10 or 12 years, burned out. I don’t know what the situation is causing that, but it’s definitely getting hard.
What advice do you give to young officials?
At this point in time, I’m working in the O-K Conference as a basketball observer of officials. Over the last six or seven years, I’d gotten 10-15 young guys. I like to go watch the JV, the freshmen guys, talk to them at halftime or after the game, like having a mini clinic with them. I encourage them to go. Last year I saw a dozen of those guys move on to the varsity ranks. Basically, I just tell them just to stay with it. And when the opportunity comes, you’ve got to jump in with both feet.
PHOTO: (Below) Lyle Berry speaks to the audience during Saturday's Officials’ Awards & Alumni Banquet at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.
VanderVelde Officiating Tree Branches Into 2nd Generation, Top-Tier College Football
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
February 28, 2025
Mike VanderVelde always knew the apple wasn't going to fall far from the tree.
The longtime West Michigan football and basketball official correctly guessed that his son, Michael, who had accompanied his father to countless Friday night football games before he was even out of elementary school, would eventually pick up the family mantle of officiating. VanderVelde said he saw in his young son many of the key attributes an official must possess: a keen eye for details, an overwhelming desire to improve, patience and a love of sports.
Put it all together, and VanderVelde has seen his son evolve into one of the nation's top NCAA football officials.
"I think it was just like with any kid, he liked the competition," said Mike VanderVelde, who retired three years ago at the age of 78 after officiating in the Grand Rapids area for 61. "I guess it would be crazy to say now, but even then there was something about Michael that was going to make him a good official. It wasn't (following) me."
Michael, a Grandville High School and Hope College graduate, has gone from working middle school football games to make extra money in college to officiating eight college bowl games, including this year's Sugar Bowl national quarterfinal Jan. 2 in New Orleans and the semifinal Jan. 9 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. VanderVelde's first bowl game was the 2017 Bahamas Bowl, and he also officiated the 2024 Rose Bowl, the national semifinal between eventual champion Michigan and Alabama.
Before reaching those heights, Michael said some of his earliest sporting moments came when he was a ball boy jogging along the sideline while his father was working on the field. VanderVelde figures he was barely 8 years old, but he remembers being taught by his father to pay attention to detail. He also considers his father a major influence in his decision to pursue football officiating at the highest level.
"I'd buy that, absolutely. I loved spending time with my dad on Friday nights. That was definitely a common bonding time,” Michael VanderVelde said. “I'd see the smile on his face and see his passion for football. I'd see subtle little hints, and I'd pick up on that. The seed was definitely planted.”
Even as a youngster who was yet to see middle school, Michael said he understood the necessity of being where he was supposed to be as a ball boy. It was one of his first lessons in accepting responsibility and that actions had consequences.
"I would hand the ball to the umpire and pay attention to the game, and do what they needed me to do," he said. "And then I'd hang out with the crew after the games. Just being around the game and watching and being close to it, I loved it."
Both VanderVeldes entered officiating on the ground floor. Mike began doing YMCA fifth and sixth grade and church league basketball games at Grand Rapids' Franklin Park during the 1950s. He eventually graduated to working about 75 high school football and basketball games a year along with officiating Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football games. VanderVelde also coached football, tennis and junior high basketball at Wyoming Kelloggsville High School for 30 years.
"I've always been involved with athletics; I've really enjoyed it," Mike said. "I always thought of (officiating) as a challenge. I wanted to see what I could do. It intrigued me, trying something new. It just clicked with me, and I kept going and I never really stopped."
The younger VanderVelde also started at the youngest levels, officiating fourth through sixth-grade football games before he graduated from high school in 2003. Then to make extra money while in college, VanderVelde took on freshman, junior varsity and his first varsity football game at Saranac. He eventually worked high school basketball games before moving to Colorado and doing Southland Conference games for three years beginning in 2013. VanderVelde went on to work for three years in the Mountain West Conference and now officiates Big 12 games while living in Louisiana.
While many fans often fail to grasp the pressures an official faces while working major college football bowl games, VanderVelde said he's thrilled to reach that elite level of officiating.
"It's a blast," he said. "To be there with other officials and doing things like working with the replays, getting the calls correct, 11 on 11 football and being on the biggest stage, I love it."
As for the recently completed college season, VanderVelde was honored that the NCAA – in a rare break from tradition – chose his crew to work back-to-back Notre Dame games in the Sugar and Rose Bowls. The NCAA typically will not assign the same crew to the same team two weeks in a row. It was an extraordinary gesture signaling the high esteem in which the crew is held, not only by the NCAA but with the blessing of all teams involved.
"It's tough to work back-to-back games like that, but I think the crew did an excellent job," he said. "There was no controversy, and I think we felt comfortable being assigned those games."
Considering his officiating success, VanderVelde said there is one step yet to take, one more hurdle to leap: the NFL. VanderVelde. who works United Football League games in the spring, has been part of the league's Mackie Development Program for the last two years. He's already worked Hula Bowl games and would gladly consider moving along to working on Sundays.
"I'd love to have that opportunity if it was ever presented to me," he said. "It'd be cool, but there are no guarantees. You know that snap by snap, you're only as good as your last game. But it's something I'd like to do some day.
"In football all you can do is look at your next assignment and try to do it well. It's exciting, but you're always trying to go on to the next game without a hitch."
PHOTOS (Top) Longtime MHSAA official Mike VanderVelde, left, and son Michael share a moment during Michael’s officiating assignment at the 2021 Outback Bowl in Tampa Bay, Fla. (Middle) Mike VanderVelde officiates a Grandville High school game. (Below) From left: Mike VanderVelde, Michael VanderVelde, and Michael’s son Hayden. (Photos provided by the VanderVelde family.)