Minter's Contributions Worth a Mint
April 9, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Tom Minter admits his wife Linda knows the spiel well. She's been hearing it spun for years.
The recently-retired MHSAA assistant director might be chatting up a recent grad at his or her high school open house, or talking with a former athlete whose playing days are done but love for a sport hasn't waned.
“When I recruit officials, I tell them, ‘Hey, you can stay in a game you know something about. It’s good exercise. You stay with the kids, who help keep you young, and it’s one of the few hobbies that pays you,’” Minter said.
He knows all to be true after 48 years running the fields and courts of Michigan’s high schools, and more than a half-century total as a referee and umpire who worked his most recent girls soccer game just a few days ago in Ovid-Elsie.
Minter, an official for nine MHSAA Finals and longtime clinician and trainer of referees and umpires all over the state, has been selected to receive the MHSAA’s Vern L. Norris Award for 2013.
The Norris Award is presented annually to a veteran official who has been active in a local officials association, has mentored other officials, and has been involved in officials’ education. It is named for Vern L. Norris, who served as executive director of the MHSAA from 1978-86 and was well-respected by officials on the state and national levels. Minter will be honored at the Officials’ Awards & Alumni Banquet on May 4 at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.
Minter also worked at the MHSAA’s home office from September 1995 through January 2012 and so knows or is familiar with just about every Norris winner before him – making this award extra meaningful.
While the desire to remain part of the games after his playing career ended led to Minter’s early involvement, the opportunity to pass on what he’s learned keeps him immersed in the officiating community.
“Hopefully now I’m able to pass some of this on and to encourage, provide the listening ear like people provided to me in the past,” Minter said. “It’s created in me a sense of legacy.
“To be in the company of people like Vern Norris and Dick Kalahar and all the other winners, it’s just the recognition that you’ve made a contribution. That is so satisfying.”
Minter began his officiating career while a student at a U.S. Air Force base high school overseas. Natives of Akron, Ohio, the family followed Minter’s father – who worked for Goodyear Tires – to Scotland in 1958.
Minter played mostly baseball to that point, and didn’t know much about the pastime of his new home – soccer. But on suggestion of his physical education teacher – who also had played pro soccer – Minter took up officiating the sport to fast-forward his education in the game.
Minter refereed his first high school soccer game in 1961, and played at the high school and college levels. After also officiating for a year in Ohio, Minter began officiating in Michigan while a student at Jackson Community College. He graduated from Jackson Community College in 1966 and Michigan State University in 1971, and also served a stint with the U.S. Army.
Minter has worked games in football, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer and baseball and has served as an officials assignor both at the high school and college levels; he currently is secretary for the Greater Lansing Area Soccer Officials Association. He worked five baseball MHSAA Finals, two football and one each in boys and girls soccer before joining the MHSAA staff in 1995 as the selection from nearly 200 candidates for his position.
As part of the announcement that Minter would be joining the staff as assistant to executive director John E. “Jack” Roberts, Roberts compared Minter to a versatile running back – capable of handling a variety of in-office obligations while also able to ‘bounce to the outside’ and assist with administration of sport services to member schools.
Among many contributions as an MHSAA employee, Minter was assistant director in charge of boys and girls soccer and oversaw construction of the MHSAA’s home office, which opened in December 1996. Although retired, he remains a versatile contributor providing assistance to the MHSAA in East Lansing and high school athletics on a national level.
“Tom Minter continues to help with capital improvement projects at the MHSAA office, and he continues to represent the National Federation (NFHS) Officials Association on its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee,” Roberts said. “His many contributions to high school athletics, and especially officiating, continue to be far-reaching. We are delighted to recognize Tom Minter with the Vern L. Norris Award.”
Minter came to the MHSAA after serving as Meridian Township Treasurer for 19 years and also as a volunteer fireman for that community, which includes Haslett and Okemos. Minter was an Ingham County commissioner for six years and served on Meridian Township’s planning commission and zoning board of appeals, and has been a member of the Haslett/Okemos Rotary Club for 36 years – including as its president in 1985-86.
He currently serves as chairperson of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports, a 15-member body established in 1992 that promotes the increase of physical activity and improvement of health for Michigan residents. He was first appointed in February 2012 and serves with Kalamazoo’s Ron Winter, a friend going back to their days at MSU and a current referee in the National Football League.
Minter also continues to work as a Big Ten football replay official and observer of officials for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – for which he served as an on-field official for 25 seasons including eight as crew chief. He also worked in the Mid-American Conference and Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
All allow him to provide a wealth of knowledge to those continuing to hone the officiating craft – especially when it comes to tangible aspects like rules, mechanics and the like.
But working for the MHSAA fulltime gave Minter a unique perspective on the intangibles of officiating at the high school level – like keeping in perspective that athletes are high school students, enjoying athletics as part of the education process.
The value of providing such mentoring will be a significant part of his brief acceptance speech May 4.
“We’re all here because we worked 20, 30, 40, 45, 50 years. What are we doing to ensure our replacements?” Minter said. “That’s what we have to do, to ensure that we leave a replacement.”
High school game officials with 20, 30, 40, 45 and 50 years of service also will be honored at the Officials’ Awards & Alumni Banquet on May 4. Tickets for the banquet are available to the public and priced at $20. They will not be sold at the door. Tickets can be ordered by calling the MHSAA office at (517) 332-5046 or by sending the order form available at this link.
Previous recipients of the Norris Award
1992 – Ted Wilson, East Detroit
1993 – Fred Briggs, Burton
1994 – Joe Brodie, Flat Rock
1995 – Jim Massar, Flint
1996 – Jim Lamoreaux, St. Ignace
1997 – Ken Myllyla, Escanaba
1998 – Blake Hagman, Kalamazoo
1999 – Richard Kalahar, Jackson
2000 – Barb Beckett, Traverse City; Karl Newingham, Bay City
2001 – Herb Lipschultz, Kalamazoo
2002 – Robert Scholie, Hancock
2003 – Ron Nagy, Hazel Park
2004 – Carl Van Heck, Grand Rapids
2005 – Bruce Moss, Alma
2006 – Jeanne Skinner, Grand Rapids
2007 – Terry Wakeley, Grayling
2008 – Will Lynch, Honor
2009 – James Danhoff, Richland
2010 – John Juday Sr., Petoskey
2011 – Robert Williams, Redford
2012 – Lyle Berry, Rockford
PHOTOS: (Top) Longtime official Tom Minter signals a score during a 2010 football game. (Middle) Minter awards Williamston girls soccer coach Jim Flore an MHSAA runner-up trophy in 2010.
Lentz Learned from 'Legacy,' Builds Own
June 9, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Umpire Nic Lentz stepped onto the field April 20 at Marlins Park prior to Miami’s game against the Washington Nationals, and he was met by moments he’ll remember the rest of his life.
The game was his first at the Major League Baseball level. And if that wasn’t enough, the Howell native's parents Steve and Tammy were in the crowd – “so not only was it a special moment for me, but also making them proud walking on that field for the first time is something I’ll have for the rest of my life,” Lentz said.
“It was all very humbling. It’s hard to describe what it feels like receiving that call or stepping on that field for the first time,” Lentz wrote recently during a break in his whirlwind tour as a first-year fill-in for MLB umpires who are ill, injured or on vacation. “That being said, from a personal aspect, it took me back to years I have spent in this profession … things I have learned throughout the years both on and off the field.”
By the end of May, Lentz had traveled from Miami, to Cincinnati, then on to Baltimore, Los Angeles, Seattle, Arizona, Houston, Detroit and Toronto.
And the story of his start in officiating has been nearly as well traveled these last few weeks, with the hope his rise through the ranks – including a spring as part of the MHSAA’s Legacy Student Officials Program – might serve as an inspiration to young people considering the opportunities that come with the officiating avocation.
Lentz, 26, has risen from entry level to the largest stage in just under a decade. He began umpiring at the rec levels when he was 12; by the time he was 16, he was done playing and passionate about becoming an umpire.
A homeschooled student in the Howell area, Lentz approached then-Highlanders athletic director Doug Paige to find out how he might be able to continue growing his skills and take them to the next level.
Paige called Dan Jeffery, who currently is in his 22nd year as an officials assigner in the southeastern Lower Peninsula and works with the Kensington Lakes Activities Association and Southeastern Conference.
“Nic was 16 years old, and my son (Dan, Jr.) and I were working a game at Hartland, and I said why not come out and watch us work and we’ll talk,” Jeffery Sr. said. “Next thing you know, here’s this tall, skinny young kid waving at us.”
A decade later, Lentz took his post near first base in front of nearly 17,000 fans, the latest step in a career that’s also included stops in 10 leagues at various levels of the minor league and instructional ladder, mostly in the U.S. but also Venezuela, and MLB spring training as well.
Beginning a legacy
That first meeting with the Jefferys turned into a spot in the MHSAA Legacy Program, which pairs high school juniors and seniors interested in officiating with a registered MHSAA official. The veteran mentors the younger official, providing guidance in getting started while the pair works games together at the middle school/junior high and subvarsity levels.
Jeffery Sr. paired Lentz with Kyle Clapper, a former player when Jeffery was part of Howell’s football staff. Lentz also continued attending games worked by Jeffery and his son (Dan Jr. now officiates at the college level), and remains in regular contact with Jeffery Sr. today. He received additional input and guidance from MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl, who is in charge of officials for the association and worked the NCAA Division I College Baseball World Series in 2014.
“(Lentz) came around and watched and showed this unbelievable interest,” Jeffery said. “He just took to it. It’s unbelievable. It’s amazing.”
“From a personal aspect, it was the next stepping-stone for me,” Lentz said of the Legacy Program. “I had been umpiring travel baseball for the past few years now, and I wanted to grow in my skills and take it to the next level. The Legacy Program seemed to be the best option. I always looked at it as the launching pad for where I am today.”
Lentz clearly has a natural talent for his profession. In January 2008, just turned 18 and recently graduated from high school, he attended the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring. After graduation there, he was put on the wait list for the Coastal Plain League, a wood bat league for college players in Virginia and North and South Carolina. He worked in that league three weeks during the summer of 2008 – and then received a call from the Arizona League, a rookie league that serves as the entry level for many minor league baseball players.
With that, Lentz began climbing his ladder as well.
Top rung and top-shelf
Lentz is in his third season in the International League, which is Triple-A – the highest minor league level for players. He’s a crew chief at that level.
He’s also shined during his MLB fill-in opportunities.
“His attention to detail; when you look at him today … his posture and his presence, you just see it,” Jeffery said. “As soon as you look at him, you just see it.
“He knows the rules, he studies really well, and mechanically he’s incredible. He not only studies the rules, but he knows where he’s supposed to be.”
Lentz lives in Holland (as do his parents) and in 2009 joined the crew of instructors for the annual Southeast Michigan Umpire Camp, which focuses on teaching high school officiating mechanics and draws roughly 100 officials to Livonia every February. Jeffery said that two years ago, there were 40 officials younger than 20 years old.
Jeffery calls himself the “old dude” at 68. But Lentz’ presence and current experience certainly resonate with their students.
“Nic is great with the campers and is very well-liked,” said official Bill Parker, the president and founder of the camp who also has worked in minor league baseball. “He will do anything that is asked of him. It has been a great joy watching Nic progress through the minor leagues and into the major leagues.”
“I would and do tell future and current umpires to continue to have a passion for the game. You can’t umpire any game, be it at the amateur or professional level, without that passion,” Lentz said. “So follow that passion, have fun doing it, stay humble and work hard every day. I would say that to be true for any career in life, wherever that passion may be.”
Michigan family, friends and fellow officials are cheering on that passion as they watch Lentz’ travels this summer and anticipate his move to MLB full-time in the future. Jeffery said he sees Lentz working at that highest level for decades to come – but also told his former protégé to make sure to take it all in that first game April 20, “take a deep breath, take a look around and remember where you’re at.”
And Lentz will never take for granted those who have helped him get there.
“There are so many people I have kept in touch with over the years, both before my professional career and throughout it,” Lentz said. “There are so many friendships I have built, and the support of everyone has always meant a great deal to me. And you can’t come close to putting a price tag on that.”
Click to learn more about the MHSAA Legacy Student Officials Program or Southeast Michigan Umpire Camp.
PHOTOS: (Top) Nic Lentz serves as plate umpire during an MLB game last month. (Middle) Lentz enters the field and works at third base during a game at Comerica Park. (Below) Lentz instructs umpires at the Southeast Michigan Umpire Camp. (Photos courtesy of Dan Jeffery, Sr., Bill Parker and the Lentz family.)