The Official View: Congrats & Transitions
By
Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
December 3, 2018
By Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
Winter is upon us at the MHSAA, and as we switch up seasons we salute the many who contributed to fall’s championship events and preview changes on the way for the MHSAA Officials Program.
It’s Official!
Transitions: As we transition from the fall to winter sports seasons, it is fitting that we discuss some expected changes in the MHSAA Officials Program. Proposals are being developed and sent to the Representative Council to resolve a number of issues – and additional changes are expected over the coming year. The goal of these changes is to provide MHSAA member schools with the most competent and qualified officials to choose from for regular-season contests, to improve sportsmanship amongst staff, students and spectators; and to increase the compensation and benefits that come with being registered as an official with the MHSAA.
To ensure that our member schools have access to the best and brightest officials, new education and accountability standards are being put in place. Also included will be cost-effective options for training – recognizing and featuring quality camps/clinics around the state and the development of a formal mentorship program.
Improving sportsmanship continues to be a priority of the MHSAA and the Officials Program. This cannot be addressed solely by the schools and the Association. The officials are the first line of defense in ensuring good sportsmanship. We are developing a “Personal Attack” policy that will assist and support officials in the implementation of corrective decision-making when necessary. Additionally, we are developing an “Official Thanks” campaign that recognizes and shows appreciation for the officials of MHSAA contests. The Game Day Ambassador Program is another initiative designed to put a face with the names of the officials for our schools and to provide schools with resources that explain what minimal efforts can be made to improve the officials’ experience.
Finally, benefits and compensation are being reviewed, and increases are due. We are evaluating the best way to increase compensation for postseason tournaments and what other benefits of registration would provide value to MHSAA officials. If you have ideas for incentives or additions you think would be beneficial to our officials, please let me know at [email protected].
Postseason Tournament Consideration: Winter Rules Meetings and Rules Tests for tournament consideration are due by Dec. 13, 2018. Make certain to complete all of these requirements, along with the submission of your schedules, to ensure you are eligible to officiate this postseason.
‘Official View’ Submissions: Winter officials – we need more submitted photos and stories showing all sides of officiating. If you have pictures of you and your fellow officials that can offer an inside look into the officiating world, please send them to [email protected]. We need a picture (or two) and the who, what, when and where. The more interesting the photo/story, the better.
We also continue to request “Official of the Month” nominations. If you have someone you think represents the MHSAA and the Officials Program well (and is a Winter sport official), send the official’s information and a brief note letting us know why you are making the recommendation.
Thank You: Thank you to all of the officials who responded to questions regarding proposed changes in the registration benefits and format. The information was very useful for us in determining what is in the best interests of all MHSAA-registered officials in regards to security, education, training and value.
For those who didn’t receive a request for feedback, don’t worry. No decisions have been finalized, and we will be sure to keep you posted of changes moving forward.
Rule of the Week
BASKETBALL With three seconds remaining on the clock and the game tied, A1 is attempting a throw-in from B’s end line. As A1 holds the ball over the plane of the end line, B1 quickly grabs the ball from A1 and lays it into the basket as time expires.
Ruling: Two points for Team B. The basket counts, and the game is over.
It’s Your Call
WRESTLING This week’s clip shows a wrestler secure a single-leg trap. Then, as it appears he has an easy opportunity to trip the other leg for a takedown, he picks up his opponent and slams him to the mat. What’s the call?
Last IYC Ruling: The last “It’s Your Call” clip showed a backrow player in volleyball land in front of the attack line following a successful jump attack from behind the line. Because the player’s feet leapt from a position established behind the attack line, this attack is a legal back row attack. (Click to see video.)
Official View: Congratulations!
We want to take a quick moment to recognize and thank the officials assigned to our fall postseason tournament Finals. We received very good feedback about the quality and consistency of officiating during our entire postseason. Your efforts are appreciated, and we understand that without your commitment and sacrifices, we could not host such tremendous events for our member schools and student-athletes.
Here are the Finals officials assigned for each fall sport:
Cross Country: Nick Marshall, Pete Norman, Lynn Kettlehut, Myles Cleverly, Dar Devereaux, Theo Nash, Doug Kelly, Erika Rafkin, Dan Bentschneider, Eldon Dean, Jim Davoe, Ray Drysdale, Jim Cleverly, Paul Matson, Lew Clingman, Rudy Godfriodt, Kathy Hutfilz, Brian Macomber, Wayne McDonald, Kathy Schollar, Ozzie Hashley, Geri Jackson, Lou Miramonti, Bertha Smiley, Dan Johnson, Dennis Whitehead, Kim Spalsbury, Autumn Cleverly, Greg Bishop, John Goebel, Chuck Janke, Marty Lynn, Tate Tatro, Rich Vitale, Jim Loria, Michael Raffin, John Brown, Marty Crane, Becky Norman
8-Player Football: Brad Austin, Joel Barnes, Paul Binder, John Carideo, Anthony Immel, Jack Miles, Joel Mitrzyk, David Paananen, Mark Pieniozek, Joseph Strong.
11-Player Football: Trent Anderson, Kurt Ballien, Robert Barrett, Ron Blevins II, Paul Boehms, Luther Bradley, Edgard Cazal, Lakelvert Cosby, Gillie David, Christopher Dickerson, Todd Dunlap, Donta Favors, Denny Ferguson, Jeffery Flynn, Timothy Frosch, Nicholas Gayan, Darin Gilbert Sr., Todd Gooding, Allen Hebden, Kevin Hughes, Steven Johnson, Darin Kelly, Ryan Kelly, Robert King, Carl Knoop, Patrick Lane, Adam Leyton, Mario Marana, Scott Maurer, Allen Noles, Brent Novak, Justin Paluch, Dee Jay Paquette, Steve Pearce, Bradley Peet Sr., Charles Phillipson, David Radke, Daniel Renner, Lawrence Roberts, Wally Rose, Jeff Rowley, John Schweihofer, Terry Scrivener, Brian Smith, Shane Smith, Randy Straub, Kevin Sullivan, Thomas Sumner, Johnnie Tanner, Nathan Taylor, Jason Towe, Chad Vanderstelt, Eric VanHevel, Max Warriner, Gregory Waun, Thomas Wolford.
Volleyball: Augusto Dumlao, Lawrence Freeman, John Martin, Penny McDonald, Matthew Preston, Luke Reynolds, Lawrence Ross, Todd Stamm.
Boys Soccer: Bradley Barlog, Branden Bennett, Carter Brochu, Conlan Campbell, Justin Cartwright, Thomas Coatoam, James DeBrabander, Bruce Falberg, Ashley Fromson, Richard Gilbert, Andrew Hoard, Pietro Loria, Alexander Plum, Timothy Reed, Robert Scudder, Andrey Vinarov.
Girls Swimming & Diving: Susan Barthold, Dennis Betts, Steven Bredeweg, John Cast, Paul Chaffee, James Chapman, Raymond Cranston, Timothy Eastman, Brian Foust, Jerry Kelley, John Leidlein Jr., Raymond Martin, James McPartlin, Steven Smale, Brad Susterka, Maynard Timm, Michael Torrey, Larry Wegener.
The Official View: The Crossroad We Face
By
Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
December 20, 2021
It’s time to call it what it is … a major crossroad and tipping point.
For more than a decade, the numbers of registered MHSAA officials have steadily declined from a high of about 13,000 to, today, around 7,700. While the COVID pandemic has certainly exacerbated those figures over the last two seasons, two of the top reasons officials give for leaving the avocation remains adult spectators and coach behavior.
School sports and traditional recreational programs have been supplemented, and in some cases, supplanted, by travel and club programs that, more often than not, do not share the same values and standards expected in education-based athletics. Many of these non-school programs require parents to spend exorbitant amounts in registrations fees, travel, lodging and meals with the implicit suggestion that this is the gateway to Division I college and professional sports. The result is that the criticisms hurled at the officials are more than an overzealous parent wanting a fair-called game – it is stakeholders defending their investments.
While we are often disturbed by some of the events documented during these club and travel contests, the real concern is that this permitted conduct has begun to seep into the school sports world. The result is that officials are simply walking away, leaving increasingly more games being moved or cancelled due to the lack of officials. The games that are being played are often staffed with smaller crews – perhaps two officials instead of three. Officials are in place to provide athletes with safe and fair opportunities to play sports, and shorthanded crews may reduce the ability for officials to see and call plays and fouls. These potential missed calls incite more disparaging comments from spectators, thus pushing more officials away from sports. This cycle cannot be sustainable much longer.
So, what are the solutions, and who do they come from?
The first is spectators. We refer to this as the difference between the whistle and the airhorn. When spectators just feel compelled to be vocally critical, they should make certain that their criticisms are infrequent, brief and not personal. Spectators should be the whistle and not the airhorn. Other spectators have a responsibility to set a good example and call out those who are going overboard.
School administrators also play a critical role in ensuring that officials are able to do their job in a safe and secure setting. Administrators should look for escalating situations in the stands and diffuse them before they become abusive. No one wants to remove parents and other spectators from events; but frankly, more of that needs to be done to show that inappropriate conduct and behavior will not be tolerated.
Finally, MHSAA officials need to be the first line of defense against unsportsmanlike behavior. This should be penalized when observed from coaches or players, without concern to the consequences that student or coach will later face. In short, bad behavior cannot be tolerated. Conduct found in the MHSAA Personal Attack Policy should result in an immediate ejection/disqualification, and similar conduct that occurs after the game should be handled as provided in the Post-Contest Ejection Policy. Unaddressed bad behavior by coaches and players encourages the same from spectators.
MHSAA game officials should focus their attention to the competition on the playing surface. This means that most comments from the stands should be ignored, and an official should never engage with critical spectators. This is not to say that officials must take abuse from spectators. If the language or behavior becomes a distraction to the contest, or personal and vulgar language is directed at the officials, the officials have the authority to have spectators removed from the facility (and should do so). No need for a big spectacle, ejection mechanic or yelling into the stands to engage fans. They should simply stop the contest and have the administrator on site remove the unruly spectator from the game.
There are a number of other factors contributing to the decline of officials that also need to be addressed. Low game fees, substandard locker room accommodations, unmanageable game times, and assigner and association politics all play a part. Those all pale in comparison to the main reason cited: Misbehavior by adults. MHSAA officials will inevitably continue to miss calls. That’s the nature of what they do. However, without them the games cannot be played, which means opportunities for Michigan students will also decline. We all have a responsibility to see that school sports remain closely tied to the values of educational athletics and maintain scope and perspective. We all must do better; otherwise, the crossroads of the officials shortage will only get worse.
It’s Official!
Postseason Assignments: Winter sport officials need to pay close attention to the changes for postseason consideration in effect this school year. Officials in most sports must opt into tournament consideration. This means officials this season for basketball, competitive cheer, gymnastics, ice hockey and wrestling must submit their availability on the MHSAA website – otherwise, the default is that they are unavailable. This is in addition to other postseason requirements such as completion of the rules meeting, the tournament exam and submission of the official’s regular-season schedule through the MHSAA website. These requirements are due by Dec. 15 for wrestling, Jan. 5 for basketball, Jan. 12 for competitive cheer and ice hockey, Jan. 19 for gymnastics and Jan. 26 for boys swimming & diving.
Seeking Committee Members: We are reconvening an ad hoc committee of educators/officials to assist with the development of curriculum that can be utilized by school districts for officiating classes in conjunction with the MHSAA Legacy Officials Program.
If you’re interested in serving on this committee (some in-person, but mostly virtual) and have a background as an educator, please reach out to [email protected].
Know Your Rules
BASKETBALL As Team A is preparing to make a throw-in from the end line, Team A players #15, #20 and #3 stand shoulder-to-shoulder next to each other immediately in front of the thrower. Team B player #11 requests to stand between two of the A players before the throw-in.
RULING Within three feet on the court from the throw-in, Team B players will be permitted to stand between the Team A players, if requested. If the Team A players were positioned more than three feet from the throw-in, this request would be denied.
It’s Your Call
REVIEW The play from the last It’s Your Call (found here) involved ball-handling by a back row volleyball player. Following a good dig by her teammate, the back row player appears to make contact with her left hand then right hand with her overhead pass. Since this is not the first contact on her side, the contact with the ball must be simultaneous with both hands. This is a multiple contact and a loss of point against white.
WRESTLING For the first time, the MHSAA will introduce a Girls Division into this year’s Individual Wrestling Finals. The following “It’s Your Call” takes place in a girls match but is applicable to the sport as a whole. Review the brief clip and let us know your thoughts. What’s the call?