West Michigan Mourns Longtime Mentor
June 25, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As quickly as June has come to an end, summer soon will give way to another highly-anticipated football season in the Grand Rapids area – but also one that undoubtedly will feel like someone is missing for the many officials who learned from Carl Paganelli.
The longtime high school, college and professional official died May 21 at age 82 after fighting cancer, and was laid to rest May 29 in Wyoming, near Grand Rapids, where he lived most of his life.
Paganelli’s most high-profile on-field work likely came during his time in the former USFL, World Football League and Arena Football League. More of his 58 years in the game came as supervisor of officials in the Mid-American Conference, Arena League and during the initial campaign of the XFL. His three sons Carl Jr., Perry and Dino all have gone on to officiate in NFL Super Bowls.
Those impressive notes were mentioned most when Carl Sr. died. But his influence on the high school game was similarly substantial and should continue through those he mentored during nearly 60 years as part of the West Michigan Officials Association – which referred to him as “one of the founding fathers of officiating in West Michigan” in announcing his passing.
Paganelli was an MHSAA registered official for 36 football seasons through fall 1998, and also for 24 basketball seasons through winter 1987-88. Also during the 1990s, Caledonia native Mark Uyl began a multi-sport officiating career that would carry him in part to two baseball College World Series. He got to know Paganelli well through wearing the stripes and while also serving as athletic director at his alma mater and then Middleville Thornapple Kellogg on the way to becoming an MHSAA assistant and now executive director.
“Carl was one of the greatest officiating mentors that there’s ever been, and what made Carl most unique in that area was the fact he would go out and watch a junior high game Thursday in Grand Rapids, see a new official, and give that official the same time and care and detail that he would when he was supervisor of officials for the MAC or evaluating NFL officials,” Uyl said.
“To him, an official was an official. He was there, and he wanted to help you get better.”
As noted in his obituary, Paganelli was considered the “godfather of Grand Rapids area officials” and has been credited by numerous NFL officials for his guidance over the years. He was inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame and also into the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame twice – solo in 2008 and with his three sons as the “Paganelli Team” in 2018.
Carl Sr. with his sons was among presenters when more than 1,200 officials from across the state poured into Grand Rapids during July 2013 for the first Officiate Michigan Day. His local footprint also includes a substantial presence at Grand Rapids Community College, where the foyer of the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse is named after the family and a scholarship in their name is presented annually to a student-athlete. Paganelli Sr. had attended Grand Rapids Junior College in 1954 and 1955. He also served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, and later sat on the Wyoming City Council.
PHOTO: Carl Paganelli speaks to an audience during Officiate Michigan Day in 2013 as part of a roundtable with his three sons.
Timeout to Appreciate Officials
September 23, 2013
By Kevin Wolma
Hudsonville athletic director
Wolma is in his third school year as athletic director at Hudsonville and previously coached basketball and golf. Below is a recent “30-second timeout” he wrote for the Hudsonville district newsletter.
We were five seconds away from one of the greatest upsets in the history of Caledonia basketball.
During the regular season, South Christian had beaten us by more than 30 points on two different occasions. The District Finals became the site for the third contest between the two schools on a warm March day.
We were able to slow them down just enough to stay within striking distance until late in the fourth quarter, when we finally took the lead for the first time. South Christian had one last chance with seven seconds left on the clock. After a timeout, they in-bounded the ball from the sideline and their player forced up a shot. I could see it was going to be short from my viewpoint, and my heart began to race with adrenaline as I could sense the impossible was going to become possible.
What happened next has stuck with me for the rest of my life, as one of the South Christian players pushed one of our players in the back, grabbed the rebound, and put the ball in the basket with one second left.
Game over. South Christian wins the District championship.
For the next eight years as a varsity basketball coach, I held a grudge against officials for that one call. Twelve years later, after I was done coaching, I went back and watched the game over again for the first time. I almost turned the video off when they in-bounded the ball in those last seven seconds because I did not want to relive that moment and the ensuing emotions that took place.
While watching I discovered something.
The South Christian player did not shove my player as much as I thought, and our players did not box out like I had thought, which made it easier for them to get the rebound and score. Looking back, did I even tell my players to box out during that last timeout before the ball was in-bounded?
At that moment it became very clear to me that what we see during a game may be clouded because we want our team to gain every advantage and every call in order for them to be successful. Perception is not reality. Officials are human. They will make mistakes just like the coaches and players do during a game.
There still has never been a game that has been decided by an official. Some people will say that the Class B Semifinal boys basketball game (in 2010) was decided on an official’s call when they ruled one of Forest Hills Northern’s player's foot was on the line on his last-second shot when in reality his foot clearly was behind the line. That call cost them a chance to play in the (MHSAA) Finals.
Coach Steve Harvey was quoted in the paper as saying, "We had opportunities to take care of the game before it even came down to that shot.” In the moment it seemed like that one play cost Forest Hills Northern the game, but there were over 50 possessions on offense and defense that preceded the play and potential outcome.
Having the opportunity to spend time with officials inside the locker room has made it very evident they are serious about their jobs and calling the best game they can. I have had requests from officials to have a monitor available to break down film an hour and a half before their contest begins to see strengths and weaknesses in their placement and mechanics from prior contests. I have had officials upset at halftime or after a game because they realized they made a mistake. I have had officials contact me personally after a game to apologize for a call made during the contest.
In the business world and also in education we use the word collaboration a lot. Officials collaborate before, during, and after every contest to garner more knowledge so they can continue to improve.
This is not even their full time job. Officials do what they do because they love the game and want to give back to the sport that made an impact on them.
The next time we are at a game and we think the officials missed a call, let’s take a 30-second timeout to gather our emotions so we do not say anything we will regret later. Instead let’s spend our energy cheering on our teams to be the best they can be.