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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
In an effort to combat its problem of a dwindling number of available sports officials, as well as to encourage young people to pursue the profession, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association has begun a Junior Officials Program for individuals ages 16-17.
By passing an online test with a minimum score of 70 percent, the teenagers can be assigned an officiating mentor and become eligible to officiate in all PIAA sports events for athletes in grades 7 through 9.
The program is currently in place, and will open doors and provide opportunities for qualified youngsters who want to get an early start on their officiating careers.
The normal application fee of $40 for prospective officials will be waived for the junior officials, according to Pat Gebhart, PIAA assistant executive director, who is in charge of assigning officials for the inter-district competitions in all PIAA sports across the Commonwealth.
"This program has already taken effect,'' Gebhart said. "We launched it (earlier in the month of November) and two dozen 16-17-year-olds have already applied, so we're doing great.
"We're between seasons right now, so the majority of these folks won't hit the courts, the mats or the fields until the winter sports seasons begin in December,'' Gebhart added. "I think that some sports are more conducive to the Junior Officials Program than others, but it is available for all the sports that we (the PIAA) sponsor.''
The PIAA has faced a couple of primary problems in retaining officials. Misbehavior by fans, coaches and athletes at the events have prompted some officials to resign. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 prompted other officials to opt for inactive status, and many of them have never returned.
"We're in better shape than a lot of states in regards to our numbers of officials, but we felt that more could be done,'' Gebhart said. "A lot of the people in the PIAA office were brainstorming ideas to help us to recruit new officials. This (the Junior Officials Program) was a group effort. We were having some success recruiting adults to officiate, but it probably wasn't the success that we had hoped for.
"We all know what the problem is -- it's poor behavior by coaches, fans and players, that have driven many officials from the avocation,'' Gebhart added. "I hate to say it, and it's unfortunate, but the athletic directors at our various schools, on top of directing and helping students to become junior officials, will also have to become more active than they already are, and will be required take action at the contests if they see an individual behaving poorly.''
Losing junior officials because of the misbehavior of fans, coaches and/or athletes might prompt the young officials never to return to officiating, Gebhart said.
The PIAA also plans to assign a senior official or mentor official to guide each junior official along in the sports events, at least in the early going.
"I've asked the (state district officials) chapters to put a junior official with a mentor, and, if that can't happen, to place them with a senior official,'' Gebhart said. "I don't think that (a junior official) should ever be assigned to a sporting event by themselves.
"We have tons of great officials across the Commonwealth, and they're anxious for junior officials to come on board, and a lot of these veteran officials want to mentor the junior officials,'' Gebhart added.
One veteran District 6 sports official who said he would be receptive to mentoring if asked is John Garritano, 69, of Altoona, who has 137 cumulative years of experience in officiating PIAA football, baseball and basketball events -- with over 40 years of service in each of the three sports.
"The PIAA has really made great strides in trying to recruit new young officials, and I believe that can be attributed to the year-round online testing for prospective officials that is now being made available,'' Garritano said. "If the PIAA needs me (to mentor), I absolutely will agree to help. I've been involved in officiating football, baseball and basketball for four decades plus each, I think that I know what the games are about and what is expected, and I think that I have acquired much knowledge that I can pass on to these younger officials.''
Gebhart said that individuals who are interested in the Junior Officials Program should log on to the PIAA.org website and go to the "Officials" icon to start the process, or call the PIAA office at (717)-697-0374 and inquire about the new officiating program.
By calling the PIAA office, young prospective officials will be put in touch with Kim Hill, who Gebhart said "has been doing a great job" coordinating the Junior Officials program. Hill can also be reached by email at khill@piaa.org.