Beyond the Game: Referee shortages plaguing the area
It's an issue happening across the nation and right here in our area -- referee shortages impacting high school sports.
Whether it be criticism from fans or scheduling demands, the number of people signing up to become an official have declined.
"The majority of our officials are professionals and they have a job during the day so it's very difficult to find a softball official to start a game right at 4 o'clock," said Leah Ann Williams, a longtime basketball and football official in Pennsylvania.
Another issue is aging officials. John Mang is an assigner for the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference and the All-American Conference -- he says the average age for officials in Ohio is late 50's.
"The biggest problem I have is that a lot of officials are getting into it as new officials but they're in their 50's so you can't expect them to go every night and physically be capable of finishing the season," said Mang.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association shared troubling numbers dating back to 2010.
In 2010, there were 3,723 football officials and in 2024 that decreased to 2,954. Basketball officials were at 6,122 in 2010 and dropped down to 5,393 in 2024.
The most alarming numbers are the drops in baseball and softball umpires in Ohio. Baseball umpires decreased by 263 from 2023-2024, while softball umpires went down by 144 during that same span.
"It's very tough," said Mang. "We've gone from two umpires to one umpire for JV games. We just don't have the umpires to cover everything."
In Mercer County, Williams says the numbers are OK at the moment, however the need for more football officials is crucial.
"We have 21 football games that need to be played on a Friday night so in order to have 21 games on Friday night, we have to have 21 crews," said Williams. "But unfortunately in District 10 we only have 15 football crews so they just sent out a message last week to all the athletic directors that each school is going to be required to move their games to a Thursday and Saturday."
Mang and Williams emphasized how imperative it is to recruit younger officials. Williams holds referee informational clinics on Sundays at Sharpsville High School from 1-3 pm.
"I offer training in any of the sports and help take the test to get registered to become an official," said Williams.
Lakeview High School is one local school that's ruling out a free course for students through the OHSAA in the fall.
"The curriculum is completely paid for by the those guys (OHSAA)," said Michael DeToro, principal and former athletic director.
The class will run a quarter of the year and will incorporate game management skills along with the curriculum provided by the OHSAA and National Federation of High School Sports. Another aspect of the course ties in with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Development, where they will offer students an industry credential if they complete the course and become a licensed OHSAA official.
"The pool of officials just isn't as large and deep as it was in the past," said DeToro. "Anything that we can do to help strengthen the numbers that the OHSAA pool has and potentially add some fresh blood into that would work."
