Back in the day, varsity football games would feature five and sometimes six referees – but times have changed. Now Dave Cutaia, the head of the Contra Costa Athletic Assignors, struggles to get four for junior varsity games, and occasionally has to settle for three.
It’s part of a nationwide scramble to find people to officiate high school sports. Potential refs see how fans, parents, coaches and players treat officials and simply opt out. Though there’s money to be made ($80 a game and sometimes more), when people see how officials are treated by adults who should know better, they find something better to do.
But that also has left the door open for newcomers to step in, help young athletes, get some exercise, perform in front of sometimes large crowds and even earn a fair amount of money.
The crunch is especially great in the fall, as the rapid growth of girls’ flag football has put a strain on the limited supply of football officials.
“With the growth of flag football, we’re looking for more officials,” Cutaia said. “We pretty much have games every day of the week. Flag football is now being played four days a week and even six days due to weekend tournaments, with boys’ youth football on Saturdays, high school freshmen on Thursdays, and the junior varsity and varsity on Fridays. It would be ideal for someone to referee both the boys’ and girls’ games, but one can opt to just referee flag football.”
Even though the season has started, there’s still time to get involved. The officials’ association will train new officials, familiarize them with the rules, and ease them into the process.
“With so many games comes the opportunity to earn more money, which can range from $80 to $300 depending on the number of games,” said Cutaia, who added that insurance coverage is included. “It’s just a matter of passing a background check and a relatively easy test on the rules of the game. We have a fantastic new official training program and we’re looking for people who love the sport, whether they have ever played or not, because it’s a good way to connect with the game.”
Babe Franey, a retired police officer, has been refereeing football for four years, along with basketball and girls’ lacrosse.
“Refereeing has allowed me to stay connected with kids and sports,” she said. “I wanted to be around it and help grow sports for young people in any way that I could – and that’s what this is all about.”
“The leadership in our organization has been very supportive,” she added. “One reason I have come to love officiating is that it created an opportunity to work with a varied group of cool people.”
Franey also sees the opportunity to be a role model for the high school girls.
“In flag football, when the high school girls see me on the field, there’s a relatability there for the athletes and myself. We’re all on the same page and I get a very warm welcome from the female players and coaches. And I’m told how great it is to have female officials in a girl’s sport.”
The impact also carries over to refereeing the boys’ games.
“What’s great about refereeing the boys in tackle football is that it is good for these young men to see that there are women that are doing this with them,” said Franey. “We can be out there with them in a sport that they really enjoy.”
And Franey has a good time as well. “I really just enjoy young people’s energy,” she said.
And so can anyone else who wants to help young athletes. The first step is to contact the officials’ association at ccaa.officials@gmail.com, and they will guide interested officials through the process from there.
Contributing Writer Chris Keating can be reached at chris.keating@ymail.com.
