Why am I at a high school football game on a Thursday night? Because we can no longer treat officials well.
High school football on Friday nights has long been a cultural tradition and a fabric of our society. For students, it’s a great way to cap each week of a new school year. For the community, it’s that one night of the week you know to rally around the hometown team.
However, games need officials.
- Poor treatment by coaches and spectators is the number one reason across the U.S. that officials retire.
- A recent NFHS survey found that roughly 50,000 high school officials quit in a three-year period beginning with the 2018-2019 season.
- The average age of sports officials is increasing, making it critical that all programs begin to attract new, younger officials.
- In many sports, games need to be spread out during the week just to have officials for the competition.
- In football, games are being contested with fewer officials (usually 7 with the flexibility to use 5); when 5 aren’t available, games are canceled.
At Pop Warner, we’re constantly looking at ways to combat this issue:
- We released a Be Better PSA to address the important issue of disruptive fan behavior in youth sports. See below.
- We’re supporting members in the implementation of junior official programs to develop interest in officiating among older teenagers.
So much more work needs to be done. In the meantime, though, treat your officials well, and think about saying “thank you” too.