A Labor of Love

I like to watch the morning and afternoon news. Unless there is a huge breaking story, it allows news stations to explore other issues. Sometimes they involve high school and college athletics.

I saw one station that did a story on the severe lack of officials, especially at the high school level. At that level, it’s truly a labor of love.

So it didn’t surprise me when I read that 80 percent of officials resign after devoting just two years to the gig. This has been a problem right here in Section 1 for years.

Referees and officials all say that the biggest culprit is the unprecedented amount of verbal abuse they take. It borders on criminal, and that’s not an exaggeration. (After almost four decades as a sports journalist, my vocabulary has certainly expanded.)

You really have to love being a high school coach or official because it definitely is not for the stipend, which is insanely low. But budgets are budgets – that’s understandable. And it’s like jet fuel; if those prices go up, it’s just passed along to the consumer in another way.

But it is a problem because it’s affecting our kids – and caregivers.

Even in its simplest form, here’s what a lack of officiating means: a postponement of games, extra work for our athletic directors, a rescheduling of games at odd times like on a Sunday or later in the day.

I don’t know about you, but my kids are 26 and 22 now and I am still nervous if they have to drive in heavy snow or rain.

Maybe that sounds like a worrywart or the ravings of a helicopter parent. Or maybe it sounds like erring on the side of caution. And, yes, I realize that times have changed since I was a child and it was acceptable to get a ride from your coach after CYO practice.

Or maybe I should stop watching the news.

Rich Thomaselli is a longtime sports reporter in the Hudson Valley, and currently covers Putnam County. He can be reached at rich.thomaselli@gmail.com.