'We've got to get younger': New training program aims to reverse Indiana referee shortage

The weather report across the state for the week of May 9, 2022, in Indiana was just about perfect, and yet that didn't stop 71 baseball and 19 softball high school games from being cancelled.

The reason? Lack of umpires. Another 300 or so games were played that week with just one ump. The crisis is becoming a reality and every high school sport is being affected.

"That's not safe or fair for those kids," said Bloomington's David Pillar, a basketball official for 23 years and a representative for the relatively new training program RefReps, which aims to get more and younger licensed officials into the profession.

It's been approved for use in 38 states, including Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. Pillar's role is to help high schools integrate the RefReps curriculum into their physical education programs, with 65 schools in Indiana on board. In Ohio, students can actually earn graduation credits while training to become licensed officials.

The lack of officials, for various reasons, is nearing a crisis level. With boys' volleyball, lacrosse and girls' wrestling spreading in Indiana, it will only further put stress on the number of available bodies.

National survey says ... there's trouble

According to a nationwide survey done by the National Association of Sports Officials in 2023, the average age of sports officials is increasing, sportsmanship has gotten worse and there are fewer officials working since the COVID pandemic.

The anonymous, 162-question survey received responses from nearly 36,000 officials, nearly all of whom work at the high school or sub-high school level. The average age of those surveyed was 56.7 years, up from 53.3 years in 2017 and 79% of officials said they were taking on more games because of the shortage.

Nearly 12% of all officials who responded said they have been physically confronted during or after a sporting event.

Add to those issues that 20% of all officials (about 50,000) stepped away during the pandemic. Their replacements generally do not last long, Pillar notes, with 80% of new officials leaving within the first five years.

Pillar noted that when he started, getting jobs at the local NCAA Division II and III conferences was nearly impossible. Now, they are begging for officials for all men's and women's sports. So getting that pipeline filled as soon as possible is key and it's not an insular problem.

Sports are an important part of the local economy. Without officials, national youth softball tournaments or AAU basketball tournaments like the kind Bloomington hosts on a regular basis can't happen, which could mean a big financial hit on local businesses of all sorts.

How David Pillar became part of the solution

Older sports fans will remember the famous commercials in the late 1980s that showed a play to its conclusion, then stopped the film before the officials made their ruling and asked the viewer to guess what the right call was.

Part of the RefReps training regimen uses the same philosophy, using game film from GoPro cameras worn by actual officials in order to bring the same perspective to the student that they will have on the field.

The idea was sparked in part by former long-time NFL official Mark Baltz, who Pillar met at the well-known annual fish fry in Columbus hosted by Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame member Bob Welmer before he passed away recently. Pillar, who also works at Hoosier Hills Career Center, liked the idea and jumped on board with Baltz's group as Director of Education Integration and Advancement for the past two years.

Pillar got his start in officiating at IU where he was a student manager under Bobby Knight and refereed practice scrimmages.

"It was a pretty good training ground," said Pillar, who also did park and rec games and even did a turn coaching boys' basketball at Bloomington North under Tom McKinney for three years. That gave him a glimpse of things from that point of view.

But refereeing gave him a chance to control his own schedule and he still remembers his first freshman game at Bloomington South and first varsity game at Evansville Central.

He's worked eight state finals since, including the 3A boys' title game in 2019 and last year's 4A girls' title game between Bedford North Lawrence and Fishers. Pillar also has "the best seat in the house" during IU men's games, having kept the official scorebook for 25 years thanks to an offer from Kit Klingelhoffer.

So Pillar, 44, has seen first-hand, at all levels, how much his avocation has changed. He regularly worked with North assistant principal Marcus Debro, who is 62, and Ron Grimes of Bedford, who at 75 now only does volleyball. Debro also teaches the officiating class at IU.

"We've got to get younger," Pillar said.

Video reps and hands-on learning

RefReps aims to help with that. It offers programs in 13 sports, 12 overseen by the National Federation of High Schools, and flag football, which has its own governing body. Field hockey, gymnastics and water polo will soon be added to the list. The NHFS provides access to their rule books and RefReps shares its video with them.

The video is from the officials' point of view and also drone footage for soccer, football and lacrosse.

"We've got experts in those fields and the videos," Pillar said. "We want them to learn to see plays and players through the eyes of the official. So they're seeing balls and strikes and foul balls behind the catcher or seeing a block-charge call from the baseline official's point of view.

"So they can learn to see plays unfold and see how many things they have to be looking for and watching all the time."

Training is offered online for refs of all ages, beginners and veterans.

But a big part of RefReps is getting in hundreds of high schools across the country. Among the schools participating in Indiana are Bloomington North, Edgewood, Owen Valley, Bedford, Boonville, Evansville Reitz, Bloomfield, Washington, Richmond, South Bend Adams, Mishawaka and Mooresville, which is one of nine in the Indianapolis area.

Physical education curriculum

Schools have the option of making the program its own class or offering it as part of a regular PE class over about 7-10 hours, Pillar said.

"It's something academically rigorous," Pillar said. "It's the same coursework adults would have to complete if they want their license."

At Edgewood, it's a full semester class for juniors and seniors run by Brian Rosenburgh, who most recently coached football, basketball and track for the Mustangs. He was excited to take it on and his first class has 20 students. His second already has 16 signed up.

"I've coached for so long in so many different sports and now I time track meets, so I see everyone getting older," Rosenburgh said.

Rosenburgh allows the students to pick the two sports they want to concentrate on. Basketball and baseball are the most popular, but softball, volleyball, football, wrestling and track and field are also in the mix.

The students do the RefRep modules then Rosenburgh supplements that with more hands-on work, such as walking fields to learn the lines, doing fake meetings with coaches and team captains. In basketball, they'll work on how to toss a jump ball. In baseball or softball, Rosenburgh asks, 'What's your strike call? Then ask them to demonstrate it.

"The general mechanics are a lot of it," Rosenburgh said.

It's a lot tougher for them than they thought it was going to be, he said. Basketball players who thought they knew the rules, but that first test told them otherwise.

"It's been an eye-opener for some," Rosenburgh said, but noted it's also a group excited to dig in and learn.

Rosenburgh's baseball trainees got a great lesson while umping a wiffleball game. With a runner on third, a fly ball was dropped, then caught by another player for the out. The player on third left at the first contact and scored. Safe or, out for leaving early?

"The rule is, the runner can leave on the first contact," Rosenburgh said. "So it's stuff like that, just having fun in class and learning things. They might never see that play again."

Learning real-world skills

The full, semester-long program goes well beyond just teaching the rules and techniques officials need to know. There is time built in for them to referee scrimmage practices but they also hear from a variety of speakers, coaches, trainers, athletic directors, people they'll work with each time out.

"How do you interact with a trainer during an injury, scorekeepers, timekeepers, chain gang crews?" Pillar said. "How should you dress and how to carry yourself in a professional manner? How do you call an AD to let them know you can't make it due to illness or a change in work schedule?"

For those who complete the training, the IHSAA allows for a provisional license for those under 18. There's no fee other than $17 to cover them under the umbrella insurance policy through the NASO. They can work non-high school events, which frees adult referees to work other events.

Last Saturday, Rosenburgh was headed to the gym to watch his kids play basketball in the Ellettsville Youth Sports league. He was also there to watch a couple of his students work as officials.

"We sold it as if you take the class, within a semester, you can have a job making $30-40 a game," Rosenburgh said. "They're thoroughly enjoying it. You start with little kids, K through 1, then you go to fourth and fifth graders and all of a sudden it gets a little more serious.

"They're doing really well and loving making some money. I'm able to watch them then as a group, we get back together and learn how to get better. It's a neat experience."

One they'll be far better off for if they decide to continue officiating.

"Really, anyone can become an official," Pillar said. "Just get the rule book, pay for the open book test, pass it and you're an official. But because you're not adequately trained, that first game is going to be intimidating.

"We're trying to build confidence and consistency in training."

Mental education as well

Imagine being a parent at a summer basketball game, listening as the angry parents, coaches and players berate the officials over and over again.

Now, imagine the referee is your son or daughter.

"I think the thing people just don't understand, we truly don't care who wins," Pillar said. "We want to be out there to make sure the game stays safe. We're fans of the game and sports.

"How lucky was I to watch the 4A title game between BNL and Fishers in the middle of the action? Every official, I believe, is doing the best they know how almost all the time. It's so easy to yell and criticize. But we truly are fans of the game and want to see everyone do well."

Rosenburgh is curious to see how the training will change his kids' attitudes. If anything, the Mustangs will have more rules experts on their benches. In addition to new officials, RefReps is hoping their high school programs will help bring a sense of understanding to the players and coaches who participate.

"That's the thing we're most excited about," Pillar said. "If we're developing some empathy with the student-athletes toward the officials, we've got to improve behavior. For coaches and refs, if we can lower the temperature.

"I coached, so I understand and it would be great if students understand what we're looking for and maybe it would lessen the ejections, technical fouls and red cards. There could be a lot of benefit to it."

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on X (Twitter) @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: How a new training program aims to reverse Indiana referee shortage