Save "Friday" Night Lights!
As the 2016 football season nears its completion and we begin to evaluate the 2016 season, there is one glaring piece that concerns many schools. There is a tremendous need for all officials in the state of Kansas, but especially in northwest Kansas and even more specific would be the need for football officials. This shortage is significant enough that two of the solutions to that have been discussed to help address the needs are: first of all, to very actively recruit, train and retain new officials and secondly, to move some of the high school football games off of Friday nights so that the small number of existing officiating crews can handle the load of games. In an attempt to avoid the second of these two ideas, we at Logan USD 326 are going to try to actively recruit officials.
The point of this note is twofold. First of all, if there is anyone in the community or extended communities that would be interested in becoming an official, this is your golden opportunity! In a joint effort between KSHSAA, area official supervisors and local school districts, training for interested individuals is being arranged. Regardless of your age, gender, experience, or sport of interest, please contact Logan High School (Robin Van Laeys or Cher Greving) at 785-689-7574. They will answer questions and coordinate obtaining the desired training.
The second and perhaps most important part of this, is something that affects anyone who ever attends a sporting event. As you sit in the stands cheering for your favorite team, keep it at just that! There is no doubt that one of the biggest drawbacks to being an official is the verbal, and on seldom occasions more than verbal, abuse that an official must endure on a nightly basis. These individuals are put in a position to make split second decisions that will result in half of the people in the room disagreeing. In the professional leagues, they have been given the opportunity to slow the play down to almost a stop and then watch it many times from many different angles, and it sometimes is still questionable as to the final call. High School/Junior High officials have none of these luxuries. With the many new officials (along with the veterans) we may see on the field and court, please treat them respect and create an environment where they may want to continue to work with our youth for years to come!