Here’s the Thing: Words and Actions Shape the Environment of High School Sports
One of the reasons I continue to officiate is because I genuinely believe in education-based athletics.
High school sports are meant to form something in students—character, discipline, resilience, teamwork, respect. The game matters, but it’s never just about the game. It’s about what the game is shaping in the people who participate in it.
You might assume I’m writing this primarily as a high school football official—or even as a public-address announcer who has seen plenty from a courtside seat. Those experiences certainly shape my perspective.
But the deeper reason I’m writing is because of my work with students.
I spend a lot of time operating inside student culture—watching how values are caught, not just taught. And what concerns me most isn’t a missed call or a blown whistle. It’s what our behavior around the game is forming in the hearts of the next generation.
This isn’t just about officiating.
It’s about the formation of boys and girls into men and women.
And that’s why something has been weighing on me more and more.
We are slowly eroding parts of high school athletics—not through rule changes or scheduling challenges, but through the way we talk to and about officials.
Somewhere along the way, many of us have moved far too quickly past celebrating our own student-athletes and into berating officials. What often starts as disagreement escalates into yelling. Then into personal attacks. Then into something that looks a lot like dehumanization.
And that should concern us.
The best officials learn to ignore it. They block it out. They push it aside and do their job anyway. But just because something can be absorbed doesn’t mean it’s harmless. The truth is, the damage isn’t only done to the official—it reflects back on us.
What we model matters.
When adults yell at officials from the stands, students are watching. When frustration turns into entitlement, students are learning. When authority is only respected if it agrees with us, we quietly teach that accountability is optional.
Could officials get better? Absolutely. Most of us are constantly working at getting better—learning, being evaluated, and growing in the midst of both good nights and hard ones on the field or the floor. Improvement is part of the responsibility we accept when we put on the stripes.
Could the rules be different? Sure. But the truth is, most of us don’t actually know the rules of high school sports as well as we think we do. This becomes most obvious when someone yells, “Over the back”—a phrase shouted with great confidence for a rule that has never existed in the high school basketball rulebook.
Disagreement is understandable. Having an opinion is normal.
But it’s not the fan’s job to officiate—or to publicly critique the officiating of the game.
That doesn’t mean fans aren’t allowed to have opinions. Anyone who knows me knows that I still have them. The difference is where and how those opinions are expressed. Coaches and athletic directors are entrusted with addressing officiating concerns through the proper channels. When everyone stays in their role, the game is better for everyone involved.
I don’t write this as someone commenting from the outside.
I’ve been a varsity football official for sixteen seasons, and I’ve seen this erosion firsthand. I’ve watched the tone shift. I’ve felt the difference in environments. And I can tell you plainly—it’s not making things any easier to recruit new officials to join the ranks.
In addition to officiating, I serve as a mentor and recruitment chairperson for our local association. I work to help younger officials find mentors, grow in confidence, and get better at this craft. I believe deeply in developing people who care about the game and the students who play it.
And I’ll be honest—it’s only getting more difficult to find and grow new officials.
The work is demanding. The margin for grace feels thinner. And the environments we’re asking people to step into are often more hostile than they should be. I’d genuinely be happy to help anyone interested take a step into officiating today—but the broader reality remains.
Something has to change.
And it doesn’t start with officials alone.
It doesn’t start with rewriting rulebooks.
It starts with us.
With how we choose to engage.
With what we model from the stands.
With whether we believe education-based athletics are worth protecting—not just in theory, but in practice.
High school sports are worth protecting.
Our student-athletes are worth protecting.
And the change begins with us.
