Recruiting young officials is important to every association. But bringing those officials along in a way that is positive greatly increases the chance those young referees will remain as an official in future years. Here are some ways you can help find and develop young officials.
1. Work with your local schools.
Set up partnerships with local schools to recruit young officials. Have an association member speak at end-of-season athletic banquets, career days or any other opportunities to let students know of the ways that exist to become an official. Develop a pipeline and share success stories to help others follow.
2. Work with religious organizations, youth groups and intramural organizations.
Another way to find younger officials is through college intramural organizations. Students might be assigned to officiate through a financial aid package and have never considered officiating before. Getting them trained properly increases the chance they might stick around. And finding officials that were athletes in high school can lead to even greater participation in an effort to stay involved with the game.
3. Hold an association “new officials” clinic.
Another way to promote is to invite officials to attend a clinic. It will give those prospective officials a chance to see if they might be cut out for such an endeavor without a lot of pressure involved.
4. Assign a mentor.
The mentor serves as a teacher, friend and leader to the official. The mentor will attend meetings with the younger official, help with rules questions and exams and be available to watch the official on numerous occasions. The goal of the mentor should be to develop the official and to put that official in as many situations for success as possible. That might mean working several lower-level games with the official or watching and critiquing.
5. Use positive motivation.
Choose mentors wisely that can train and develop a positive message. Certain association members will be better at developing such a relationship and delivering critical information. A mentor that cannot accentuate the positives might lead to a negative reaction on the part of the official. In order to continue to build up a younger official, positive accomplishments must be pointed out at every step in the process.
6. Evaluate at the end of the season.
Too often, once a younger official finishes his or her first season their fed to the wolves. Your association might consider a mentoring program for less-experienced but not new officials. There’s a lot to learn about climbing the ladder, elevating games, etc. that a new official might not have been subject to. Once you’ve got them into the association and past the first year, don’t assume they won’t need guidance to continue. After all, they’re still young!
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