1. New Officials Recruitment, Retention & Training
BJ Duckworth
Secretary
Greater Youngstown Track
Officials Association
GYTOA.com
facebook.com/groups/GYTOA

2. Order of Events Background Information Obstacles How do we know New Official Recruitment Who, How & Why New Official Retention Mentorship Program Uniform Reimbursement New Official Training Points of Contact Assistance from School Rotating Events Shadowing Hands on Clinic Key Points Is It Working??

3. Background Obstacles to recruitment and retention Our Information

4. Obstacles to Recruiting and Retaining
Background Info
Obstacles to Recruiting and Retaining
Key Obstacles*
Lack of respect shown to officials from parents, coaches & spectators
Recent violence towards officials (Texas, Utah, PA)
Previous arrests of officials (Louisiana)
Litigation against officials
Other Obstacles
Conflicting work/school/contest schedules
Lack of advancement and holding key positions
Lack of training
Lack of a feeling of inclusion
*Information from MichiganLive.com, MHSAA Statistics
Referee Magazine, CBS News, Sports Business Journal.

5. Background Info How do we know Our Information
Meeting of officials with various skill levels and years of service.
Follow up meetings each year with new officials and mentors.
Working with the OHSAA on what they are seeing.
Talking with “recruits” to understand why they are or are not interested.
Talking with former officials to understand why they left

6. New Official Recruitment Who, How & Why

7. New Official Recruitment
Why Do We Need New Officials
Average age of an official is 54*.
We need to get new officials, specifically young officials in the fold now so we can utilize the veteran officials to train and mentor them.
The need for greater numbers of officials is always growing as more school put in facilities.
*Information from MichiganLive.com, MHSAA Statistics
Referee Magazine, CBS News, SportsBusinessJournal.
New Official Recruitment

8. New Official Recruitment
Who Do We Want & NEED
School Volunteers
Parents
Coaches
Graduating High School Seniors
College Students
We NEED Young Officials

9. New Official Recruitment
Young Officials
We must have a commitment to
help them with meeting attendance.
Partner with neighboring associations.
What if away at school/inactive?

10. New Official Recruitment
How Do We Get Them Traditional Methods
Newspaper, Word of Mouth
Innovative Ideas
Presentations to teams… Seniors
Working with coaches
Meeting with local collegiate athletes
Utilizing Facebook
(Facebook Group, Post High School member ONLY)
Utilizing Website
Business Cards, Brochures, Handouts
How are we treating the athletes?

11. New Official Retention Mentorship Program Uniform Reimbursement

12. New Official Retention
Mentorship Program
Why Do We Need It
The biggest thing new officials complained about was not knowing how to find meets, who to approach with questions & not feeling included in the group.
New Official Retention

13. New Official Retention
Mentorship Program
Who Are They
Veteran Officials
Officials who work at multiple schools
Officials who are approachable
Officials who understand the What & Why
Officials that understand MyOhsaa
New Official Retention

14. New Official Retention
Mentorship Program What Do They Do
Help meet other members
Help purchase uniforms
Help find meets to work
Help when they are in a tough spot
Help with a rules question
Be there contact person
Make sure they pay their dues and renew
Make sure they apply for tournaments
(when eligible)

15. New Official Retention
Mentorship Program
Mentors are the single point of contact for a new official they help them not feel overwhelmed and included.
Mentorship does not end at the end of Year 1, it can continue for a lifetime.
Mentorship is bigger than the
rule book

16. New Official Retention
Uniform Reimbursement
Reimburse New Officials the cost of one uniform shirt in their first year.
Starter Pistol Rental Program
Helps offset the costs associated with becoming an official.
New Official Retention

17. New Official Training Points of Contact Assistance from School Rotating Events Shadowing Hands on Clinic

18. Points Of Contact & Assistance From Schools
Contacts at pre selected schools who are willing to work with new officials, rotate them thru events and pair them with veteran officials at each event.
POC information is shared with the mentors who help they new officials find meets to work.
New Official Training

19. Importance of Rotating
Ensures New Officials get exposure to all events and find their fit.
Ensure New Officials become well rounded and capable of working where needed.
Ensures New Officials stay engaged
Builds confidence.
New Official Training

20. New Official Training Any officials willing to help a new official
Being Shadowed Who Can be Shadowed
Any officials willing to help a new official
Reliable officials
Knowledgeable officials
*** Not just mentors***
Why have New Officials shadow
To Build Confidence
To Build Position/Event Knowledge
Helps New Officials meet other officials

21. New Official Retention
We all need to be willing to step aside at appropriate times and let new officials serve in key positions once trained.
New Official Retention

22. Hands On Clinics Format For Clinics
New Official Training
Hands On Clinics Format For Clinics
Run as a live event at a official/legal venue
Focus on one event
Covers event from beginning to end
Utilizes athletes to demonstrate the
“scripted” event to the audience
Use athletes to act out the
questions asked
by attendants

23. Hands On Clinics Topics To be Covered
New Official Training
Hands On Clinics Topics To be Covered
Safety
Uniform Inspection
Pre event meeting
Call procedure (5 Alive)
Event rules
Event procedures
Scoring the event

24. Hands On Clinics Who are the Clinicians
New Official Training
Hands On Clinics Who are the Clinicians
Veteran Officials
Officials who have worked all level of the event
Good presenters
Who attends the clinic
New Officials
Coaches
Anyone who has an interest in the event and has something to add, questions to ask or something to learn

25. Key Points
How we treat the competing athletes now effects our ability to recruit them later.
We cannot rely on old methods and need to be creative and aggressive in our methods.
Mentorship is key to keeping New Officials involved, engaged and confident.
Working with/shadowing different officials at different schools and rotating events helps create well rounded New Officials .
Hands on training such a clinics are key to helping officials gain confidence and knowledge before the get to a meet.

26. It Is Working 27 Officials with 5 or less years of service
Age of New Officials
College Age: 3
Under 30: 8
Lost 10 total Officials in
Lost 5 Officials in 2015 due to work conflict
Lost 2 Officials to retirement/health issues
Lost 3 Officials to Death
4 Officials Testing for this year.
109 Total Members in GYTOA

27. Questions Thank You For your Time
This presentation will be available on GYTOA.com