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Region short of officials, schools forced to move football games
Friday night football has become difficult to staff when it comes to officiating crews.
Greg Laurentius, director of the SEMO Football Officials Association Central District, said the organization used to have 16 officiating crews and now they are down to 12.
“We’ve had to move games to Thursday and Saturday during the season,” Laurentius said. “There’s some weeks where we have more than 12 games so we’ve had to approach schools and work with them so that they could play on an alternative night.”
Laurentius thinks the shortage of officials comes from life getting in the way, but also verbal abuse they face.
“The common thing we hear from kids when they start out is they don’t want to do this because they’re gonna get yelled at,” Laurentius said. “A lot of it is abuse. It’s the verbal abuse (they take).”
All sports are in search of officials and Laurentius thinks more people should get involved.
“Officiating is a way to give back to the community and to the kids in your area,” Laurentius said. “It is a phenomenal time. There is tremendous camaraderie in officiating because you're going into a hostile environment. It's one of the best things that you can do.”
Those interested in becoming an official for any sport may visit the MSHSAA website to get themselves licensed.
Laurentius encourages any interested individual to get involved in officiating, and recommends those who get licensed to attend their meetings and learn the ropes.
“We have mechanics clinics that are mandated by the state,” Laurentius said.
The first step, according to Laurentius, is to get licensed, pass the necessary tests and join the SEMO Sports Officials Association group to get started.
Visit the SEMO Football Officials Association website for more information about the organization.