By Dana Hess
For the S.D. Newspaper Association
PIERRE — Recruiting and retaining officials is always a priority for the South Dakota High School Activities Association. In the coming school year, one of the association’s goals will be to create partnerships that will help in that recruiting effort.
The SDHSAA board of directors decided to make the formation of those partnerships one of its goals at its annual strategic planning meeting on Wednesday. The topic came up a couple of times during the meeting.
During a portion of the meeting given over to the discussion of board member priorities, Mike Talley of Rapid City said the recruitment of officials was a concern for schools across the state.
SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director Jo Auch said there have been strides made in recruitment. Auch blamed pandemic issues for volleyball being down by 45 officials last year. This year, volleyball is down by just 10 officials. Recruitment efforts in cheer and dance have led to 17 new officials this year.
“I think it’s working,” Auch said of recruitment efforts.
SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos said coaches should take time to recruit athletes that are graduating. Swartos said they should seek out “the kids that just love sports and would make great officials.”
Board member Eric Denning of Mount Vernon said new officiating recruits could get experience by working junior high games. Those games are easier, Denning said, because “generally you don’t have a coach screaming at you.”
Swartos noted that it’s important to have a school official at the game controlling the crowd. He said young officials may ask, “Why do I want to be yelled at for two hours by some random dad?”
Board member Tom Culver of Avon said schools need to pay attention to how they’re treating officials. At Avon, he said, officials are getting a meal since they probably didn’t have time to eat between the time they left their regular jobs and when they arrived at the school for the early basketball game.
During the goal-setting portion of the meeting, the board decided to set a goal of forming partnerships with professional organizations, schools, universities and others to find the best practices for recruiting officials.
“We’re really going to go at it this year,” Swartos said. “Get those numbers up.”
