Prep officials short on numbers, respect

[PeachtreeCat]

Good article about the state of officials in high school football in GA. Was wondering if others are having the same problems:

The number of experienced officials is declining while the demand for officials is increasing with each new school that has been added to the GHSA.

"The quality has changed," Westlake coach Dallas Allen said. "You get these guys in here, [and] they're not familiar with the schools or the games. You have some high-profile games, and there are rookie officials calling the game."

There are several reasons. More than 40 football-playing schools have joined the GHSA in the past 10 years. Some of the best high school officials are moving to the college level. Other officials have discovered they can make more money calling a number of youth league football games on a Saturday than working one high school game on a Friday night.

http://www.ajc.com/highschool/content/sports/highschool/stories/2006/09/19/0920hsofficials.html

[lighthouse]

It's a problem in all sports, countrywide. One of the reasons, people have so many other things to do. Officials used to come from players who loved their sport and wanted to stay close to it when their playing days were over, but now they see the kind of abuse officials are taking, and they are thinking twice about that decision.

The clinic for new basketball officials is going on here in Louisville now, and their are only 40 people attending, of which around half will grade out high enough to be accepted to work HS and MS basketball. I think they had need of more than the 40, but they have to do with what they have. Football is the same way here.