The umpire shortage, a statewide problem that has been simmering for years, apparently reached a boiling point Friday when two high school football games involving teams from Dutchess County were postponed.
The lack of available referees forced the rescheduling of the Suffern vs. Arlington on Friday night, which was moved to 6:30 p.m. on Monday. John Jay-East Fishkill also announced that his Friday season opener against the Yonkers Brave would be moved to 7 p.m. Saturday for the same reason.
“I got a call (Thursday) from BOCES saying they wouldn’t have enough officials to cover our game,” John Jay athletic director Maureen Myers said. “It’s tough because we know they’re doing their best to work with the limited resources, but in some cases, it’s like trying to do magic.”
What’s worse, Myers said, is that there are upcoming games on the Patriots’ schedule for which there are no assigned officials. This, she said, is a problem that won’t be fixed soon and will likely affect more schools.
“This is most visible because it involves two Class AA varsity teams, but there are times when we don’t have officials for our junior and high school varsity programs and games become scrimmages,” said Arlington athletic director Michael Cring. “It’s a problem across the ranks, and it’s across the state. We’re putting things together the best we can, but people have to understand that we’re on red alert with a shortage of officials these days.”
Local officials have warned of this possibility for years, some have even called it an eventuality, and the New York State Public High School Athletic Association highlighted the problem, having run publicity campaigns for at least six years to recruit potential referees. . Area umpire boards have reached out to college athletic departments, hoping to attract the next generation of umpires from a pool of young former athletes. But there hasn’t been enough of an influx of new officials to significantly slow the decline as older ones retire.
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As sports participation has grown over the past two decades, including the addition of hundreds more teams across the state, the number of officials working for the NYSPHSAA has steadily decreased. That trend indicated an imminent situation, which has now arrived.
“We’re hurt,” Simon Kaufman told the Journal in 2017. He was 86 at the time and still officiating. “A lot of us old guys are getting out, or soon will be, and we’re not getting enough young people. If this continues, it will be a big problem.”
Soccer referees are paid $126 per game in Section 1. But several officials, and even parents and coaches, have pointed to the treatment of officials by spectators during games as a contributing factor in deterring referees. possible candidates.
Eli Ceasarine, a freshman basketball coach at John Jay-East Fishkill, tweeted Friday that he sometimes sees the same referees working games now that officiated his games when he was a high school student, despite graduating in 1994.
“It’s crazy,” he wrote, “and it’s been a long time in the making.”
“There just aren’t enough people willing to umpire anymore and we have to deal with it,” John Jay’s football coach Jim Cancellari said. “You always try to focus on things that are in your control, but this is something that we can’t control.”
Three of John Jay’s next four home games have no referees assigned at this time, Cancellari said. A longtime catchphrase for his team has been, “Anytime, anyone, anywhere,” and that could literally be put to the test this season.
The shortage is affecting all sports, Myers said, but it’s especially hard for soccer games that typically require five officials on the field and a stopwatch. Since most games are played on Friday nights, the official staff is very small.
If the problem continues unabated, would the possible lightening of the Friday slate, moving some games to other days each week, be a temporary solution?
A shift of more games from Friday to Saturday is possible, Cancellari said, but a regular Monday-to-Friday schedule probably isn’t feasible, given potential scheduling conflicts with football and field hockey teams that use the same fields.
“It’s not ideal,” Myers said. “And I don’t know if there is a clear short-term solution.”
Stephen Haynes: [email protected]; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4