Play Ball: IHSAA referee Haymond Fields was one of the three officials at the J&C hoops classic game on December 6. Fields had to make split second decisions throughout the game between the West Lafayette Red Devils and the Central Catholic Knights.

Being a high school sports referee is a serious job.  Referees have to be unbiased and make tough decisions on calls that could have crowds booing them for the duration of the event.  If this is the case, why does it seem that referees get more calls wrong than right?  I’ve witnessed bad refereeing at the school’s major sporting events whether it be football, soccer, or basketball.  The reason why IHSAA (Indiana High School Athletic Association) referees are so incapable of making the right call is because it is too easy to become a licensed referee.

In order to be a high school referee in Indiana, a score of 75% or better on an open-book computer generated test must be achieved.  In any field of work, why would someone be given a license that easily?  The job as a high school referee needs to be taken more seriously by the IHSAA as they license new referees.

At a boy’s JV soccer game last year, West Lafayette had a throw-in in their offensive third.  The ball was thrown towards the baseline as one of West Lafayette’s players ran to receive it.  The assistant referee’s flag went up to call an offside.  If you are not familiar with the rules of soccer, being offside on a throw-in is completely legal.  However, the ball was given to the other team and West Lafayette lost possession.

Bad calls from refs have not only hurt West Lafayette teams but also opposing teams and other teams around the area.  I have been in attendance for 10 basketball games throughout the boys’ and girls’ J&C Hoops Classic (an annual basketball tournament held by the Journal & Courier for boys and girls’ teams in the area) where the “boos” toward the referees from the crowd were the loudest I have heard in any high school sports event.  Referees were blowing their whistles before they even knew what the call was, calling a jump ball where a reach-in foul should have been called, and they would miss calls where the ball was given to the wrong team.

The bottom line is that IHSAA referees’ knowledge of sports are not fully assessed before they are licensed.  To score a 75% on an open-book computer generated test seems too effortless to do a serious job like officiating high school sports.