Officiating is a way of life for Stokes'
by Karin L. Nauber
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| Mick Stokes and his wife Sheila discussing the Browerville volleyball game during a break. |
Mick Stokes of Hewitt admits that officiating can be scary sometimes, especially when you are new to the game.
But that doesn't stop him from doing it and encouraging others to do it, too.
Mick has been officiating at one type of athletic event or another for 15 years now. He started out as a softball official and has officiated at nearly every type of sporting event since then.
"I was involved in amateur baseball and some people there contacted me to start officiating," he said of his start.
He loves doing it so much that when the Wadena Volleyball Officials Association needed a leader, he took over so so that the association wouldn't close.
Next year will be his third year running the association.
When Mick took over, the association was scheduled to officiate at 18 high school matches a season. This year they are scheduled for 30 and next year they are scheduled for 40.
Mick said he got into officiating because he loves sports and this was a way for him to keep involved.
It's a little more difficult now because he has children that are playing in sports.
"I want to be able to cut back on officiating so I can see our kids play their games," he said. "I miss about a third to a quarter of the kids' games because I am officiating."
When he took over the association, they had about four officials. They are up to seven now (for next season) and could use more.
"I also have my emergency official, Sheila," he said.
Sheila is Mick's wife and when the need arises, she does help him officiate, often at the games he is officiating to help her build her confidence as an official.
Sheila used to referee at 7th and 8th grade games at Bertha-Hewitt. Then she became a line judge at varsity games.
Each game/match requires two officials. If an official can't make a game, Mick has often stepped in and covered for the absent official.
It is better now with the seven officials in the Wadena association. The current five are: Dan Johnson and Greg Johnson from Verndale; Karla Weishalla from Bertha; Jeff Johnson from Staples and Mick. For the fall of 2008 Dave Paavalo and Julie Welter from New York Mills will be joining the association.
Officiating takes a strong personality, said Mick.
"Sometimes you get yelled at and that makes some people lose the desire to do it," he said.
"You have to be confident when you walk on the court," he said. "There are a lot of people who want to officiate, but there is that fear."
Mick admits he still has butterflies when he walks out onto the court, but said that you have to learn to shrug things off.
"An official is only as good as their last call," he said.
The Minnesota State High School League has been working on a grass roots effort to get more people involved in officiating, but it takes time.
In the meantime, in addition to Sheila, Mick is also working with one of his children to get her involved in officiating.
"When my kids get older, I plan to officiate only three days a week," he said.
"It takes a love of the sport and wanting to be around it (to be an official)," said Sheila.
Mick said that he takes their kids with him to games in other towns.
"My kids now know kids in other towns. They meet them through sports and like watching the other teams play. Kids can carry that with them into officiating," said Mick.
Mick said that he could officiate almost every day of the week.
"You can do this as little or as much as you want," he said.
"He hates not doing anything," said Sheila.
It was hard when they had young children because Mick would be gone officiating and Sheila would be at home with the kids.
"But it worked for us and now he is convincing Demi (the couple's oldest) to do some officiating," said Sheila.
Mick said that new officials are paired with an experienced official so they can build up their confidence.
"The ride home is important, too. That is when you can talk things over with the other official and learn a lot," he said.
Mick also likes to e-mail the coaches after every game to get feedback for the association.
"It can only help us improve our officiating. We have had a lot of good feedback," he said.
But the need exists to have more officials.
"The more people we can get involved, the more choice we have and the more we can move people around. With more officials, you won't have to miss your own kids' games," he said.
It is also good to have different officials at games
He said that if someone is interested in officiating, it would be best for them to get into an association like the Wadena Volleyball Association.
"The association sets up all the contracts so you don't have to go out and get your own contracts," he said.
Because of the limited number of officials, Mick said that he has to turn down as many contracts as he takes.
"I would like to have 10 to 15 officials," he said.
He watches line judges at the games and encourages them to try their hand at officiating.
"And don't worry about the fans. Be more concerned about the coaches and players," he said of being an official.
Becoming an official takes a couple of things. First, it takes a love of the game. Second, it takes knowledge of the game and keeping up with the rules.
You have to attend an annual meeting and take a test to become an official. The test is on the knowledge of the game you intend to officiate. It is an open book test and you need 80% to pass to officiate varsity matches.
There are a lot of ways that you can get involved in officiating. Mick said that officiating at summer or adult leagues is a good way to test the water.
"It is enjoyable if you like the sport and want to stay involved. You can make money, too. You won't get rich doing it, but you do make money," said Mick.
"The more officials we get, the better the quality of the officiating," he said. "And the kids will benefit from it."
For Mick and Sheila, that's what it boils down to, benefitting the kids.
If you are interested in officiating, you can contact Mick at 218-371-7526. He will help you get started.