DOVER, Del.- The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association says its experiencing a lack of high school referees, and school sports could take a hit because of it.
"We really want to have our fans behind our officials because you can't have the games without officials," DIAA Director Thomas Neubauer explains. "Officials can't have work without teams. and teams can't have games without officials so it goes hand in hand."
According to a survey by the National Association of Sports Officials, more then 75 percent of high school officials say "adult behavior" is the primary reason for stepping down. The same survey reports that 80 percent of young referees step down after just two years.
Woodbridge's head football coach Jed Bell hopes to see that trend change, so games can continue as scheduled.
"Naturally I think concerns are going to rise on what's going to happen if there aren't enough, for example, enough games on a friday night to be covered across the state of Delaware, even Sussex County," he tells WRDE. "The games need to continue because without them it would be scary to consider a society without kids being able to come together from different walks of life."
Both Bell and Milford High School and Milford Central Academy Athletic Director Ryan Winkleblech hope that this can become a teachable moment.
"I think it's important for parents and coaches to understand that how they handle that moment of a questionable call is going to be a reflection on their child or how their player, how they handle that call," Winkleblech says. "If a player sees a parent or a coach out of line about a questionable call, they could lose their focus during the game."
Neubauer says there are so many positives to refereeing--including flexible hours and making $75 per varsity game and $58 per JV or freshman game--that they hope to grow recruitment and continue fostering tradition.
"I like that everybody goes to the stands and cheers their team on and when everybody walks away, nobody knew who the officials were and everybody can celebrate the student athletes," he says. "That's what it's all about."
For more on how to become a high school referee, click here.