New Officials Recruitment, Retention & Training BJ Duckworth Secretary Greater Youngstown Track Officials Association GYTOA@yahoo.com GYTOA.com facebook.com/groups/GYTOA

Order of Events Background Information Obstacles How do we know New Official Recruitment Who, How & Why New Official Retention Mentorship Program Uniform Reimbursement New Official Training Points of Contact Assistance from School Rotating Events Shadowing Hands on Clinic Key Points Is It Working??

Background Obstacles to recruitment and retention Our Information

Obstacles to Recruiting and Retaining Background Info Obstacles to Recruiting and Retaining Key Obstacles* Lack of respect shown to officials from parents, coaches & spectators Recent violence towards officials (Texas, Utah, PA) Previous arrests of officials (Louisiana) Litigation against officials Other Obstacles Conflicting work/school/contest schedules Lack of advancement and holding key positions Lack of training Lack of a feeling of inclusion *Information from MichiganLive.com, MHSAA Statistics Referee Magazine, CBS News, Sports Business Journal.

Background Info How do we know Our Information Meeting of officials with various skill levels and years of service. Follow up meetings each year with new officials and mentors. Working with the OHSAA on what they are seeing. Talking with “recruits” to understand why they are or are not interested. Talking with former officials to understand why they left

New Official Recruitment Who, How & Why

New Official Recruitment Why Do We Need New Officials Average age of an official is 54*. We need to get new officials, specifically young officials in the fold now so we can utilize the veteran officials to train and mentor them. The need for greater numbers of officials is always growing as more school put in facilities. *Information from MichiganLive.com, MHSAA Statistics Referee Magazine, CBS News, SportsBusinessJournal. New Official Recruitment

New Official Recruitment Who Do We Want & NEED School Volunteers Parents Coaches Graduating High School Seniors College Students We NEED Young Officials

New Official Recruitment Young Officials We must have a commitment to help them with meeting attendance. Partner with neighboring associations. What if away at school/inactive?

New Official Recruitment How Do We Get Them Traditional Methods Newspaper, Word of Mouth Innovative Ideas Presentations to teams… Seniors Working with coaches Meeting with local collegiate athletes Utilizing Facebook (Facebook Group, Post High School member ONLY) Utilizing Website Business Cards, Brochures, Handouts How are we treating the athletes?

New Official Retention Mentorship Program Uniform Reimbursement

New Official Retention Mentorship Program Why Do We Need It The biggest thing new officials complained about was not knowing how to find meets, who to approach with questions & not feeling included in the group. New Official Retention

New Official Retention Mentorship Program Who Are They Veteran Officials Officials who work at multiple schools Officials who are approachable Officials who understand the What & Why Officials that understand MyOhsaa New Official Retention

New Official Retention Mentorship Program What Do They Do Help meet other members Help purchase uniforms Help find meets to work Help when they are in a tough spot Help with a rules question Be there contact person Make sure they pay their dues and renew Make sure they apply for tournaments (when eligible)

New Official Retention Mentorship Program Mentors are the single point of contact for a new official they help them not feel overwhelmed and included. Mentorship does not end at the end of Year 1, it can continue for a lifetime. Mentorship is bigger than the . rule book

New Official Retention Uniform Reimbursement Reimburse New Officials the cost of one uniform shirt in their first year. Starter Pistol Rental Program Helps offset the costs associated with becoming an official. New Official Retention

New Official Training Points of Contact Assistance from School Rotating Events Shadowing Hands on Clinic

Points Of Contact & Assistance From Schools Contacts at pre selected schools who are willing to work with new officials, rotate them thru events and pair them with veteran officials at each event. POC information is shared with the mentors who help they new officials find meets to work. New Official Training

Importance of Rotating Ensures New Officials get exposure to all events and find their fit. Ensure New Officials become well rounded and capable of working where needed. Ensures New Officials stay engaged Builds confidence. New Official Training

New Official Training Any officials willing to help a new official Being Shadowed Who Can be Shadowed Any officials willing to help a new official Reliable officials Knowledgeable officials *** Not just mentors*** Why have New Officials shadow To Build Confidence To Build Position/Event Knowledge Helps New Officials meet other officials

New Official Retention We all need to be willing to step aside at appropriate times and let new officials serve in key positions once trained. New Official Retention

Hands On Clinics Format For Clinics New Official Training Hands On Clinics Format For Clinics Run as a live event at a official/legal venue Focus on one event Covers event from beginning to end Utilizes athletes to demonstrate the “scripted” event to the audience Use athletes to act out the questions asked . by attendants .

Hands On Clinics Topics To be Covered New Official Training Hands On Clinics Topics To be Covered Safety Uniform Inspection Pre event meeting Call procedure (5 Alive) Event rules Event procedures Scoring the event

Hands On Clinics Who are the Clinicians New Official Training Hands On Clinics Who are the Clinicians Veteran Officials Officials who have worked all level of the event Good presenters Who attends the clinic New Officials Coaches Anyone who has an interest in the event and has something to add, questions to ask or something to learn

Key Points How we treat the competing athletes now effects our ability to recruit them later. We cannot rely on old methods and need to be creative and aggressive in our methods. Mentorship is key to keeping New Officials involved, engaged and confident. Working with/shadowing different officials at different schools and rotating events helps create well rounded New Officials . Hands on training such a clinics are key to helping officials gain confidence and knowledge before the get to a meet.

It Is Working 27 Officials with 5 or less years of service Age of New Officials College Age: 3 Under 30: 8 Lost 10 total Officials in 2014-15 Lost 5 Officials in 2015 due to work conflict Lost 2 Officials to retirement/health issues Lost 3 Officials to Death 4 Officials Testing for this year. 109 Total Members in GYTOA

Questions Thank You For your Time This presentation will be available on GYTOA.com