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USA Hockey: Officiating for the Good and Future of the Game |
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Follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulStewart22
Registration opened on Aug. 1 for the 2017-18 USA Hockey officiating program. The first clinics will be held at the end of summer. In Boston, there aren't any clinics until October.
The off-season should be prime time to focus on training officials. To start so late in the summer registering new and veteran officiating candidates is putting officiating at the end of the food chain behind player and coaches registration.
I often say, "Try starting a game without refs."
It's time for USA Hockey to think outside of their comfort zone, tradition and their usual box because the current state of Officiating in the youth games, the officiating spawning grounds, is not where it needs to be. Real trouble is just around the corner. I am in fear of that state. Instead of spawning, officiating is becoming the elephant's graveyard.
If we don't NOW stimulate the system and get new people, the game will continue to suffer. That is where we are now, close to and quickly further heading. You want proof, just ask the present day parents and coaches who are witnessing the current status of youth officials working their children's games.
I have two sons playing junior hockey. I fear for their safety with what I see happening with the declining quality of Officiating in their games. It is my hard earned money which is paying these people to ref the games as I sit in the stands and shudder.
I don't blame the people that are out there trying to ref. I wonder why the USA Hockey leadership does so little to help make them better.
There is no US National Junior Program across the country to train these young Officials for their more sophisticated levels of Hockey at the JR and international levels. They have some small clinics for a chosen few but it is not encompassing for the many who ref these higher levels across the board.
This is nothing new, and it's symptomatic of a major problem with USA Hockey and likely all parent organizations across the Hockey world. The national team development programs have done an excellent job at developing players and coaches.
Officials? Not so much and not much hope for the future in many people's opinions.
Remedy # 1: We need to recruit current players from many levels of the game to try officiating during the summers when in actuality, we have so many games BUT so few officials to staff them. Summer officiating would afford young players free ice in a structured and mentored environment while they grow physically. That can't help but to make them better skaters for the times they return to play the game or officiate games when they are able. Now, factor in that they will earn, from $35 to $100 for 1 to 2 hours of their time reffing summer games.
That beats washing dishes or cutting the grass for their spending money.
I am often rebuffed by many people I approach with the idea of trying officiating. Little do they and others realize that Officiating is just one slice of the game but an important slice. Many people do not know that many successful coaches reffed after they stopped playing. Paul Stewart is 1 with 20 years Pro (17 NHL) after my playing days. Jack Parker and Bill Riley JR played at BU, reffed and then went into successful coaching careers in College Hockey.
Ed Barry, Bill Stewart Sr,, Jr. and 3rd coached and reffed at the pro and/or collegiate levels. Bill Cleary Jr and brother Bob both reffed with Bill going onto coach many years at Harvard. Reffing made them better recruiters and coaches when they were in those roles. Wes McCauley played minor Pro after Michigan State and is now "The Best" NHL Referee on the circuit.
There are many others who enjoyed all the facets of the game including reffing. Now is the time for others to pick up the whistle and give reffing a try. We need you, the Game needs you.
We have a very real recruiting crisis in officiating. There aren't enough qualified people to meet the demand, and the numbers continue to decline. Thus, we assignors are forced to burn the candle at both ends. The ranks have declined 20 percent because there isn't enough replenishment in the pipeline.
The number of games and leagues to assign keep growing. From a management standpoint, it is also harder to coach officials and to weed out the habitually problematic ones when there are so many assignments to fill from the summer tournaments onward. The result is that regional assignors have to beg, borrow and steal from each other. We assign people to 5 games a day which is not good for the official nor the players and coaches in games 4 + 5. I know that my feet would be hurting, my sharpness would be dulled and my enthusiasm would be down even after drinking energy drinks or eating a chocolate bar.
Remedy # 2: Make ALL coaches ref at least two games per year in a "Shadow Program" model. Use players in two games a year in the same "Shadow Program" model. They will then see the challenge it is to referee. They then will be more respectful and we won't lose people because of the abuse the officials now take. When you skate in a mile in an official's skates and see what the job entails, I guarantee you will see the game -- and the challenge of officiating -- in a whole different light.
USA Hockey has heard all of this before, mind you. The message that I and my fellow assignors preach falls on deaf ears in Colorado.
In fact, it now seems to be personal between them and us. They want more and more of our officials for their sanctioned events but they are not willing to change their own outmoded processes of preparing referees and linesmen. They stubbornly refuse to change to a more contemporary seminar calendar -- in fact, they take needed people out of circulation to staff their seminars because of the dates -- they, then, arrogantly say they share no blame if the quantity doesn't keep up with demand and the median quality bar isn't raised to where we all agree it ought to be for the good of the game.
Trust me,I am constantly recruiting, coaching and teaching people who show the slightest inclination to try the officiating slice of the pie.
The officiating registration system hasn't changed in 30 years. USA Hockey is aware of this fact, yet isn't prepared to do anything about it. It's not just the dates that are less than ideal. The seminars themselves are often staffed with instructors who themselves are overtaxed. There is insufficient time allotted to cover all the necessary groundwork, and individualized attention is one of the first areas that suffers.
As well, the levels demand a time commitment from young candidates that is triple what I had to undergo when I first started to ref games.
The USA exams are tedious. The computer modules are far too long and the skating tests? They're fine for new people who have never been seen but what about the college and pro refs I have working for me? Do they really need to spend a whole day in a classroom and then skate after they have attended an NCAA, NHL, AHL or ECHL Training Camp? Let's be realistic here.
Remedy # 3: Cooperation between USA Hockey and we NCAA Assignors to help recruit and train officials for the various levels of competition that the Officials should be reffing. Set people up to succeed and not to fail.
There are some Officials capable of working The Frozen Four. There are others who reach their peak at mite and squirt hockey on a Saturday at the local rink. We need to use different methods to groom all to get to their best level of the game.
Skating, positioning and conditioning, feel and judgement: Those are traits that all in Hockey need to emphasize to better the officiating aspects of the game. Why are we fighting each other, just peeing on each others corn flakes? Cooperation plus communication equals success.
USA Hockey's attitude seems to be, If you don't like it, too bad. The organization will tell you that the seminars are when are they are, and it is up to interested officials to work them in not the other way around. It is up to each league -- mind you, which have fewer resources -- to do essentially all the training for their circuits' officials. As for USA Hockey assignors, if they are unhappy with USA Hockey's processes, then they can simply stop assigning for their games. I assign 90% of my games to leagues that are NCAA, IIHF or MIAA Federation High School Rules.
Where this is going, USA will soon see plenty of good officials not register with them. The Officials will sign up and go with NIHOA or NCAA for the insurance and benefits that they get along with not having to undergo a tedious process that they feel is "Been there, done that!" for them. Leagues will opt out of USA Hockey because they are only interested in quality officials on their games no matter where they come from as long as they have passed the exam, can skate, are in shape and are held accountable for their performance.
Yes, we have been told by USA Hockey these things are in stone and cannot change. That is verbatim. We have heard that more than once when we have raised our concerns. It gets frustrating for me and my fellow assignors to be told that our only options are to accept or step away. Perhaps it's about time USA Hockey understand that to "step away" does no good for the good of the game.
That attitude and this turf war is ridiculous.
Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning at 5:45 sharp I am stepping on the ice to teach a handful of young people who want to try reffing. We teach the tips for positioning, off sides, icing and all the little things you need to know as you ref a game. Professional skating coach Mandy Curtin, from The Skating Club of Boston, works with the young skaters on their stride and their edges.
Why do we do this? It's for the "GOOD OF THE GAME." Is that too old-fashioned of a notion? I hope not.
For the good of the game, we urge all to get behind officiating and help us make it better. We need your help.
Hey, USA Hockey, are you listening?
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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