Several years ago, a fellow official I knew approched me and wanted to "partner up" to get and work games together. Here in central IL, most of the smaller schools hire the officials directly rather than work with an assignor, so it became easier for AD's to hire one crew rather than two or three different officials for each game. At first, other officials tried to tell me to stay away, because this guy wasn't that good, had gotten in trouble with some coaches, etc. I knew Dave was a nice guy, and since I really didn't like calling schools about games, and he was willing to do that, I said, "Sure".
At first, I saw why he used to get in trouble. If a coach questioned a call, he would tell them to "Sit down and shut up." He was unsure about a couple of rules. He also worked football at the time, so he would occasionally mix up rules (such as the ever-popular discussion about whether a player should re-establish both feet inbounds after coming from OOB). But I soon figured out the reason for a lot of his problems was simply insecurity. Growing up, he was the last person off the bench on his HS basketball team. He loved sports, and found officiating kept him involved even though he could no longer play. But the insecurity got him in trouble, and soon he got "blacklisted" from a couple of schools. Other officials heard of his reputation and didn't want to work with him.
Slowly but surely, he got better. We would talk about rules and plays in the car to and from games. He became involved in the local associations, not only going to meetings, but becoming an officer in one and volunteering his time in another. He worked hard, and after a few tries, moved up to the Certified level (which is the highest level) in IL. You should've seen the look on his face when he finally received his first post-season assignment in basketball. Going to a game became the highlight of his day. One of the AD's from a school he had been banned from allowed him to work a game of theirs on the road. He was so nervous before that game, he made me concentate so much on calming him down, I forgot to be nervous. It was an exciting game, he did well, and I think that's when he started realizing he could be a decent enough official. As he became more confident, he found the games became a little easier.
Last September, he checked into the hospital for some tests, and they found a cancerous tumor on his liver. After a year of treatments, he finally passed away this past Friday night, at the age of 51. I think there is a chance he might've given up when the doctor told him he couldn't officiate any more - that seemed to be the information that made him the most upset.
Dave may not have been the most talented official in our area, but I think we lost an official with the most heart and dedication. He worked harder than most to get to where he was, and I know that makes me a little more appreciative of the level I've been able to achieve. I hope all of you can find the time to help out the "Daves" in your local associations. They may make a wrong call or be in the wrong position a lot, but they want to learn more about the game and officiating, and they want to work at getting better. That helps all of us.
http://www.legacy.com/news-gazette/O...sonId=95436808