Shortage of High School Football Refs in Louisiana

sub varsity around 50 ish.

varsity regular season 80-90 ish.

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I've been hearing that for years. I understand it's not just football, it's affecting basketball as well.

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It's every sport nationwide... It is significantly worse at the youth levels - they are paying more and more people still don't want to do it.

It's a lot of shite to take for not much money.

I used to umpire little league games when I was in college. I thought it'd be fun.

Nobody wants to deal with the parents/fans. Choupiquesushi needs to chime in.

ETA: Oh, he did.....

High school parents and fans really aren't an issue. The worst age is the same age that is worse on coaches too - it's the parents that are.

A. Doing the math and seeing that their child's playing days are quickly coming to an end.

B. They are living vicariously through their children instead of sitting back and enjoying that special time in their kid's lives.

C. They measure their success as a parent via their child's athletic success.

D. An intoxicated parent.


The only issue I have ever had with a parent or a coach was a youth football game in 1998 and that parent was all of the above - but it did not end well for him.


IMO - I think the electronic age has made parents more stat crazy - ie.. 25 years ago everybody thought their kid batted .450 or had a .075 era.... now... it's out there......

The over riding reason for the shortage at the HS level is it takes a huge time investment with meetings and training sessions starting before teams even start practicing. and like everything else in sports - you have to pay your dues and earn your keep to move up....

for most guys and women that do it, they do it because they love the game and they love giving something back to something they got so much out of.

I’ve officiated basketball, football, basesaball and softball in the past. The lower level you work, the worse the parents are. I remember playing when I was a kid, specifically baseball, and the coaches saying “you better be swinging because that strike zone is really wide.” There was basically an expectation that officials weren’t going to be great but you just dealt with it without complaining. High school and JV isn’t too bad, but it’s too difficult for me to keep a schedule for those games anymore.

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Yeah. I wasn't really trained at all, just kind of thrown onto the field for something like 8yo girls softball. I had no idea where to even position myself.

A guy I used to work with is a college ump that does some games around the Midwest for various D1 conferences. He enjoys the hell out of it.

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yep.. training and training is a lot easier now with all of the video... and access to it.

I do it as well in the New Orleans area. I love it but it's a lot of effort and certainly not for income.

I try hard to recruit but frankly my honest answers about the time commitment, pay, training, clinics and stories about dickhead fans who think Friday rules are the same as Sat/Sun turn most off.

But every Friday in the fall is a big commitment by itself

One of the problems with the situation in youth baseball is sort of a "chicken or the egg" issue. The bad fan/parent interaction is much higher so the officials who really WANT to officiate aren't enthusiastic about doing it, so you get guys who are out there just for the money and don't give a crap about giving a good effort. So, the officiating product is lower which in turn increases the amount of complaining from the fans and coaches. That in turn worsens the attitudes of the officials on the field and the snowball just keeps on growing.