We sat down with Mr. Standish, Engineering teacher at RCHS, and we asked him about his career in highschool football officiating. Mr. Standish has been officiating for about two years now. IHSAA sent out a message, and he got involved through the Big 10, which is one of the oldest college athletic conferences in the United States. Other people could get involved by using youth initiatives, grass roots programs, where younger people get taught and certified. Mr. Standish says students are welcome to come and see him with their information, and he will gladly help you get into officiating, but you’d still have to take your test.
His first year, he only did middle school and JV football games. In his 2023, second year, season, he did three varsity games, JV, and middle school. He confirms or denies on Fridays based on his schedule, but during the week he picks up lower level games. Post season games are assigned by the state.
If any students are interested in officiating football games, they can be certified and pick up middle school and Popwarner type games. Seniors can be certified and official at high school games, middle school, and Popwarner type games. You can get paid through colleges, and you get paid for it as a job. You’re able to use one certification for three different sports. Officials are needed for other sports besides football, so it would be a great thing to pick up on.
Mr. Standish started officialing because the middle schoolers would go through weeks of practice, and they would have their games canceled because of no officials. He thought this was not fair to them after working hard and then not getting to put their practice to work. It also is a really good way for him to make some extra money. Usually he gets paid per game; some schools are paying up to one hundred twenty dollars per game.
This would be a perfect way to make some extra money, and it would be a great way to show off your sports knowledge. It would help you be more involved, and help some kids live out their dreams. He would love to see more students involved, and so would we!
