COLUMBIA, SC — Exciting plays like the and-1 in basketball can't happen unless a ref makes a call. But could South Carolina be in a situation where referees aren't even around to blow the whistle?
The Palmetto state is dealing with a lack of new refs to replace the old vets and that's creating a shortage.
The average age for a referee is 52 years old. There are number of officials who are in their 70s even 80s in some cases.
South Carolina Basketball Officials Association President Jake Rosiek, veteran referee himself, says it's a problem all over the State.
"When we start talking about Andrews and Kingstree it is serious. I might have three officials that might live between those two towns. The Bluffton, Hilton Head is very difficult to find qualified varsity officials to work those games there," Jake said. "There are certain guys out of the Charleston area or Orangeburg area are traveling more than 100 miles just to cover some of the games in Mayriver, Bluffton and Hilton Head.
The SCBOA is taking a proactive approach to their deficit, In addition to a social media blitz, commercials and word of mouth, they have been implementing a mentorship program.
Rosey Hollman has been refereeing for over 20 years and there wasn't mentorship program when he started calling games.
"You basically had to learn on your own or on-the-job training, so there were a lot of hiccups and mistakes that were made. This way, with the mentoring program and also camps, it gives you an opportunity to see the development of these youngers guys who have the potential but they don't have the knowledge," Rosey said. "You can see a refs improve through encouragement and getting advice on play calls."
Long time referee Richie Jeffcoat who played at Eau Clair and UNC Asheville heads SCBOA District 5 in Columbia. It has the largest base of refs.
In the state there are over 700 officials. 300-400 are varsity level and 500-600 out of the pool have middle school and junior varsity experience. About half of these refs also officiate other sports. But that 400 number is pretty low for varsity and a good chunk of those are in the Midlands in District 5.
Richie is also seeing his numbers go down from a little over 130 to 120 on the basketball side. That might not sound like much but it's enough for the SCBOA to take action.
To fill the void It's critical for potential refs to be in shape to keep up with the game and be in position to make calls and you have to a certain mindset since you'll be dealing with upset coaches at times and fans who see everything.
Be consistent. Communicate with the coaches. Because when you find you can communicate with the coaches and the players then you can communicate with the fans," Richie said.
"We're human," Rosey added. "It's not like we're out there purposely missing calls. We miss calls but we take it from a learning experience to get better for the next time so you don't miss those calls.
On a given night, depending on the level of play, a ref can make anywhere from $32 to $130 dollars for a few hours of work but long time officials say you have to love the game.
The SCBOA doesn't want to see the quality of basketball take a dive so they need some new blood to make sure that doesn't happen.
"As those guy kind of peter out and near the end of their career we got to get the ones that are in their teens and early 20s and we got to kind of mold them in so you know in 3 or 5 years and they're developed they can hit the ground running," Jake said.
If you want to become a ref the SCBOA holds camps during the summer before the fall season starts. For more info on how to get a whistle go to www.scboa.net.