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Finding Native American referees a priority

Terry Vandrovec

It can be challenging to come up with enough referees in Sioux Falls, the largest city in the Dakotas. But it's exponentially more difficult at the middle school level in less populated communities set on Native American reservations.

Sometimes, people get pulled out of the stands to make calls. Nick Hernandez saw that happen at a football game in Pine Ridge. His brother was the emergency volunteer.

"That kind of caught my attention," Hernandez said. "He wasn't certified."

Uncertified means being less familiar with protocol when it comes to calling a fair contest, helping kids learn the sport properly and managing the game. It's a problem.

But solutions are being sought. In 2008, the South Dakota High School Activities Association teamed with Oglala Lakota College coach and athletic director Mary Tobacco to create a program aimed at recruiting and training Native American officials.

It began with middle school basketball — the most popular sport in the area — and has grown to include volleyball and football across 13 schools in two conferences.

This fall for the first time, the program will field an all-Native American crew to work varsity football games in the region. Hernandez, 33, is the lead official. Certainly, there's pride in that, he said. But the back story won't much matter in the heat of the game.

"We have to educate ourselves on the rules and get physically ready for the demands of fast play," he said. "As a crew, we want to be prepared because the game has a lot of rules. We must be able to facilitate all those rules and provide a fair game."

A former high school player at Red Cloud, Hernandez became certified about six years ago and has been the coordinator of football officials in sub-varsity games for the past three years, making game assignments.

That means he's in charge of recruiting, too. It's worked — there are 20 active men and women on the basketball officiating list. That's up from less than five before the program began. Plus, aspiring officials have come in from other states, according to Tobacco, picking up knowledge and taking it back to their home areas.

However, another 12 have decided not to continue with the program; it's not for everyone. The schools are requiring a certain level of professionalism, according to Tobacco, because officiating is a type of career.

"The stigma of being yelled at and being criticized — all that stuff is there," Hernandez said. "It's always going to be there in sports. But I've learned to block it out and to be able to compose myself."

Initially, the state helped fund the program; that's not the case anymore. There's an ongoing effort to make it self-sustaining, because it's proved worthwhile.

SDHSAA executive director Wayne Carney said that the lack of quality officials on the reservation in the past was especially problematic come state tournament time for basketball.

Foul numbers were lopsided because what was being called during the regular season wasn't consistent with the standards enforced at state tournaments by top-rated officials. What's more, rules are changed every season, and those alterations weren't always getting communicated to officials or coaches.

"We start teaching kids what fouls are, we start educating people to officiate the games," Carney said. "As an official, you are a teacher."

Hernandez takes that seriously. He set up an online fundraising page in order to be able to attend a summer clinic in Colorado and set up meetings with his seven-man crew about two months before the season opener.

"We're trying to make it a safe place for kids to compete and to have a more enjoyable experience," Tobacco said. "To do that, we have to have people on the floor who know the rules and look professional and are willing to put in the time."