HARRISBURG, Pa. — The District III branch of the PIAA is recruiting more people to pick up a whistle.
On Saturday, aspiring high school referees met with PIAA District III directors for an “Officials Clinic" at Central Dauphin High School. The first-of-its-kind event aimed to convince more people to sign up to become high school officials to combat the ongoing ref shortage.
“You need players, coaches, and officials," said Phil Sallusti, a PIAA football referee for 22 years. "If you don’t have one of those three, it’s nothing but recess.”
"It is an important profession," added Branden Lippy, the athletic director at Lampeter Strasberg High School. "If we don't have officials, we don't have high school sports."
People who came to the clinic met up with current PIAA referees and athletic directors and were able to sign up to get referee training for free. Lippy said she hopes the event will break down the roadblocks keeping some off the field.
"The registration process is a roadblock for some people, which we are helping with today," she said. “A lot of people feel scared that we’re going to throw them out there into a game and that they’ll need to learn on the fly. That’s not the case. We train them, we’ll put them at lower levels first, and then work them up.”
Clinic attendees also got to meet Ashely Moyer-Gleich, the second woman to become an NBA official in 2018. After playing basketball at Cedar Crest High School and Millersville University, Moyer-Gleich started her officiating career in District III.
“I wouldn’t have become an official if another official hadn’t suggested for me to do it," said Moyer-Gleich. "So, I think it’s just that word of mouth and someone taking responsibility [for] promoting, encouraging and recruiting.”
PIAA District III officials hope to fill out the referee ranks and get more games underway.
“There’s so many athletes, we need more officials," said Moyer-Gleich.