Sports officiating class providing opportunities to JHS students

Apr. 17—JAMESTOWN — Last year, former Jamestown High School principal Adam Gehlhar approached Marchel Krieger with an idea.

"He said, 'What do you think about adding sports officiating class?' Krieger said in reflection. "I said, 'Well, how would that look? How would we do that?'"

"I didn't know of anybody who had a sports officiating class, so I went online to see what I could find," he said.

Amazingly, the concept of a sports officiating course was so new that not even the internet had all that information.

After conducting some initial research, Krieger reached out to North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) assistant director Justin Fletschock to see if the NDHSAA had any extra rulebooks or case books that students could use for the duration of the class.

Fletschock informed Krieger that no extra books were available, but he did share some valuable information with him.

"He had gone to a conference and he said that they had talked about this company that had been created about five years ago called Ref Reps," Krieger said. "This company had curriculums drawn up by experts in eight or nine different sports.

"You could buy these modules and learn the rules through the rulebooks while watching these modules," he said. "I looked at it, it was OK and I decided to buy them. So we bought them and we've been having the kids go through the modules, have them watch them and then we would discuss it in class."

The officiating class was an official offering at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. Krieger has broken the course into two semesters. Each semester counts as 1/2 credit of physical education. Students are not required to enroll in both semesters.

"I still don't have a curriculum developed," Krieger said. "We've tried a couple of things. Some things have worked that I have tried, but some things didn't turn out so good so we won't do that again.

"The Refs Reps representative I spoke to last summer said I was the first one he's talked to in North Dakota," he said. "Nobody's got this yet but there are a few people out there who are getting wind of this and are thinking about doing something like this at their school because we really need officials — oh my gosh. It's not just North Dakota, it's all over the country."

In total, Krieger has had 26 students sign up for the course.

"I looked at the class offerings and it was either this or a gym class," JHS sophomore Elise Roberts said. "This one had the most interesting description.

"I've learned a lot more about not just officiating but also how to succeed while playing the game," she said. "We've gone through basketball and a little bit of baseball so far. Before I didn't even know what a foul was in basketball and now after taking this class I can recognize the fouls and call them when it happens."

In the fall, Krieger used the modules Ref Reps had developed for volleyball and football but once the seasons switched and the class started talking about basketball, Krieger decided to create his own curriculum as he served as an NDHSAA basketball official for more than 30 years.

Last week, students from Krieger's officiating class "officiated" Andy Fitzgerald's physical classes' basketball games.

"It's really a tough job," Roberts said. "There is a lot going on at once and you really have to focus in on what's going on right in front of you. It's a lot to take."

Sophomore Ethan Oettle added:

"It's a lot harder than it looks. Basketball has been the hardest — it has the most rules.

"It went pretty good," he said. "We have some little things we need to work on like who's on what side when they are coming down the court and blowing the whistle louder apparently. An official's job is very important if you are playing. You couldn't play games without them."

Oettle has been enrolled in the course since the beginning of the school year.

"I joined the class so I could officiate hockey and baseball but we've also done football, volleyball and basketball," Oettle said. "If you play the sport, it's nice to know the rules. It gives you an advantage in game if you know the rules."

Now that the class has completed the basketball module, Krieger has the class moving on to baseball and softball.

"I've got 12 kids in this class this semester," Krieger said. "Not all of them are going to become officials but if I could get four or five people out of the 12 to take up the art of officiating in just one sport that would be a big help.

"I've got one kid who has been wanting to go through this class ever since last year," he said. "Now, he's pumped. All he wants to do is umpire baseball. Right now he's on the edge of his seat just sponging everything up and that's great to see."

With only a couple of weeks left until the 2024 school year comes to a close, Krieger said he is hoping the class ends on a good note and is planning use the summer to develop a formal curriculum for the 2024-25 school year.

"This year wasn't bad," Krieger said. "I think we'll get a few officials. I hope we have some interest so we can do it again next year and I can have the summer to build a curriculum. Not all of them will officiate but at least they are going to be more knowledgeable about the game and understand the game better or gain a new interest in a sport they didn't watch much before."