Here’s why Bossier’s Jeremiah Williams decided to become a basketball official
Folks in Northwest Louisiana attending high school basketball contests might have noticed a familiar face this winter whistling traveling infractions and personal fouls after the ball is tossed up.
That long, tall drink of water in the stripped shirt is none other than two-time Bossier state championship coach Jeremiah Williams, who transitioned from being one of the best basketball coaches in the state to one of Bossier City’s top administrators.
Realizing he was missing direct involvement with basketball after moving from administrative positions at Elm Grove to Parkway to the Bossier School’s central office, Williams called area supervisor of officials Mike Theus. Always in need of more basketball referees, the conversation with Theus was short and direct.
“It was probably early October when I called Theus and asked what I needed to do to start becoming an official,” Williams said. “He told me to come to the meetings. It was very intimidating at first because people don’t realize all the responsibilities a referee has.”
Securing individuals, such as Williams, as basketball officials is becoming ever more critical. An estimated 50,000 basketball officials have hung up their whistles since the 2018-19 season according to the National Federation of High Schools. Part of that was due to the pandemic pushing some officials into retirement and part was due to the ever-increasing amount of abuse referees endure from parents, coaches, students and fans.
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Locally, Theus said the number of officials is up from 86 to 101 for the 39 schools served by the Shreveport Association. He’d like to see the number at 120-130 and having men like Williams join the ranks can help in recruiting quality referees.
“A lot of people think they can referee until they strap on that whistle,” Theus said. “Although Jeremiah has picked things up quickly, he still has a ways to go. Another good thing about having him see the game from a different perspective is that he can help us with coaches he administrates.”
The plan was to work Williams, who coached Bossier to the 2011 and 2016 state titles, slowly into sub-varsity games giving him a chance to improve on hand signals, dealing with coaches and understanding the game from a different perspective.
“I’ve been around basketball all my life either playing it or coaching it,” Williams said. “To be involved with the sport from this angle is something entirely different, but I’m really enjoying it.”
It helps that Williams has seen other administrators such as Marvin Alexander, Keith Burton and Patrick Greer add sports officiating to their resumes and be successful at one of the most challenging jobs in education.
Theus has been strategic in not scheduling Williams in games that require more experience. He worked a game in the Bossier Invitational and was part of a three-person crew calling the Byrd versus Southwood contests last Friday.
“I plan on doing this as long as I feel like I’m doing a good job and that there are no conflicts with my current job,” said Williams, who is Bossier’s Supervisor of Secondary Schools. “I want to promote integrity in the sport which is something I think it needs.”
Williams said most of his new-found sidelight gig has been positive although there’s always the human element to deal with just as it is in coaching and playing.
“Coaches don’t make every correct decision in a game and players don’t make every shot. Officials don’t make every call correctly,” Williams said. “But very rarely does an officials’ call decide a game. People have to have someone to blame and that often falls on us. It’s our job to get as many right as possible.”
Williams hopes his involvement as an official encourages more men in the region to consider joining the club.
“We have so many young men in our area who could contribute to this sport by officiating,” he said. “It is much needed and it’s a great way to pick up some supplemental income.”
Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Basketball officiating: Bossier's Jeremiah Williams joins the club
