MHSAA Ref Prep by Marcus Silva
With the third trimester upon us, we have a few new or returning classes that are being offered here at Saugatuck. Among these classes is MHSAA Ref Prep.
Ref Prep is a class taught by Ms. Austin and is offered at Saugatuck High School through partnership with the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) as well as the Ref Reps Officiating Education System. With the increasing shortage of registered referees in Michigan alone, this class is implemented to open up opportunities for more students to experience being a referee in multiple sports, as well as encouraging more students to look into this job choice.
This course teaches students the fundamentals of being a referee in multiple different sports. As of currently, the sports currently being covered are soccer, baseball, and softball. The primary goal of this class is to allow students to develop their personal philosophy of officiating in different sports.
Additional skills taught in this class are obtaining or negotiating contacts, scheduling games, mechanics (both sport specific and general,) conflict resolution, developing a personal officiating philosophy, and others. There will be multiple opportunities to get hands-on experience in this class such as reffing in games within the class or reffing for local rec league games outside of school. Many students are also excited about this class.
When interviewed about what he was most excited for in this class, Evan Kothman, a freshman currently enrolled in this class said, “Probably how to officiate baseball, because it will give me more knowledge of the sport and help me to be better at it. Having a better understanding of the rules is very important in baseball and any other sport as well.”
In the future, there are plans for more sports to be implemented into this course. The sports covered in the future may be football, basketball, and more. Overall, MHSAA Ref Prep is a great and exciting addition to the courses students can take at Saugatuck and if you’re interested in being a referee or you just like playing sports in general, maybe give this class a try in the future.
Ref Prep is a class taught by Ms. Austin and is offered at Saugatuck High School through partnership with the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) as well as the Ref Reps Officiating Education System. With the increasing shortage of registered referees in Michigan alone, this class is implemented to open up opportunities for more students to experience being a referee in multiple sports, as well as encouraging more students to look into this job choice.
This course teaches students the fundamentals of being a referee in multiple different sports. As of currently, the sports currently being covered are soccer, baseball, and softball. The primary goal of this class is to allow students to develop their personal philosophy of officiating in different sports.
Additional skills taught in this class are obtaining or negotiating contacts, scheduling games, mechanics (both sport specific and general,) conflict resolution, developing a personal officiating philosophy, and others. There will be multiple opportunities to get hands-on experience in this class such as reffing in games within the class or reffing for local rec league games outside of school. Many students are also excited about this class.
When interviewed about what he was most excited for in this class, Evan Kothman, a freshman currently enrolled in this class said, “Probably how to officiate baseball, because it will give me more knowledge of the sport and help me to be better at it. Having a better understanding of the rules is very important in baseball and any other sport as well.”
In the future, there are plans for more sports to be implemented into this course. The sports covered in the future may be football, basketball, and more. Overall, MHSAA Ref Prep is a great and exciting addition to the courses students can take at Saugatuck and if you’re interested in being a referee or you just like playing sports in general, maybe give this class a try in the future.