The NFHS says sports need to be more formative and less performant to address behavior in the game.

Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT Editor-in-Chief

Indianapolis — In December, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association voted to increase the salaries of its officials to address a critical shortage of North Carolina sports officials.

This is not a problem limited to North Carolina, but has become a national trend over the years.

On Tuesday, the National Federation of High School Associations, the national governing body for high school sports, held a press conference to discuss issues at the national level, particularly regarding the behavior of fans, coaches and players during games.

Last year, the NFHS held a consortium of stakeholders from youth to college level to help address the problem after the organization discovered 50,000 officials had left their jobs nationwide. bottom. On Tuesday, the NFHS announced it will host a second consortium next week.

NFHS CEO Dr. Carissa Nehoff said it was important to point out that the referee shortage is not just a high school problem, it extends to all levels of the sport.

“It all starts at the youth sports level,” Niehoff explains, explaining that young officials often start in youth sports, but are kicked out of the board if they are treated poorly by their parents or coaches.

Barry Mano, president of the National Association of Sports Professionals, called on sports organizations to “set the line” and show that certain behaviors are not permitted.

According to NFHS, that line is beginning to be drawn. Some state associations have begun considering the implications for unruly fans, such as the possibility of banning spectators for inappropriate behavior at games for his 365 days. Several youth sports organizations have reached out to the NFHS about co-branding a new “Bench Bad Behavior” campaign the organization is launching. This could mean that parents and athletes hear consistent messages about behavior from youth sports to high school sports.

We know that the behavior of fans, coaches and athletes is of great interest to officials. In fact, a survey last year by the NCHSAA found that more than half of North Carolina officials had considered quitting in the past two years, with bad attitudes being the top reason. A majority of officials say today’s behavior is worse than ever.

Niehoff said this was a product of the sport’s institutions becoming less formative and more performative.

Next week, the consortium will take some of the lessons from the first event and make recommendations to state associations, schools, media and security to improve the sporting environment.