S t. Francis activities director and former Saints basketball coach Ron Larson recalled a bygone era of meeting referees for a beer after games.
Larson and a panel of winter sports coaches and administrators were part of a workshop within the Officiate Minnesota conference held Saturday in Minneapolis. More than 1,000 officials from various sports registered to attend the conference. They heard from dozens of coaches, administrators, and collegiate and professional officials on topics ranging from game management to integrity to making proper judgments.
Larson's recollection drew laughs from the crowd, but he followed with a more sobering message.
"Hopefully we'll get back to having a greater appreciation for one another," Larson said.
Two of Saturday's workshops were focused on the high school level. Titled "What Coaches and Activity Directors Expect from Officials," one focused on the larger fall team sports such as football, soccer and volleyball, while the other focused on winter sports such as basketball and hockey. Two four-person panels spoke to an audience of officials while taking questions and getting feedback.
Activities directors John Barth of Elk River and Matt Percival of Eastview were on the fall sports panel and talked for much of the 45-minute workshop about game-day preparations and logistics. Both men said they prefer hearing from officials via e-mail on Monday leading up to a Friday football game.
Barth said those e-mails can sort out myriad concerns such as directions to the stadium, parking, location of dressing rooms and bathrooms, and the best and safest ways to leave the field after games.
The latter was a key concern for one official, who said "fewer escape routes for football are in place at some of the larger schools."