Come on stripes!

When Dale Sobkowich witnessed his son get verbally abused by a coach while officiating a hockey game, he vowed to get involved to stop it from happening again.  Unfortunately, the incident caused his son Brendan to quit officiating.

“Brendan got leveled by a coach.  He was physically threatened; a ‘see you after the game’ type thing,” said Sobkowich.

Like Brendan, thousands of officials quit every year because of the abuse they get from fans, coaches and players.

When Sobkowich’s youngest son took up officiating a few years later, he ensured there were safeguards in place to prevent the same thing from happening.  As a senior official, Sobkowich – with the help of other senior officials– created a mentorship program where first year officials get paired up with senior officials for all of their games.  Coaches are warned before the game that they’re dealing with a first year official and that all concerns should be addressed to the senior referee.

 “There’s no talking to him whatsoever, no discussions at all.  If caught involving him, you’re gone.”

The system seems to be working.

“The first year, I was extremely nervous.  Every game I was nervous.  But I got through it, got over my nerves and I love reffing right now.  Can’t wait to get back on the ice to ref this year,” said Aaron, 15, Sobkowich’s son who’s entering his third year of officiating. 

While this program is showing signs of success in Lorette, a small town southeast of Winnipeg, it is not a universal program used by the province.   According to Grant Heather, director of officials for Hockey Manitoba, mentorship programs are used in different forms throughout the province but none quite as innovative and effective as the one in Lorette.

The fact of the matter is too many officials quit due to abuse every season.  It’s an epidemic in the sport of hockey, something Heather knows all too well.

“There’s a perception that it’s okay.  It’s so engrained; people think they can continue to do it.”

And he’s right.  People think that tearing into officials is as much a part of the game as icings and off-sides. 

Heather also notes that recruiting officials is something Hockey Manitoba struggles with.  With no specific programs in place, finding new refs is tough. 

If recruitment doesn’t draw in more officials, programs like the one in Lorette may have to be implemented province-wide in order to keep refs in the game.  Because let’s face it, if there aren’t any officials, there is no game to be played at all.

Sometimes it's funny, but not usually