“This Job Is Fun!”
For most officials, working a game is a passion. It’s something they do because of their love of the game. For at least two officials in New Mexico, it sometimes takes up more hours than a full-time job. Bert Hunter of Albuquerque and Capitan resident Shane Sawitz officiate not one, not two, not three, but several sports over the course of a school year!
“I met a guy at a gym who was an umpire and he told me about umpiring and refereeing and the lightbulb went off in my head to start officiating,” said Bert Hunter. He started officiating with little league baseball and youth basketball leagues. Bert was hooked. That same person who first planted the seed in his head to officiate later said, “Hey, you should check out the NMAA. You can call high school sports.”
“High school sports?,” Bert replied.
And the rest is history.
“I started with football, and then basketball, baseball, softball, then swimming, and then track,” Bert listed. In all, he officiates seven different varsity sports.
“It’s awesome to be there and help the kids learn from the sport and teach them sportsmanship,” Bert said. Of all the sports, Bert admits he does have a favorite. “Basketball,” Bert quickly responded when asked. “It’s because I play it. I know that one day it’s going to come to a halt, so right now I’m going full throttle.”
The list of sports Shane Sawitz officiates is just as long. “Let’s start with football, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, baseball, softball, and I did sign up for track,” said Sawitz. “I stay busy enough with baseball and softball, but I know we are short officials and track and many others, so that’s why I signed up.”
“I do this full time,” said Sawitz. “For most people, it’s just a side job. I enjoy doing it, I’m never going to be rich, but I’m definitely happy.”
What’s Shane’s prime motivation for doing it? “I was that kid that loved to play sports but wasn’t necessarily the best,” he said. “Because I wasn’t the best at most sports, I mentally did everything. I learned the sports inside and out so I could get on the fields. With that knowledge, I wanted to give back to the sports. It’s really a fun way to do it. I coached for a while and quit coaching and just went to officiating.”
Softball is his favorite because that’s where he started his officiating career. His advice to others who might be considering signing up to become an official? “You need to give back to the sport,” said Sawitz. “For those of us that grew up in sports, those sports gave a lot to us. We need to give back to the sports.”
“This job is fun,” said Hunter.
If you are interested in becoming an official, log on to HighSchoolOfficials.com
