Just more than 25 years ago, my husband came to me with the idea that he wanted to pursue sports officiating, primarily at the high school level.

He had been a three-sport athlete in high school and covered high school sports in his job as a reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper. He felt the tug, though, he said, to give back in some way, for all of the positive experiences he had in high school.

I really didn’t understand the athletics side of the high school experience. I was a fine arts person and only knew that area of high school activities.

After I gave him my blessing, he went into it with vigor, officiating soccer, basketball and fast-pitch softball and baseball.

Over the years, I knew what season it was as evidenced by the pile of uniforms to be washed and equipment bags left unzipped. He was on the move constantly and doing a pretty good job of juggling work, home life and his officiating.

I could tell when he had his good days on the field or courts because he was chatty in sharing his experience. I also knew when the opposite was true. I could tell when he had a tougher day at the officiating office. He became a little quieter, more reserved. He later told me he was going over game scenarios or rules interpretations that hadn’t gone so well.

His personality is that he turns a negative into a positive. If there was ever any adversity, he had the ability to turn it into a learning exercise.

Because of work commitments and a young family, he opted to concentrate on basketball, a sport he commonly says is “God’s gift to the sporting world!”

As I saw him advancing through the officiating ranks, his confidence quietly soared as he was assigned many elite-level games in Minnesota.  

The excitement he showed when receiving his first invitation to work a Minnesota State High School League tournament was really fun to observe. He tried to remain stoic, but down deep, he was elated.

It hit me years later when I was watching him work a basketball state championship game at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis. I was sitting with fans from one of the schools and the excitement levels were really exhilarating.

As bands took turns playing and fans would playfully tease one another with chants, I remember thinking, “Now, I get it. Now I understand the want, the desire to be a part of all of this.”

He was indeed giving back through officiating and remaining a part of the high school experience.

He worked that championship game with confidence. He and his crew graded out very high by the state evaluator afterward.  Doing so well in front of thousands, as well as a televised statewide audience, was a perfect way for him to end what he called a monumental, historical personal season.

In addition to continuing to officiate, he is now giving back through officials’ education at the association and state levels.

I have enjoyed my journey as the wife of an official. Sure, he was gone a lot, but the trade off is that he was involved in an avocation that he loved and he answered the need to give back in a positive way.

 In some respects, he perhaps inspired me to find my passion in an avocation. I have found that through yoga. Much like he has fallen in love with officiating, I too, have developed a love affair with yoga. I am now a certified instructor and teach at a major fitness company.

 I get it now!