Braden Polifka couldn’t help but pay closer attention to the calls made by officials during his senior football season last fall. 

Thanks to a new sports officiating class offered at Quinter High School, the senior lineman felt well versed on the rule book. 

Polifka would sometimes discuss the calls with his quarterback, Preston Havlas, who also took the class taught by veteran basketball coach John Crist at Quinter. 

“We would see them make a call, and then we’d hear fans griping about it, but we knew that it was actually the right call,” Polifka said. 

The new course has been a hit at Quinter, with nine students taking Crist’s class last semester. For the first nine weeks, students were given their choice of studying either volleyball or football before concentrating on basketball officiating for the second nine weeks.

The curriculum was provided by RefReps, an officiating education system the Kansas High School Activities Association has recently partnered with. The students worked toward eventually making their officiating debuts by officiating junior high games. 

“I really wasn’t certain how (the class) was going to go over, but the kids have really liked it,” said Crist, who is in his 30th year coaching at Quinter. “The kids have said that it helped them not only appreciate what the officials have to do and learn, but they said it’s helped them in their games when they were playing, knowing the rules and how things were going to be officiated.

“They got to see it from a whole different point of view, which they really liked.”

After recently stepping away from athletic director duties at Quinter, Crist said he had been looking to fill a couple hours on his schedule when he was approached last year by Quinter principal Toby Countryman about putting together an officiating class for this school year. 

Initially unsure what the class would entail, Crist started planning for the course last spring. He learned over the summer that KSHSAA had partnered with RefReps for online curriculum.

“Coach Crist was one of the first people to reach out about using RefReps in his class,” said KSHSAA assistant executive director Fran Martin, who oversees officials' service and education for the Association. “He has a great perspective as a longtime coach. 
 
“The students seemed very engaged. One of the comments I heard from them when visiting the class was that they understood more about what officials were calling and why during their football games. We feel the RefReps curriculum is a great resource for schools to use as they help develop the next generation of officials.”
 
Crist said he was pleasantly surprised when he learned nine students signed up for the class at Quinter. Seniors Havlas, Polifka, Zayne Beckner, Cashlyn Kvasnicka, Anna Briggs, Paige Bell, Bryton Mesch and juniors Tatum Holthus and Caybrie Kvasnicka took the course. 
 
For the first nine weeks, the six girls opted to study the volleyball curriculum while the three boys decided to do football. 
 
The RefReps curriculum breaks down the rules, mechanics and penalties for each sport and teaches the officiating signals. 
 
“One of the first things I had the kids do was take the rules test that the coaches and officials have to take every year,” Crist said. “Then we got into the online curriculum. It’s a lot of video. They watch these videos and then they take quizzes and tests over what they watch to help them learn the rules for officiating.

“I just tried to hit on as many aspects of officiating as I could,” Crist said. 

Guest speakers for the class included veteran officials, as well as Martin and KSHSAA assistant executive director Kyle Doperalski. They stressed the importance of getting younger people involved with officiating to combat the nationwide officiating shortage. 
 
For volleyball, Crist set up-game like situations and had students take turns playing officials to get used to making calls. Football was difficult to simulate, but the students had a chance to shadow veteran officials on the sideline. 
 
The class shifted its focus to basketball officiating in the middle of October. By mid-November, Crist started to send his students out to work junior high basketball games. 

“You could tell that there were some of them that were just scared to death out there, but then there were others that just looked like they had been doing it for two or three years,” Crist said. 
 

Polifka said he embraced the experience. 

“I was really excited to do it and step out there,” he said. “I was also definitely nervous because you’re getting yourself out there in front of people. You’re going to make mistakes. I learned it’s not too bad if you make a mistake, just keep going. Everybody’s going to make them. 

“I felt like I was actually pretty prepared. There’s always a little bit that you’re not expecting. Definitely after the second game that I did, I was definitely getting in a groove and feeling like I knew a lot more.”

Polifka said he gained a greater appreciation for the job officials do. 

“I knew it was a hard job and everything," he said. “Once you actually get in it, there’s so many things you have to remember that are running through your mind and you have to make split-second decisions.” 

After Hill City was short a referee for a recent junior high basketball game, Hill City principal and athletic director Alan Stein contacted Crist to see if a student from his class was available. Polifka volunteered to officiate the game. 

Polifka said he’s planning on pursuing officiating while in college next year. 

“It’s a good way to make money, and I really enjoy it,” Polifka said. “After college, I plan on moving back here to western Kansas and I’m interested in doing it then and staying involved.”

He said he would recommend taking an officiating class to anybody who is interested. 

“If you don’t like it, it’s not like you have to do it or anything, but it definitely gets kids interested and gives them a good opportunity to become a official,” he said. 

Crist said about half the class has said they plan on officiating sports in the future. He believes taking the class will pay dividends once the students become registered officials. 

“You can pass a test and get certified, but you never really have any experience. Whereas, here, they were able to get a little experience and really go in depth into the rules,” Crist said. 

Crist’s class will focus on coaching next semester. The officiating class will be offered again next fall. 

Martin said Garden City, Dodge City, Oskaloosa and Pike Valley are among other schools that are currently using the RefReps curriculum. More schools are set to begin this semester or next school year. 

“I’ve had some emails from other schools when they found out what we were doing and said that they were interested in doing the same type of thing,” Crist said. “I think you’re going to see lots of schools here in the next few years put this into the curriculum.”

Crist said he hopes the implementation of the officiating class can help attract younger refs and strengthen the officiating pool. 

“I think it’s got to help,” Crist said. “I’m not sure it’s going to be the only answer, but every little bit will definitely help. It’s a way for the kids to give back to the sport that they like. It’s a great way to stay involved in the sport and make a little bit of money at the same time.”

Crist said teaching the class has been a worthwhile experience. 

“It’s just been fun to see them out there working games and really putting themselves out there in front of the public,” he said. “It takes a lot of guts and a lot of poise to go out there and officiate in front of a bunch of fans. I’ve been really proud of the kids and their willingness to get out there and do it. 

“It’s been really fun to teach them, and I’ve learned a lot. Hopefully we’ve given the kids just a little taste of what an official goes through.”