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A day with kids from Imagine Rosefield

Professional referees, including NFL official Scott Campbell, spent much of the day tecahing teens about sports officiating in a free clinic at Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose, California. (Photos courtesy of Gurpreet Singh/GA Filmz)

Nearly 50 students participated in a free sports officiating clinic, led by professional referees, at Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose, California. Sports Officials Care teams up with high schools across the country to introduce officiating to teens and to have them interact with professionals in the business.

These interactive clinics teach basic officiating mechanics for several sports and include question and answer panel discussions with the pros about ways to connect with local assignors. The goal is to open the students’ eyes to a potential profession but also to humanize the officials and lower rates of verbal and physical abuse against officials – especially in youth sports.

Our lineup of officials for this clinic:

Football:

Scott Campbell – NFL Referee

Joe Freeman – NCAA Football Referee

Matthew Herbert – NCAA Football Referee

Baseball:

Rick Moore – Former Minor League Baseball Umpire + College and HS

Brian Blassingame – Former College and HS

Dan Campangnolo – Little League Umpire who worked World Series Championship game in 2012

Soccer:

Mario Araya – US Soccer Referee

David Natwick – US Soccer Referee

Basketball:

Domingo Candelas – NCAA D2 Basketball Referee

Scott Calvin – Former College Basketball Ref NAIA and D3 – JC and High School

Special thanks to Rick Moore and his crew from BASO (Bay Area Sports Officials) for partnering with us at Sports Officials Care for to make this event possible.

Sports Officials Care coordinates introductory Game On officiating clinics to high school students across the country. To learn how your school can get involved, contact Jenn@SportsOfficialsCare,org.