4 Reasons You Should Become a Hockey Official
Have you ever had the crazy thought that one day you might want to be a hockey official? If you have, you are not alone; there are over 29,000 referees registered with Hockey Canada annually, and over 13,000 of them are new (Level 1) officials.
If you are still on the edge about becoming a referee, let me convince you that it is one of the best jobs in the world with four reasons below:
1. It Gives You a Different Perspective of the Game
Millions of people love to watch and critique every aspect of a hockey game, myself included. Whether it is a pass a player makes or an offside that a linesman calls, there will always be someone who criticizes their decision.
Refereeing has allowed me to gain a brand-new perspective by being on the ice and being the one to make those decisions. What might look obvious to someone in one end of the rink can look completely different to the people on the ice making the call. Everything in hockey happens very fast and decisions are made in a split second.
Refereeing has not made me stop criticizing while watching sports, but in the back of my head I always remember that the person on the ice has a much better view and position than I do!
2. Gaining and Improving Transferable Skills
One of the biggest changes that I noticed about myself once I started refereeing was that my communication skills, teamwork skills, and confidence all increased drastically. Communicating with coaches, players and other referees every game forced these skills to improve quickly.
Skills such as the ones mentioned above can be gained through refereeing, but are transferable to other jobs, school, and every day life with friends and family.
3. Your “Coworkers” Are Like a Second Family
When you and your partner(s) are out there on the ice together, you all have each other’s backs regardless of what happens. Being with the same two or three people for a couple hours with no one else to talk to allows you to get to know each other well, and creates a bond you can not find in many other places.
I have made many friends through refereeing that I now play sports with, grab food and drinks with, and even celebrate life events such as birthday’s and wedding’s with. Working together with people who have at least one major interest in common with you allows for easy conversation and a great opportunity to discover more.
4. Your Schedule is Very Flexible
The last benefit to becoming a hockey official I will mention is that the schedule you get to work with is extremely flexible. In fact, it is so flexible that you virtually make your own schedule. Once you enter the system, you block off whichever days and times you can not work, and the assignor schedules you around your availability. It does not get much better than that, right?
Additionally, if you get assigned games that you can not do because your plans changed, you can put it on trade, where other officials can take the game for you. Of course, that means you can also decide to take other people’s games last minute if you feel like it.
You may have noticed that the pay was not mentioned anywhere in the reasons I gave to be a hockey official, and that was done on purpose. To me, officiating is more like a hobby that I get to do with my friends, and I just happen to get paid for it as well!
If I have convinced you that being a hockey official is more than just being yelled at by crazy hockey parents, coaches, and players, visit the HEO Officials page for more information and to discover which district you should apply to.
As always, feel free to leave questions or comments below, and to visit my website!