MASSILLON, Ohio — When teacher and baseball coach Dan Rodriguez saw the state of physical education, he knew he had to do something. Little did he know that the elective he pitched to administrators in 2017 would go on to become one of Jackson High School’s most popular and in-demand classes.
“My second year teaching here at the high school, I recognized really quick physical education was a dying breed,” Rodriguez said. “I mean, there are waivers that students can get out of physical education.”
Wanting to see a change, and also explore something new in his career, Rodriguez presented two separate class ideas to administrators, sports officiating, and sports history. He ultimately picked sports officiating, and went about researching how to structure the class, looking to other districts with similar existing classes, and educating himself on how to officiate.
“I quickly educated myself as an official. So what I did is I went and trained like what a normal official would do. I went and took the class,” he said, referring to requirements from the state of Ohio. “I went and got certified in football. I went and got certified in basketball and baseball. So I wanted to learn from people - not only did I want to be educated, but I also wanted to see how they were teaching other people.”
Rodriguez took what he learned and applied it to his classroom, creating a lesson plan he thought would best work for high schoolers. Rodriguez’s students learn both in a classroom setting as well as in the gym, taking what they’re learning in lectures and class conversations and applying them, donning jerseys and whistles to call plays and participate in different drills.
“Something I haven't talked about was the time and effort because I don't - I didn't have a curriculum. There was no like, ‘Hey, I'm gonna go buy this book at this store because this is how I'm gonna do it,’” he said. “There was a ton of time and effort put into it. And so after all the work I've done and sitting here today, it’s really neat.”
Now in his 14th year as an educator, Rodriguez teaches one of the most sought-after classes in the school, with students on a waiting list to get in.
“I know there's 10, 15 kids just waiting to try and get in this class,” said Kyle Benson, a junior at Jackson High School who has taken Rodriguez’s class three years in a row. “It's definitely picked up. My freshman year, there was only like 10 kids in my class. Now, every single seat's full.”
Benson says taking this class has given him a new perspective on sports.
“All my friends that don't take this class are like, ‘oh, that's a terrible call,’” he said. “But in reality, it might not have been, because they didn't know the rule, or they didn't have a great angle like the refs do.”
The class has also given student junior Anderson Wertz an increased appreciation for referees and officials.
“A big problem is just how they're treated,” Wertz said. “Getting to know just how hard their job is, even if you're doing just a youth game, not even like a high school game, just how much harder it is than you would think.”
Wertz has already put the skills he’s learned in Rodriguez’s class to work, officiating middle school football games, weekend basketball games, and even the NFL flag football league in Canton. He’s currently working towards getting his certification so he can officiate more.
With these newfound officiating skills, students, like Wertz, are also able to make some money.
“When the kids start hearing what you can make in an hour for working an hour basketball event for a fourth, fifth-grade boys’ game, girls’ game, their eyes perk up,” Rodriguez said. According to Rodriguez, you can make $25 or $30 dollars an hour officiating some games.
Getting students more interested and appreciative of the field is one way to help combat the current nationwide shortage of referees, a challenge that Jackson High School athletic director Jeff Kracker sees firsthand.
“It is really helping with the respect factor for our students to gain a perspective on what it's like to be an official, to be in that spotlight, to be under that pressure, which is really great for them. So that's been really nice to see,” he said. “But then number two, obviously filling and replacing those retiring officials.”
Kracker said he has had to get creative when scheduling games to ensure there are enough referees. For example, Kracker said he has scheduled freshman and junior varsity football games on the same day, when traditionally they have been on different days.
“Youth sports is exploding, and so there's a real demand there. So you see the supply of officials coming down and really the demand for officials really driving upward,” Kracker said. “So really trying to train that next generation to come in and not only replace, but hopefully grow the amount of officials is really important in this process.”
While Rodriguez’s classes are mostly made up of male students, there are a few young women in the classes, some of whom hope to see more representation in the field moving forward.
“We need more officials because not many people want to officiate because of the parents and fans, but I think it'd be really cool to see more women officiating,” said Ava Brown, a freshman at Jackson High School.
While not all students may go on to be officials, Rodriguez hopes they can take lessons learned on the court, such as conflict resolution, into their daily lives, as well.
“Teaching kids to have that self-control is another huge part to this class that again, they can take for a lifetime,” he said. “I think we're going to all have a bad boss. We're going to have a bad co-worker, we're going to have somebody that we don't get along with. But how to still operate and be a professional is a big part of our class.”
Going forward, Rodriguez said he looks forward to the day one of his students becomes a professional official. He also hopes to share this class with more educators and schools, in the hopes of solving a nationwide shortage official problem.
“The thing that would make me most happy is if I can get this going throughout the United States, I think that would be the ultimate dream of mine and kind of where my vision is at right now as an educator.”
More reporting from 3News' Isabel Lawrence: