Most Former Coaches Won’t Make the Calls

Anger got John Moore involved in officiating.

It was 1970 and Moore, still a senior at Cal State Los Angeles, was coaching junior varsity basketball at Loyola High School. During a game, he got into an argument with a referee about a player-control foul.

“I wanted to know why they were getting to shoot free throws on that call,” Moore said. “I was getting on him pretty good. He finally turned around and said, ‘Learn the rules.’ ”

Moore, convinced that he was right, checked his rule book after the game.

“The guy was right,” Moore said. “He wasn’t too diplomatic in the way he handled it, but he was right. I was really mad at myself.”

So mad, in fact, that Moore began attending officials’ meetings to get better acquainted with the rules. One thing led to another and Moore became a certified official.

Fifteen years after the incident, Moore put what he learned to practical use. After resigning as Laguna Hills’ basketball coach in 1985, he began officiating games regularly.

But Moore is in the minority. Some coaches remain active in athletics after their coaching days, but few opt for officiating.

“It’s a shame,” said Terry Munson of Rancho Alamitos, who is still officiating water polo 12 years after resigning as the Vaqueros’ coach. “There is a shortage of officials in all sports, especially young officials. There are a lot of ex-coaches around. They should give something back to their sports.”

Munson, who was an All-American goalkeeper at Cal State Long Beach in 1972, coached water polo at Rancho Alamitos from 1974-77. After resigning, he became a certified official.

Even after taking over the Vaquero basketball program in 1986, Munson remained active as a water polo official. He resigned as basketball coach last spring to spend more time with his family, but has continued to officiate.

“I just didn’t want to leave the sport,” Munson said. “And it really doesn’t take up that much time. The season begins in September and the (high school) championship games are around Thanksgiving. That’s two months’ work and, after that, maybe two or three meetings. I have the rest of the time to spend with my family.”

Munson is in demand as an official and usually works the Southern Section championship games. He still knows many of the coaches, and he says that makes it easier to officiate games. Which isn’t to say there aren’t some chaotic moments.

In 1982, Munson was working the 4-A championship game between Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar. Because of the game’s importance and the rivalry between the schools, the stands were packed. “They even had people sitting on the edge of the pool,” Munson said. “The game went into sudden-death overtime and all of a sudden I notice there’s one too many people in the pool. I’m trying to figure out what team he plays for and then realized someone had been pushed into the pool. It took some time to restore order.”

Moore was tired of the daily grind after 15 years of coaching at Loyola, Cathedral, La Mirada, Pius X and Laguna Hills, but still loved the game.

Moore officiated when he was a junior varsity coach, working mostly sophomore and freshmen games, but quit once he became a varsity coach because he felt there might be a conflict of interest. But after resigning, Moore became involved again because it was a chance to be a part of the sport he loved without the headaches that come from coaching.

“Coaching just wasn’t fun anymore,” Moore said. “Rather than struggle with it or fake it, I got out. As a referee, I’ve been able to stay in the game, but I don’t go home at night gnashing my teeth because some kid beat me at the buzzer with a 25-footer.”

As a former coach, Moore said he is more sympathetic toward coaches. He’ll listen to their complaints--to a point.

“There are some that should probably learn the rules a little better,” he said. “But I would never tell them that.”