Coaches grateful referee deal done

Louisiana prep sports officials have a new contract – a deal that will pay the referees slightly more money and give them a greater voice in rule setting and other administrative procedures.

Local prep football coaches are happy with the development.

They think that this should have all been done a long time ago.

A quick scan of the prep football coaches in the Houma-Thibodaux area shows that just about everyone was in favor of the officials getting a new, improved deal.

The consensus is that the amount of work that the referees is stressful, and increasing the payscale will attract the most qualified candidates to the job.

“I always said, ‘Give them more. A lot more, if we can afford it,”‘ South Lafourche football coach Dennis Skains said. “They have to make so many difficult calls and are in such a tough, high-pressure situation every Friday. I think that as a whole, our officials do a pretty good job, and I think that when we have an opportunity to make things better for them, we should do that. I wouldn’t want their job.”

“I think it’s a good thing,” Ellender head football coach Terry Washington added. “Some of the things that we’d been hearing were that they were going to get smaller crews if a deal couldn’t be reached, and I think that doing that would have been difficult for everyone. I’m glad that something got done,

and I’m happy that we can move forward – full steam ahead for the 2015 season.”

Officials and administrators with the Louisiana High School Officials Association said throughout negotiations that they were going to strike if a deal wasn’t reached.

But local coaches didn’t necessarily believe that it’d ever get to that point. Skains said that he didn’t follow negotiations too closely, because he knew that something would get done before scrimmages and jamborees would be affected.

He said that the popularity of prep sports in Louisiana is too great, adding that a failure to reach a deal would have sparked public outrage that would have been tough for either side to justify.

“We always sort-of knew that it’d get done,” Skains said. “Sports are too big of a thing for us to not be able to play. I don’t think anyone ever seriously considered that to be a possibility or something that could actually happen.”

Thibodaux High School coach Chris Dugas agreed and said that he’s pleased that the issued was resolved, because a strike or stoppage in play would have harmed prep student-athletes – something that Dugas said would be the ultimate lose-lose situation.

“Prep athletics are about the kids,” Dugas said. “We’re using sports to teach life lessons to young men and women who are playing as a way to represent themselves, their families and their schools. Anything that would have taken that opportunity away – even for just one game would have been a shame. I’m glad that the two sides were able to sit down, iron out some differences that they may have had and reached a deal to keep us on the fields.”

Now that the obstacles are out of the way, all of the focus is shifting toward the start of practices and the 2015 season.

Louisiana High School Athletic Association rules mandate that Aug. 10 is the first date that teams can have a full practice before the start of the 2015 season on the weekend of Sept. 4.

But teams are allowed to have workouts and other things that allow team-building, strength training and basic skillsets.

Skains said that the summer has been productive in Galliano, as the Tarpons prepare to move into a new district this fall.

But the coach also said that as the summer winds down, he’s anxious for the start of practices.

“We’ve had a good summer. I think the kids have worked hard and have made some progress in a lot of areas,” Skains said. “But it’s an exciting time. Once we get to put the pads on, time really starts to move fast, and before we realize it, the season is here.”

For Dugas, the challenge of the offense has been to find new offensive leaders. Thibodaux lost nine starters offensively, including starting quarterback Peyton Bonvillain, who signed with Nicholls State University.

Dugas said that he thinks Thibodaux has enough talent to make another strong push, but it must find a new class of leaders.

“It’s hard to replace what Peyton gave to us off the field,” Dugas said. “On the field, he was an exceptional player, but off the field, he was a leader and a guy that our younger players rallied around and looked up to. I think one of the big challenges of our season will be to replace that and find other guys to step up and fill in.”

But to be able to talk about football again and not about whether or not there will be officials on the field in the fall is a huge relief to everyone involved.

The coaches all agree that they’re happy for the officials and think their raise is much deserved.

“We give those guys a hard time sometimes on the sidelines, but I think we all appreciate and understand the difficulty of the work they do,” Skains said. “I’m happy that it’s done and they got something they’re happy about.”

‘I wouldn’t want their job.’

Dennis Skains

South Lafourche High School football coach

Coaches grateful referee deal done