The Louisiana High School Athletic Association is seeing more multi-sport officials. Director of Officials Lee Sanders says there are about 4,000 officials, and 926 of them work multiple sports, which is a 10% increase from last year and a 22% increase from 2024.
“We will continue to do everything that we can to try to grow that number to best serve our student athletes and member schools,” Sanders said.
Each multi-sport official will receive a commemorative flipping coin as a token of appreciation. This year’s design celebrates Louisiana’s unique cultural heritage.
Sanders says they are also working to recruit and train the next generation of multi-sport officials, and a lot of skills needed to officiate a particular sport can work for another sport as well.
“Whether it’s de-escalation, conflict resolution, communicating with coaches, a lot of the skills are universal and transfer from one sport to another,” Sanders explained.
Sanders says officials who work multiple sports have to dedicate the time, but it’s worth it.
“Training and going to your local meetings and working to skill yourself up as much as you can, but it’s an opportunity to make a little money, work around your own schedule, stay connected to a sport that you love,” Sanders noted.
The start of the fall sports season is right around the corner. Sanders says they’ve increased the volleyball officials by 4%, there’s a 2% increase in football refs, and they’re always looking to add more.