The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) has named January 8-14 as Officials’ Appreciation Week. The designation is meant to honor sports officiants whose contributions and efforts are vital to conducting scholastic athletics. Within the Fox Chapel Area School District, there are many graduates who are involved in officiating at various levels, including Moe Barr, Jim Hastings, Patrick Frank, and sisters Denise Maiello Speer, Donna Maiello Morosky, and Darlene Maiello Snowball.
Denise, Donna, and Darlene all swam for Fox Chapel Area High School and have been officiating swimming for decades. It was Donna, the eldest s ister, now a member of the Fox Chapel Area Schools Sports of Fame, who encouraged her sisters to follow in her footsteps in the sport, and then later as PIAA officiants. The three sisters also have played important roles in teaching and developing young swimmers in the area.
“At times, we work the same meet,” says Denise, a 1973 Fox Chapel Area graduate. “It’s been a way for us to work together for the accomplishments of kids now and into the future. Seeing some of the swimmers I taught as youngsters, who then swam for the high school team over the years, has been a wonderful experience. I love to see all the hard work these swimmers put in, and their camaraderie and team spirit is probably why I am still officiating for close to 40 years now.”
A former Fox Chapel Area athlete, Patrick started officiating after a great multisport high school athletic career in which he excelled in baseball, cross country, and wrestling. When he graduated, he was the winningest wrestler in school history. In June 2022, he was elected to the Fox Chapel Area Schools Sports Hall of Fame, saying it was “mostly for my officiating career,” although that may be a modest statement. In the beginning, officiating was a way to earn extra money after he graduated from college, but in the ensuring years, it has come to mean much more than that to him.
Patrick started off umpiring baseball, wrestling, and football at the WPIAL and PIAA levels. He worked several high school playoff games in those sports, but now concentrates on wrestling. He worked his way up to the collegiate level and has officiated in the Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC) for the past four years. He also has had the opportunity to work three NCAA Division I national wrestling championships, two Division III national championships, and 10 Division I conference tournaments.
“I think it’s a great way to stay involved (in sports) and gives you a totally different perspective, even if it is a sport you think you know a lot about,” says Patrick, who also spends time working with the area’s youth development wrestling programs. “It’s very different from playing, or coaching, or being a parent, but I think officiating makes you better in all those areas, too. Overall, it’s been a great experience for me. I’ve had the chance to travel across the country and do some cool events. Most importantly, I’ve had the chance to meet some incredible people. The stories you have and the experience you gain are invaluable.”
Jim, the head coach of the Foxes varsity baseball team, has 30 years experience as a WPIAL official. At the suggestion of his cousin, Jim started refereeing baseball, football, and basketball at the youth and middle school levels, but now spends most of his time on the court officiating high school boys and girls basektball and women’s collegiate games.
“I’ve been officiating NCAA women’s basektball for the past six years at the Division II and III levels,” says Jim. “For college games, I work with multiple coordinators and conferences.”
He has found the job to be very enjoyable.
“I have met a lot of great men and women from different places and have many close friends who are officials,” says Jim. “You end up spending so much time with them driving to and from game sites, before and after games, so you get to know them on a personal level.”
Moe, another hall of fame inductee (basketball), has been a PIAA official for more than 30 years. He officiated both volleyball and basketball at one time, but now concentrates on volleyball.
The need to retain and recruit officials at all levels of youth sports, not only in Pennsylvania, but also across the country, has reached critical mass. The Fox Chapel Area athletic department recognizes, appreciates, and thanks Denise, Donna, Darlene, Patrick, Jim, Moe, and the many other officials for their sacrifices and the significant roles they have played throughout the years in refereeing youth sports. Without them, there would be no competitions at any level of sports.
Individuals over the age of 16 who are interested in learning more about becoming an officiant can log on to http://www.piaa.org/officials.