It's "official" Making the Best Even Better.

What profession expects you to be 100-percent perfect and then get even better? Sports officials never seem able to please everyone but don't blame them for not trying.

The National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), a not-for-profit educational association with nearly 19,000 members from all levels of sports, gathered more than 100 of the nation's officiating leaders in Colorado Springs, June 23-25, to discuss how to improve officiating at all levels.

"Better-trained officials manage games more efficiently and well-managed games mean a positive experience for everyone participating--the players, coaches, and fans," says NASO President Barry Mano.

During the three-day conference, a blue-ribbon panel of officiators, the "Officiating Training Alliance" (OTA), met to identify and address ways to improve officiating education. In addition to the OTA meetings, NASO members gathered in separate workshops to discuss solutions to concerns facing the profession.

"If we can improve the education and development of officials at the recreational level, that means the high school programs improve and so forth," said Ed Rush, director of officiating for the National Basketball Association. "Today's officials coming up through the ranks are better officials; there's just not enough of them."

Rush, along with his counterparts, Jerry Seeman from the National Football League and Bryan Lewis from the National Hockey League, participated with other officials representing the collegiate, high school, and recreational levels. Marcy Weston, the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball coordinator, and Mary Struckhoff, the National Federation of State High School Associations assistant director, represented their respective organizations.

Most agree that when recreational-level officials receive the proper training, they generally enjoy the experience and move up the ladder to work high school sports. Famed retired NFL referee Red Cashion often notes that his entree into officiating started by calling youth football games in Texas.

The conference identified numerous issues that confront the profession. Near the top of the list was the decline in official enrollment. Abusive behavior from youth league parents and coaches was most often cited as a major problem for recreational leaders.

"It's becoming harder and harder to find young people or even adults to volunteer to officiate because the taunting and abuse has increased," said Jeff McDorman, manager of recreation and cultural services for the town of Racine, Wisconsin. "This conference, and the OTA in particular, increased my confidence that there are people who do care about officiating and that something is being done to help in the future."

Other issues discussed at the conference included the perception of officials and a desire to improve their image as a whole.

"Let's face it--we're not trying to win a popularity contest when we're out there," said Tom Hewitt Jr., a recreational league official from Staten Island, New York. "I just want parents and coaches to understand and appreciate that we do this for the kids' safety and try to make sure the games are played fairly. I don't care who wins, but I do care that the kids have fun and don't get hurt."

Still, education and finding ways to improve officiating were at the top of the list for attendees. Among the topics entertained were how local organizations can improve their education programs when little financial resources exist.

"Unfortunately, officiating always seems to be the last consideration," said Jeff Murray, field operations supervisor for the Oklahoma City (Oklahoma) Parks and Recreation Department. "You've got fields and equipment to maintain as well as uniforms. It seems that officiating becomes a second thought and that's wrong."

Also among the topics was the use of technology and today's expanding Internet as a resource for educational materials and discussion.

"The NBA uses e-mail everyday to discuss specific plays and situations," Rush told the gathering. He used his laptop to demonstrate how watching the positioning of an official can help evaluate and train others.

"The future is here right now in the palm of our hand," he added. "Use it and you will be better off and your officials will improve, too."

The OTA will meet again in February 2001 at a site still to be determined. If you would like to know more about NASO and the OTA, contact NASO at 262/632-5448 or visit their Web site at www.naso.org.

Bob Still is the public relations manager of the National Association of Sport Officials.