Why blow a knee when you can blow a whistle? Some students at the school get involved in the game in ways other than cheering and scoring – by refereeing.
Junior Clay Goldthwait referees youth basketball and youth lacrosse, in part because he played basketball for a time in middle school and currently plays lacrosse.
For Goldthwait, refereeing serves as a job opportunity that is “easily accessible” and unique.
“I love to be involved in the youth community of sports, so reffing was a way I can do that,” he said. “You get closer to some of the younger kids in Brookline. You get connected to the community more than just playing sports for the high school or having a job in a restaurant or something.”
Though he enjoys refereeing, he does not think he will pursue it after high school.
On the other hand, senior Agnes Park, who referees youth soccer primarily for the income, said she may continue after high school because “basically, you can do it anywhere.”
“If you need some money, in any area, you can contact the referee association,” Park said. “And they will just hook you up.”
Like Park, junior Nick Karnovsky, who refs soccer of “all ages,” also plans to ref after high school. Furthermore, he hopes to continue all the way through college and become a professional referee one day. He said there is a lot to gain from a professional career as a referee.
“There is an extraordinarily huge amount of people that you can meet in soccer; it takes you to all over the country and possibly all over the world into other countries, Karnovsky said. So just to gain that experience of interacting with people from everywhere who are doing the same thing as you is really valuable.”
Karnovsky also agreed that refereeing in general is solid employment.
“We do get paid,” he said. “It’s not why I do it, but it’s not something I don’t like about it. Obviously, it’s great to make money.”
The real reasons Karnovsky refs are much different.
“Someone told me that the reason you ref is so that others can play the game,” he said. “So every time I step on the field, I think about that, and I think about how I’m there to make others enjoy the game.”
Alex Johnson can be contacted at [email protected].
