New officials’ boss wants to keep professionalism bar high

   
    In the short time he has been the assignment secretary for the Greater New Orleans Football Officials’ Association, Kevin Boitmann has seen many positive changes in the organization.
     Principals, athletic directors  and head football coaches from four area schools, which had previously chosen not to use the local association to officiate their games, have returned; 20 new officials have joined the group, and the man they work for at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association office is happy with their progress over the past two years.
    Sitting at his desk in the U.S. Attorney’s downtown office, Boitmann attributed the officials association’s improvement to his predecessor, Paul LaRosa, who resigned to return to the field after two years on the job. LaRosa replaced longtime assignment secretary Charley Myers before the 2011 football season.        
    “Paul was what the associated needed at the time,” Boitmann said. “He brought nearly 40 years of experience and revamped it to get us into a more professional atmosphere.”
    Many of the officials, with whom LaRosa worked for decades, bought into the changes he made. The group as a whole looked sharp, improved their technique and positions on the field and afforded the coaches and athletes the courtesy they deserved by explaining their calls.
Leader didn’t please all
    But not everyone who wore the GNOFOA emblem was happy about LaRosa’s more regimented management style. A few longtime veteran officials joined other associations.
    A retired energy executive, LaRosa reflected on his short career as the man who decided what officials worked which games.
    “I worked in a corporate environment for years and saw many changes,” he said. “As such, I see three kinds of (workers). There are the ones at the front who love change and want to be a part of it. There are the ones in the middle who are not going to really resent change and will just go along with the program. Then they are the ones at the bottom who will fight change.
    “I used the champions on the front end to work with the officials who needed help; the ones in the middle were no problem. But at the end of the day, the ones who didn’t buy into what we were doing were left behind.”
Results speak for themselves
    The result was positive. The association reacquired John Ehret, East Jefferson, McDonogh 35 and Destrehan, which had defected to the River Parish Football Officials Association. And as the season begins, the New Orleans association has 149 registered officials, including three former members returning from other associations and one transfer from the Hammond group.
    But the improvement of moving the bar higher came at a price. LaRosa was unhappy with himself and actually missed wearing the white hat of a referee more so than spending hours observing his crews from the sideline and watching videos he used to critique their work.
    “You have to deal every day with guys who are not happy with their assigned games and coaches who are not happy with the crew we sent them. It really wears on you, ”LaRosa said.
    “I really enjoyed officiating more, and maybe I was a bit heavy-handed in dealing with some of the guys. But I think the schools are happier because they saw the quality of officials we put on the field and supported us. And quality officials who left us are coming back.”
Used to making judgments
    In Boitmann, the local officials and coaches will deal with a much different demeanor. He has been a U.S. Attorney for eight years, working under his former boss, Jim Letten, for most of that time. As an attorney, he weighs his decision carefully and pays attention to detail. And the Loyola Law School graduate brings 22 years of experience as an official to the job.
    Boitmann said he’s taking over an organization that is in good shape, but he wants to work to develop the younger officials into proficient parts of the group.
    “No matter what officials go out, I want coaches to feel they are getting a quality crew, so we’re going to try to get the first- and second-year officials ready faster,” Boitmann said. And the man who is giving the “newbies” particular attention at meetings is LaRosa.
    “Paul can set the bar and bring them along because he’s a great leader,” Boitmann said.
    Mechanics and positioning change, depending on the size of the crews. Some schools want five-man crews, others six- or seven-man crews. The LHSAA is pushing for all schools to use seven officials. So, every official has to know where his post is regardless of the size of the crew, and it may change from game to game.
    “Everyone comes into this job as a football fan,” Boitmann said. “But we don’t want them watching the things everyone loves about football because no one can see everything.
    “Every official needs to watch certain areas of the field as opposed to everything else that’s going on out there.” And it is the official’s positioning that could make the difference between the proper call and a blown call.
    Boitmann, who works on Saturdays as an official for the Gulf South and Southwest Athletic conferences, said having LaRosa back on the field is an asset since he cannot serve as both a referee and assignment secretary.
    “The asset about Paul is that in 2010, when we worked one of the state championship games together, it was a pleasure to watch him manage the crew throughout the five-week playoff. He puts a lot of care into his job as a referee,” Boitmann said.
    “I knew he missed the field. As an assignment secretary, you’re not just a friend anymore, you’re their supervisor. The role changes,” he added.
    “Our obligation is first and foremost to the schools and athletes. Relationships among us are secondary to that job,” Boitmann said.
    “This is a bittersweet departure for me,” LaRosa said. “I regret that I didn’t have a chance to stand up and tell the officials that I thought they did a good job and I enjoyed working with them.
    “I’m happy to be back on the field, and I’m happy Kevin took over because he is the best man for the job. He is intelligent and he will pull up the rear. This association needs someone with a different touch, and Kevin is that man.”
    Ron Brocato can be reached at rbrocato@clarionherald.org.