{"id":85974,"date":"2017-04-04T07:11:45","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T12:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=85974"},"modified":"2017-04-04T07:11:45","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T12:11:45","slug":"van-wert-man-refs-at-state-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2017\/04\/04\/van-wert-man-refs-at-state-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"Van Wert man refs at state tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an easy job. On the court, you\u2019re on the move while watching 10 players and making calls to maintain the integrity of the game. Sometimes, those calls play a key role in the outcome of the game. All the while, coaches and vocal fans disagree with some of your calls and, often times, many of those fans are less than pleasant about it. Then there\u2019s plenty of work put in off the court.<\/p>\n

By day, Eric Schwab of Van Wert is an intervention specialist at Fort Jennings High School. At night, he\u2019s a high school basketball official, and he\u2019s considered one of the top ones in Ohio. He recently capped off his ninth season by officiating the Girls\u2019 Division IV State Championship game between top-ranked Berlin Hiland and 2016 champion Waterford, a matchup won by Hiland 61-41.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf the thousands of basketball officials across Ohio, only a small percentage qualify to receive regional or state tournament assignments,\u201d said Tim Stried, director of communications with the Ohio High School Athletic Association. \u201cThe voting and rating process that officials must pass through to be in that group is extensive, and is a testament to the level of respect that those officials have earned.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Schwab\u2019s first state tournament assignment.<\/p>\n

\"Local
Van Wert\u00a0resident\u00a0Eric\u00a0Schwab referees a Division IV\u00a0girls’ state championship\u00a0game in Columbus.<\/strong> (photo submitted)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI absolutely consider it an honor to be selected to work the state tournament,\u201d Schwab said. \u201cOfficiating is not an easy thing to do. It takes hours off the court watching plays on tape, going to camps, attending meetings, getting into rule books, so when that play happens you can get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officiating basketball games wasn\u2019t exactly one of Schwab\u2019s life goals, but he followed the lead of a buddy.<\/p>\n

\u201cA close friend one year decided to try it to help keep himself in shape, and in turn got me to join the class as well,\u201d Schwab explained. \u201cSo I gave it a shot and have loved it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month\u2019s Division IV girls’ state title game was played at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, Ohio\u2019s second largest venue for basketball.<\/p>\n

\u201cOfficiating at the state level is a totally different experience, with the venue being as big as it is and officiating in front of thousands of people,\u201d Schwab said. \u201cIt takes some time just to adjust to your surroundings and soak everything in, but after the game gets going, you settle in just like any other game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwab agreed the key to being a successful official isn\u2019t a solitary effort. In fact, it\u2019s far from it. It requires patience while advancing through the ranks, and watching and learning from veteran officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t do this on your own,” Schwab noted.\u00a0“I need to give credit to my mentors and fellow officials that have helped me over the years, and have put me in a position to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the support of my family (wife Lindy and children Ansley, 5, and Camden, 10 months), I wouldn\u2019t be able to do this hobby that I have grown to love,\u201d Schwab added.<\/p>\n

Schwab wasn\u2019t the only area official to work the state tournament. A.J. Kremer of St. Henry also officiated the Division IV game, while Bill Gephart of\u00a0Lima, Ben Kramer of\u00a0Chickasaw, and Steve Trout of\u00a0Wapakoneta officiated the boys\u2019 Division III state semifinal game between Cleveland Villa-Angela St. Joseph and Proctorville Fairland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor It\u2019s not an easy job. On the court, you\u2019re on the move while watching 10 players and making calls to maintain the integrity of the game. Sometimes, those calls play a key role in the outcome of the game. All the while, coaches and vocal fans disagree with some of your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-04 23:25:14","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85974\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}