Statement on Texas High School football attacks on officials by:

Craig Anderson
IHSA Assistant Executive Director & Executive Director-Elect
Football Administrator & Director of IHSA Officials

“As the Illinois High School Association’s football administrator, my inbox on Monday mornings in the fall is often filled with messages asking me to review calls or judgments made by officials during the course of that weekend’s contests.

Just this weekend, I received an email from Monticello Schools Superintendent Vic Zimmerman regarding an IHSA official and a situation that occurred at the Sages game at Macomb High School on Saturday.

However, it’s not what you probably think. Vic passed along the photo above (taken by Ann Wildman) showing one of the IHSA Officials who worked that game chatting with Monticello head coach Cully Welter’s young son on the bench prior to the game.

The images of what occurred in a high school football game in San Antonio, Texas on Friday night remain fresh. The video of a player maliciously taking a running start to level an unsuspecting official followed by a second player piling on have rightfully been played endlessly on TV and social media.

Obviously these are actions that are not tolerable in any walk of society, but they represent an even more dangerous perspective on how we as a society view and treat the individuals who govern our games. The photo from Monticello is a great representation of who IHSA officials are at their core. They are members of communities, who officiate to remain connected to the games that they often played and coached. They love the game and enjoy being around it. They sacrifice time away from family and friends to give back, and most find more value in the comradery than the modest game check they receive.

Ultimately, officials will not get every call right, but they must be respected by all student-athletes, coaches and fans. I would call upon all coaches to speak with their student-athletes regarding the respect we owe our working officials. There are many life lessons to be learned through educational-based athletics. Let’s make this a teachable moment for the students we serve.”

Men’s Schedule

Women’s Schedule

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois men’s and women’s basketball teams announced their Missouri Valley Conference regular-season schedules on Tuesday, with each team playing an 18-game, home-and-away slate versus its nine conference rivals.

The men open the MVC season at Loyola on Dec. 30 and play their first home conference game versus Northern Iowa on Jan. 2. The women begin with road games at Drake (Jan. 1) and Northern Iowa (Jan. 3) and host Bradley (Jan. 8) in their home opener.

Under fourth-year head coach Barry Hinson, the men’s team returns three starters, including All-Conference guard Anthony Beane, who enters the season with 1,300 career points. He is on a pace to finish in the top five in scoring in school history.

Cindy Stein, in her third season at the helm of the women’s program, returns all five starters off last year’s club that finished 17-13. Stein engineered the greatest turnaround in school history with 12 more wins last season than the year before.

Season tickets are currently on-sale and start at $125 for the men and $40 for the women.

Game times and television listings will be announced at a later date.

INDIANAPOLIS – Southern Illinois University graduate Kalyn Harker has been awarded a $7,500 postgraduate scholarship by the NCAA. Harker graduated from SIU in May with a perfect 4.0 GPA and is continuing her education in the SIU School of Medicine Physician Assistant program.

Harker was one of 29 recipients nationwide for the NCAA spring women’s sports of Golf, Lacrosse, Outdoor Track and Field, Rowing, Sand Volleyball, Softball, Tennis and Water Polo. She also earned a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship from the Missouri Valley Conference is a nominee for the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year.

Harker earned numerous conference and national awards after a stellar senior season in which she led the MVC with a .466 batting average in conference play. Harker was named All-MVC and first-team Academic All-America. In addition, she earned the Valley’s Dr. Charlotte West Scholar-Athlete award, which goes to the female MVC student-athlete who best exemplifies excellence both in competition and in the classroom.

In her career, Harker is one of two players in SIU history to compile both 30 career doubles and 45 career stolen bases. She was a two-time All-MVC performer and a three-time first-team MVC Scholar-Athlete team selection.

Harker has also been active in the community during her four years in Carbondale. She has donated her time to such causes as the Valiant Player, in which she visited with extended-stay hospital patients, and the Special Olympics, among many other charitable causes.

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) will hold its 16th annual Officials Conference on Friday and Saturday, July 17-18 in East Peoria. The event will unfold at the East Peoria Embassy Suites and East Peoria Community High School. The theme of this year’s conference is “Big Game. Big Stage. Be Ready!”

The Officials Conference is expected to draw over 500 IHSA officials to the Peoria area, where they will collaborate with other officials in participating in general and sport-specific officiating workshops. In addition, they will share firsthand experiences to better prepare fellow officials, while also enjoying a variety of networking activities.

Walk-up registration is welcome (Friday at Embassy Suites 3pm-7pm, Saturday at EPHS 7am-2pm) for any official who does not register in advance.

“We are one of the few high school state associations in the country who have an official’s education program of this magnitude,” said IHSA Assistant Executive Director Craig Anderson. “We have worked very hard on the Officials Conference curriculum and offerings. Our goal is to improve the event each year by adding new and relevant topics and speakers. We look forward to another successful event in 2015.”

The conference begins Friday with educational sessions for IHSA officials serving as Clinicians, while a golf outing will also unfold at Coyote Creek Golf Course in Bartonville on Friday morning. Following conference registration, Friday evening features a workshop for first-time officials in all sports and an opening session that will honor all of the state final officials from the 2014-15 school year. The opening session features a welcome from outgoing IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman, who will retire in January. Hickman has been an ardent supporter of officials during his 25-year tenure at the IHSA, which has included working with officials as the administrator of numerous IHSA sports. Hickman will be followed by keynote speaker Joan Powell, the NCAA Volleyball Coordinator of Officials, who has served five terms as President of the Professional Association of Volleyball Officials and is a member of seven different Halls of Fame.

“Some of my fondest moments of working at the IHSA have come from interacting with IHSA officials,” said Hickman. “There will be things I miss about working at the IHSA and others I won’t. Being around the officials at this conference, and at state final events, is one I will certainly miss. I am grateful for and admire the dedication that our officials have for high school sports.”

Saturday will be comprised of over 40 breakout sessions in 11 IHSA sports, ranging from topics such as “Developing a Successful IHSA Football Crew” to “Introduction to Electronic Linear Lazer Measurements” for track & field officials. NFHS Director of Sports and Sports Medicine Bob Colgate will also be in attendance to lead sessions that provide a national perspective on high school football and wrestling, respectively.

The 2015 IHSA Officials Conference culminates with a reception and awards program early Saturday evening. The honorees include officials who reached milestone years of service (15, 25, 30, 40, 50) and the IHSA Officials of the Year (listed below).

2015 IHSA OFFICIALS OF THE YEAR
Joe Bean, Boys Soccer, Springfield
Tony Baines, Girls Soccer, Virden
Geza Ehrentreu, Boys Track & Field, Rockford
Fred Gafrick, Boys Swimming & Diving, Bartlett
Alan Galatte, Boys Gymnastics, Palatine
Lynn Gelatka, Competitive Dance, Beecher
Jim Hayden, Baseball, Rockford
Larry Haywood, Softball, Country Club Hills
Andrew Mattson, Water Polo, Madison (WI)
Vicki Munch, Girls Gymnastics, Arlington Heights
Keith Nykiel, Girls Basketball, Bolingbrook
Jason Palmer, Boys Volleyball, Chicago
Lonnell Poole, Cross Country, Richton Park
Leonard Sanford, Boys Basketball, Matteson
Richard Skirball, Girls Track & Field, Granite City
Doug Surch, Girls Swimming & Diving, Wheaton
Julie Terstriep, Girls Volleyball, Industry
John Widmayer, Football, Woodstock
Jack Wiesneth, Wrestling, Libertyville
Angie Wilmington, Competitive Cheerleading, Chillicothe

The meet-and-greet will take place from 6-8 p.m. with free refreshments and hors d’oeuvres.

Tommy Bell

BY JOHN D. HOMAN

CARTERVILLE – There is no doubt that first-year John A. Logan College women’s basketball coach Amanda Shelby has her work cut out for her in assembling a roster for next season.

Only one returning player, sophomore guard Haley Darnell of Goreville, returns to the fold. Six other would-be sophomores will not be back for various reasons, including starting point guard Abbi Denton and sharpshooting forward Shelby Beussink, as well as post players Hailee Lampley and Madelyn Rigdon and forwards Jahkia Holt and Kalai Trice.

Shelby’s first two signings this spring were in-district players, Kaili Bacon of Carbondale and Cheyenne Abbadusky of Elverado.

A third signing was former Southern Illinois Prep Player of the Year, McKena Miller of Carbondale, who transferred to Logan from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

On Thursday, Shelby announced three other players have verbally committed to the Volunteers. They are: Whitney Moore, a 6-foot-3 center from Phillips Academy in Chicago; Erin Temple, a 5-foot-5 shooting guard from Cabrini High School in New Orleans, La.; and Gabby Sanders, a 6-foot-2 forward from Homewood Flossmoor High School in Chicago.

Sanders actually attended St. Joseph’s University in Rensselaer, Ind. last season, but redshirted and maintains two years of basketball eligibility at Logan.

“I’m very excited to have all three of these girls join our team,” Shelby said. “All of them are different and all of them will play a key role with us. Whitney and Gabby are going to play in the middle. They can both rebound and play defense and are working on their offensive skills. Erin is a shooting guard. She’s quick, can handle the ball, and plays great defense.”

Moore, who averaged eight points and seven rebounds a game last year, said she can’t wait to get started.

“I’m really excited. After visiting the campus, I think Logan will be a great fit for me. I want to become a better player and help the team win.”

Moore said her emphasis has always been on defense first, which she hopes will carry over to the next level.

“In college, I will no longer be the only big player,” she said.

Moore said she plans to major in communications.

Temple said she, too, is looking forward to the opportunity to play college basketball.

“I’ve been thinking about playing college ball since I was maybe 10 years old,” she said. “I may be a little on the smaller side, but I have always believed in heart over height.”

Temple said long-range shooting is her specialty. She averaged 13 points a game and connected on 54 percent of her shots from beyond the three-point arc. She also dished out four assists a game and recorded almost five steals each outing.

Temple plans to major in early childhood education.

Sanders was a two-year starter at Flossmoor. She originally signed with Logan out of high school before accepting an offer from St. Joseph’s.

“I’ve dreamed about playing college ball since I was little,” Sanders said previously. “I’m looking forward to the challenge and am hopeful I can contribute right away.”

Sanders described herself as “active” around the hoop and “a pretty good shot blocker.”

BY JOHN D. HOMAN

CARTERVILLE – The John A. Logan College Athletic Department recently received news that it had won the Great Rivers Athletic Conference All-Sports Trophy for the sixth time in the last 15 years under the supervision of its director, Jerry Halstead.

Five sports (volleyball, women’s and men’s basketball, softball and baseball) are awarded point values based on one’s finish within the league. Golf is not a conference sport as not enough schools in the league participate.

First place in the GRAC equates to 18 points. Second place is 16, third is 14, fourth is 12, and so forth. A first-place tie results in 17 points.

Logan totaled 63 points this school year, edging out Lake Land and Kaskaskia, who totaled 60 points each.

The Vols’ top two sports were men’s basketball (18 points) and baseball (17).

“We’re extremely proud to win this trophy,” Halstead said. “I think it shows that Logan has good balance in its athletic program, year in and year out. We’ve obviously had to do more with less in recent years in terms of funding. We could use that as an excuse, but we try to go the other way and be positive with our approach.”