In the line of fire ...

And loving it. Refs don't need adoration or big salaries to enjoy their work.

By JOE SMITH
Published August 31, 2007

Referee Gail Blanton, center, gathers his officiating crew before a football game between Pinellas Park High School and Keswick Christian High School. "When we go out, we go out to have fun. Lets do it."
	[Dirk Shadd | Times]

Gail Blanton spent 30 days as a soldier in Vietnam, where he was hit by shrapnel from a rocket. But nowadays, real pressure-packed situations for the retired bus driver come between the white lines on Friday nights. The 62-year-old referee dons the zebra-striped shirt, but with the oft criticism and hecklers, he feels like there's a bull's-eye on his back.

By day, these whistleblowers are attorneys, doctors and funeral home directors. They are bus drivers, computer programers and therapists. But, as Blanton says, "If you're a referee, you never do anything right."

Blanton also is the booking commissioner for the Sunshine Football Officials Association, which covers Pinellas, Pasco and Manatee counties. Times staff writer Joe Smithgives a behind-the-scenes look at a referee's job.

The training

Duane Small is one of several middle-aged men squeezing - and sweating - around a picnic table outside Clearwater High.

The 43-year-old computer accessory salesman is a relative novice to the referee business.

On this Monday evening, class is in session. Blanton peppers the group of 10-15 newbies with sample questions for their annual exam.

Can you be called for pass interference without touching an offensive player? What penalty always kills the ball?

Trick question, he says. "No foul causes a ball to become dead."

Prospective referees attend several training sessions, which are free, but rookies are rarely - if ever - are put on varsity games Friday nights. Refs, who usually make between $46 JV and $60 per game, typically work their way up from youth football.

"I've been doing this 20 years," Blanton said. "And I'm still learning."

And if you make a mistake? "Sell it," he says with a smile.

The pre-game

It may be preseason, but those officials at the Keswick Christian-Pinellas Park spring jamboree prepare as if it were the Super Bowl.

The seven-man crew straggles into a portable classroom, uniforms in tow. They change. They chat. They go over their positioning on the field.

Some are meeting for the first time. Blanton had to call a few audibles when some mainstays on his crew pulled out at the last minute.

One rookie is Colby Cole, an 18-year-old Tarpon Springs grad. Cole aspires to wear the white cap, like his dad, Bob Cole, the line judge tonight. For now, he'll settle for side-duty as a clock operator.

The group huddles one last time, adjoining by their fists. Yells Blanton: "Okay, guys, you ready?"

Game time

Bob Cole is used to life on the hot seat. The 59-year-old Palm Harbor resident also has worked as an umpire for baseball games.

"They tend to call me 'blue' in football games, too," he said with a chuckle.

Like many referees, Cole volunteers his extra time for the "love of the game" and adrenaline rush from Friday night lights. The best part, he says, is working games featuring kids he knows from his day job as a school bus driver.

Cole, working the Pinellas Park sideline, learns to never get uptight.

On a fourth and 1 for Keswick, Pinellas Park coach Matt Lance ribs Cole for an apparent missed call.

"They weren't set! There's no way they were. ... I know it's a spring game, but come on."

Cole doesn't flinch, his whistle resting between his teeth, his eyes on the ball.

Said Cole: "You just have to block everything out. It comes with the territory."

Anyone interested in becoming an official or transferring associations can e-mail WillisGBlanton@aol.com For more, click on http://www.sfoa.us/.

[Last modified August 29, 2007, 14:30:56]