Kaiser football coach Arnold Martinez does not like a schedule change that is likely to happen in the Oahu Interscholastic Association this fall.
Martinez also does not like the OIA’s current two-tier alignment.
He spoke out about both subjects in an email to Hawaii Prep World on Thursday. He was responding to an email sent to OIA coaches asking for input on the likely schedule change next fall in which – due to a shortage of qualified officials – games will be held Wednesdays through Saturdays instead of the usual Fridays and Saturdays.
Martinez asked for us to use his comments in full if we use them, so here goes:
“I always start with asking this question, does the change benefit the majority of everyone involved or just a small group?” he said. “That said, this might help with the referees, but the overall impact on schools and program personnel would be major. School sites have to staff the game event (football event management is a beast; it takes a ton of great people who mostly volunteer their time to the game-day duties, so to do it one day a week at a school is tremendously difficult and now to ask folks to do it Wednesday through Saturday? And those that are paid to manage events, where will the funding come from with the increased days and hours worked? Now consider the parents. Many parents will have to change their work schedules and adjust the amount of time they commit to supporting their kids and helping their school’s program. What about the player impact? If everyone is all in about safety and improving football safety, what is the impact there? Do players have enough time to prepare for the physical demands of the game? Right now with a game on a Friday, prep time for players begins Saturday after the game with game review and treatment, Sundays off (I like to give our players Sunday off to go to church, rest up, spend time with family, catch up on homework, have a balanced life) then Monday through Thursday is game planning and practice to gear up. If games are midweek, the weekly schedule will have to change and some schools will be practicing on Saturdays and Sundays to safely prepare for the midweek game.”
Martinez continued: “This will impact participation numbers also. I am sure student attendance will be affected in a negative way. Other sports that play midweek are not collision sports. They do not play in body armor. When games are played on Friday and Saturday, there are non-school days that players can rest and players do not have to be in a classroom the very next day for 7 hours after a physically grueling game. When an NFL team plays on a Sunday, then the next Thursday (four days between), all players and coaches and teams hate it for a reason. And the NFL gives that team a bye and something like 11 days before their next game after a Thursday game. They must have a reason behind that long break.”
Martinez went on to say, “Now what about the coaches? Most coaches make great sacrifices with regard to their full-time employment. They adjust their scheduling to coach. Coaching high school football is volunteer work (stipends that add up to five cents an hour do not count as payment). We coach because we love the kids and want to see them grow and be successful in life and football. Coaches are already putting in 60 hours a week in football to prepare their players to be safe and compete. This will definitely add to the amount of prep time for coaching staffs who will have to choose between full-time work, family or seven-day a week football prep for their players. That is going to be a tough one. Now I do understand there are not enough referees, and that is very complicated. We have some very good, awesome referees (not enough of them) and it is a very hard job to do, but is this the best solution? I don’t have the answer to that right now. I will just once again ask the question I started with: Does the change benefit the majority of everyone involved or just a small group?”
Martinez went on to give his thoughts on the divisional structure of OIA football:
“And on a side note, all parents should ask that same question regarding our current OIA division alignment structure. Does it benefit all the teams involved or just some? Why can’t a decision that benefits the majority of teams be made? I wonder what the real answer to that question is? I heard it has to do with scheduling games. But surely scheduling games is not more important than player safety and competitive balance, is it? I would say the current league structure does not benefit all the teams involved and it should be fixed for safety reasons and competitive balance and to benefit the majority of teams, not the few. But, I digress. There are many things that can be done to help high school football in the state of Hawaii prosper in a healthy way. I pray that we get there.”
Among the OIA’s 22 varsity football teams, 14 play in Division I and eight play in Division II. In the last handful of seasons, the number of mismatches have grown, leading some to believe that three divisions of teams would be helpful to create balance.
Earlier this year, OIA football coordinator Harold Tanaka said the league would possibly be working on a three-division plan for the 2018 season, but not 2017.
For the 2016 state championship, the Hawaii High School Athletic Association (of which the OIA is an affiliate) started a three-division state tournament.
OIA executive director Ray Fujino said the league will soon be figuring out how the two-division league will fit its teams into the second year of the three-division state tournament this year. Last year, the “fitting in” was partially based on competition (the OIA quarterfinal winners went up to the new top-tier Open Division in states and the OIA D-I quarterfinal losers went into D-I for states). This year, the HHSAA is likely to enact a proposal that all leagues must classify their teams before the season starts, according to multiple sources.
Another quasi-HHSAA proposal before the 2016 season called for the creation of an OIA/ILH football alliance that would create three divisions for the regular season, but was shot down.
As for the Wednesday through Saturday schedule, Fujino said on Thursday that the chances of implementing it for this fall are higher than 90 percent.
“There’s a shortage of refs in both the OIA and the ILH,” Fujino said. “At our games, you’ll see that many of them are doubling up, doing both the JV and the varsity game. By limiting the number of games each night, the pool of available refs will be bigger. With games at 10 sites each week, it would work out to two or sometimes three games each night.”
Fujino said the OIA is in the process of making sure that the “different variables,” such as homecoming games, fit into the schedule.
“We also don’t want to create situations where a team would have a short week to prepare (for instance, a game on Saturday followed by a game on Wednesday),” he added.
As an avid fan, I’m not in favor of the Wednesday to Saturday schedule as it will be hard for my mom to drop me off at the various game sites during the week. Also bus passes are getting pricey.
At Moanalua, Martinez didn’t like D2 and when he moved to D1, he said that’s where he belongs. Now he changing his mind again!?!?!?! As for games, on the mainland some states play JV on Thur. and Vars on Fri. and Sat. is for college. Maybe we have to adopt a similar format. Also, maybe we have to use less refs for games., at JV and Vars.
no yell at ref den, i went ref class den quit cuz not worth time and get yell from fans
Back in my days…
JV was always Wednesday’s
Varsity was on the weekends
Education First May 11, 2017 at 11:42 pm
As an avid fan, I’m not in favor of the Wednesday to Saturday schedule as it will be hard for my mom to drop me off at the various game sites during the week. Also bus passes are getting pricey.
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WOW HE LOVES ME! Kind of scary that another man loves me and pretends to be me. But hey, when you are famous, everyone wants to be you!
Whoa, stalker shows up after one of my posts yet again. 1. Get your own name. 2. No one loves you. 3. You’re not famous. 4. No one wants to be you. Loner.
Still don’t like the wed-sat schedule.
A story that has to be written by star advertiser is……NASO (national association
Of sports officials) did a survey a year ago concerning pay for high school
Sports officials. Guess which state finished nr 50(last) in paying their
Officials? Hawaii. Referee administrators state wide have repeatedly requested
Pay increases and High school leagues keep stating no money. Well now
No referees….that’s the REAL reason there is a shortage… $40 for two hours of
Refereeing a varsity game just doesn’t cut it… that’s the wage presently.
Yet another reason high school football should become a club sport where players, fans and administrators earn their rights to participate instead of this low-class entitlement attitude found in high school sports.
Kahuku Rugby club is a prime example of what a synergistic environment can do for all involved. They are #1 in the nation and gaining more interests from colleges, all this attention without the politics of television advertising, DOE administrators and head coaches that know nothing about sports and refs that feel unappreciated.
I Hope aau football becomes a reality in Hawaii.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865679060/Proposed-AAU-football-league-faces-fierce-opposition-from-prep-coaches.html
Education First May 12, 2017 at 5:02 pm
Whoa, stalker shows up after one of my posts yet again. 1. Get your own name. 2. No one loves you. 3. You’re not famous. 4. No one wants to be you. Loner.
Still don’t like the wed-sat schedule.
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1. I have been using this name for 3 years.
2. You LOVE me, why else would you copycat?
3. I am more than famous! I am infamous!
4. You want to be me. Sorry you are not famous enough.
5. Look at the data! You want to be me! CHEE!!!
#88isdatu?
Stalker Alert
Education First May 15, 2017 at 12:35 pm
Stalker Alert
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I know right. You should be ashamed of yourself!
#hewantstobeme
Ed.1st is too funny!
Clarification on one of the above posts. Football officials are paid more than $40 for a varsity game and Hawaii is not the lowest paid in the country. I am all for paying the officials more for their services and believe the leagues are working in that direction as well as encouraging advanced level training and development classes.
I do agree that the coaches and fans need to have a better understanding of the commitment required to officiate all sports and should not be so quick to yell and in some cases, threaten game officials.
Officiating has been the greatest recreational experience of my life and has benefits far greater than the pay check. If you are interested in giving it a try I run a new official training program in conjunction with the JPS football Spring and Fall seasons. You can enter your information at the following web address and we can have you working with qualified officials as soon as this Fall.
Matt Sumstine
HHSAA Football Officials Coordinator
http://www.RefereeClinic.com/HHSAA
Hi Matt, thanks for post and information. Clears up a lot of misinformation previously posted here and also conveys your love of the game! Would you know if being an actual ex-football player is a prerequisite for being a referee? I’ve never played the game but have been a great fan of the sport.
Thanks again!
Is being an actual ex-football player is a prerequisite for being a referee? This is a great question and the answer is, no – being a former player is not required to be an official. I did an interview a couple of years ago discussing some of the thing I look for in officials. This is the link to the interview https://youtu.be/tUlwzyXOY6I
I am always looking for Men and Women who would be interested in getting started. The training program is designed to get you on the field quickly with an on-field teacher so you are not on your own for at least six games. There are also classroom meetings starting at the end of June for this Fall season.