OFFICIAL START
Father and son referees set to make basketball tournament debut
Paul and Sutton Simon are firsttimers at the state high school basketball tournament, and they admit they don’t know exactly what to expect.
How will they feel? What will it be like? Will they succeed?
All that father and son know for sure is they have prepared for this and will proudly wear their colors, black and white.
Black-and-white stripes to be precise.
The Simons are referees, and on the day state tournaments begin at sites around the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas, they will be among the newbies. Just like players and coaches making their first appearances at state, Paul and Sutton are excited about this opportunity. Sure, there are some nerves and anxieties, but more than
anything, there is excitement.
“Yes, I’m excited about it for myself,” Paul, the father, said, “but I’m probably more proud and excited for him that at a young age, he’s made it.” Sutton disputed that. “I’m more happy for him,” the son said. “This is what he was wanting. I know this was his main goal, and he achieved it, so that’s cool.”
Fittingly, father and son made state the same year because they started officiating at the same time.
After Sutton graduated from Weatherford High School in 2008, Paul decided he wanted to try officiating. He and wife, Jo, had spent decades watching Sutton and their three older daughters play sports. The girls were into basketball and volleyball while Sutton played football, basketball and baseball.
Paul even became the public address announcer at Weatherford High.
But when Sutton was done with high school sports, Paul didn’t want to be.
“I needed a fix,” he said, laughing. “I have things to keep me going, but I needed the officiating.”
Sutton decided to become an official, too. He’d been a three-sport athlete but was always smaller than most of the guys his age. He’s scoured the rule books and learned the rules in an attempt to find an advantage.
Father and son registered as officials together in 2008.
Sutton’s OSSAA number: 28242. Paul’s: 28243. For several years, baseball was their main sport. Sutton got so into it after a couple years at Oklahoma, he decided he wanted to leave OU and go to umpire college in Florida. His parents lobbied against that plan, but still, he felt like being a baseball umpire was his calling.
“I didn’t care about basketball at first,” Sutton said. “If it looked ugly, I called a foul. I didn’t understand anything. “I was not a fan.” After graduating OU in 2012, he didn’t find a full-time job right away, so his dad offered work as his officiating partner in basketball. Paul already had a full slate of games, so Sutton could work with his dad and make some money.
That season changed Sutton’s mind about basketball officiating.
“I think I want to try to become an NBA official,” he told his dad after a few months.
Sutton preferred the pace of the games and the athleticism of the athletes, and Paul encouraged him to attend officiating camps. Find a mentor. Learn as much as possible.
Five years later, Sutton, 27, is calling college games and working toward his dream.
“The highest I can go,” he said, “that’s my goal.”
Making state is a step in his journey.
For Paul, 60, getting a state assignment is the ultimate.
“I had been hoping for several years that I might get it,” he said.
It’s not easy. There are only 48 referees working this weekend’s state tournaments, 24 with Class 5A and 6A in Tulsa and 24 with Class 2A, 3A and 4A in Oklahoma City. That means only four dozen officials get selected in a state with hundreds of them.
Mike Whaley, who oversees high school officiating in the state, selects officials for state based on a combination of factors. Reports made by 20 observers throughout the season. Recommendations from local coordinators. Preferences from coaches.
Then, Whaley makes sure to include several first-time officials to deepen the pool of referees with state-tournament experience.
There are four firsttime officials working this week’s tournaments, and half of them are the Simons.
“It’s a big deal for them,” Whaley said, “and it’s a big deal for us.”
Sutton found out late Sunday morning from an officiating friend that his dad had gotten a state tournament assignment for Class 2A-4A in Oklahoma City. A few hours later, Sutton got his own assignment for Class 5A and 6A in Tulsa and knew they were both official.
About the only thing that could make this week sweeter would be for Paul and Sutton to be working the same site.
But nothing can dampen their excitement.
“I’m happy for him,” Sutton said of his dad. “I knew all along this is what he wanted.”
Paul said, “It’s something that’s really neat to me, and I will cherish it the rest of my life.”