How Gore is like a ‘Yoda’ for HS refs across state
NORMAN — Retirement has kept David Gore busy.
Sure, the former Norman Public Schools employee is no longer strolling halls or planning sporting events, but his involvement in high school football hasn’t stopped.
During the summer, he travels across the country going to different workshops and meetings to learn about the newest officiating techniques, rules and trends. Come the fall, he’s mostly known in Oklahoma as the state’s rules interpreter, helping new officials learn the proper way to call games and sharing his knowledge.
In the offseason, he tries to find ways to grow officiating across the state.
Gore, 74, is a bonafide legend within the high school sports world in Oklahoma, but especially in the officiating realm. He called high school games for 35 years and also officiated small-college football as well as major-college basketball and baseball. Yet Gore never turned his back on his roots, the Friday nights at stadiums scattered across the central plains.
His passion for the folks in black and white has transcended generations and shaped how games are officiated for decades to come.
“I want to do it as long as I’m able to,” Gore said. “Right now, I’m enjoying it and plan to do it a few more years.”
At a time officials are in short sup
ply and schools fear larger impacts in years to come, the state of high school officiating in Oklahoma is better because of Gore.
He's a walking encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to officiating, and people around the state know it. During football season, his phone is constantly ringing. Folks asking about specific rules and how to handle situations, there's hardly a question asked that Gore doesn't have an answer to.
If there's an officiating mystery, Gore is the detective to call.
“He's like my Yoda. He's the Jedi master,” said Ethan Rolen, the state's mechanics coordinator and president of the Greater Tulsa Officials Association. “Every time I talk to David, I learn something new.”
Rolen has known Gore for more than two decades, and Rolen emphasized how fortunate Oklahoma is to have someone like Gore as an officiating advocate.
Because of Gore's expertise, he's often asked to be on national committees discussing rule changes and ways to improve officiating techniques. His voice carries not only across Oklahoma but also the entire country.
When Gore returns to the state from the national meetings, he shares information. He talks to officiating associations. He calls on the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association. It gives them ideas of how to improve.
That knowledge and expertise gets everyone in the state on the same page, which improves the level of officiating.
“That's an invaluable thing to have,” Rolen said. “Lots of states struggle in that area and don't have a David Gore, and we are just extremely lucky to have him.”
In addition to Gore's extensive high school officiating background, he remains busy at the college level, too.
Last fall, Gore operated the clock at the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, Texas, and the College Football Playoff national championship game in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Yet even with his extensive background and college experience, high school officiating is near and dear to Gore's heart.
However, Gore never truly aspired to officiate at a higher level. The camaraderie of hopping in a car with four other people each Friday night in the fall and driving across the state to different towns while getting to officiate high school football games?
There was nothing like it.
“I enjoyed being on a football field on Friday nights,” Gore said. “It was a lot of fun being with the crew. It was not a bad gig, so I decided to concentrate my efforts on high school and the timing worked out that it became my best option.”
Gore retired after the 2015 season. His retirement came at a time when older officials stepping away aren't always replaced by young ones. It left a shortage.
Reversing that trend is something Gore and others, like OSSAA director of officials Grant Gower, are trying to do. Although they work to improve the quality of officials in the state, a lot of time recently has gone toward recruitment and retention.
It's not a problem only Oklahoma faces; it's a nationwide crisis. The shortage is already affecting middle school and junior varsity contests, and if it doesn't start to improve, high school varsity games could start being impacted as soon as next season.
“I am just very, very concerned about the number of officials that we have currently in Oklahoma,” Gore said. “My message would clearly be to any youngster out there that enjoys football but realistically is not likely to play past their high school days, we would welcome them with open arms and do all the teaching we can to help them get involved.”
Although Gore won't be blowing his whistle at an Oklahoma high school football game any time soon, those who are officiating the contests can do their jobs more effortlessly because of him.
Officiating is thankless. It's difficult for five sets of eyes to catch everything that happens on a high school football field.
That's another reason why Gore has invested so much time and energy into making sure officials can be in the best positions possible to call games.
It's why he'll continue to serve on national committees and travel across Oklahoma helping teach the rules and best practices of officiating. It's why he's thought of as a legend by his peers and numerous others.
High school football officiating wouldn't be where it is without David Gore.
“He is the icon of football officiating in Oklahoma,” Gower said. “His knowledge, his experience, his expertise is just phenomenal.”