How Young Is Too Young To Be An Official?

One of the most perplexing questions facing us in the tennis officiating world is the question of "how young is too young to be an official?"

We are constantly seeking new people to become officials and there seems to be a new crop of young officials just chomping at the bit to become officials--and that's good!  We always need new and fresh blood in our occupation--but along with that growth sometimes come some difficult questions.

We are welcoming 16 year olds into our ranks but the question is now coming up--is that too young to be an official.  Of course they are limited to working matches with players younger than they are but is that the solution?  In DFW we offer a "shadowing" program in which they have to work at least one shift with an experienced official before working on their own.  A tournament director recently said that she did not want 16 year olds shadowing in her tournaments because they are simply too young.  I tend to agree...

Officiating is an occupation that deals with parents, players, and spectators--usually at their best and worst.  We are called upon to intervene in conflict and I'm just not sure that a 16 year old has that level of maturity.  The other side of the coin is that very few parents or players will give them the respect that they need to accomplish their task.  No parent wants a crucial decision about their child to be made by a 16 year old--no matter how mature we might think they are. There is no doubt that a 16 year old can learn the rules of tennis but in no way are they mature enough to handle the conflict that regularly occurs in an official's life.

I would tend to think that 18 years of age is the absolute lowest age we should permit into officiating.  Ideally it would be best for them to be out of high school and in college to be able to handle all the duties of an official.  I have personally witnessed numerous 18 year olds make it and do a good job but not so with 16 year olds.  They simply don't have the required maturity.

This is not to say we discard anyone under 18.  We can offer advanced training and shadowing (if the tournaments permit it) and bring them along carefully and wisely.  We need to remember that they are still young and need wisdom and guidance.  I've seen far too many adults walk away from officiating because they can't handle the stress and conflict so just imagine what that does to a 16 year old.

Let them come along to observe and shadow in situations that are non-threatening and nuture them until they are old enough to launch out on their own.  They will appreciate it later...