San Diego Field Hockey Officials Association
Welcome to the exclusive San Diego Field Hockey Officials Association (SDFHOA). Our Association is a CIF State accredited officiating organization serving the San Diego County field hockey community. Our Mission is to provide quality field hockey officiating services; to maintain and strive to improve the services through an education and training program; to promote fair play and sportsmanship among people involved in field hockey contests; and to encourage good fellowship among members of the Association and others interested in field hockey.
The SDFHOA was established in the early 70’s with a handful of Officials responsible for covering all Field Hockey games within San Diego County. In fact, there were so few officials that many high schools had to adjust their game schedules each week based on the limited people who would be available to umpire. During these early years and decades that followed, it was Jodi Johnson, Ellie Minor, Cindi Villa, and Janet Balsley who are all credited with being the original pioneers of our Association and they were also tireless coaches in San Diego County. Over the years, these ladies relentlessly recruited, trained and mentored so many new officials; always willing to share their knowledge and excitement about the Field Hockey game. Our Association would like to honor these ladies for being highly respected leaders in the Field Hockey community and we owe them a great amount of gratitude for all their time and service in making our Field Hockey Officials Association what it is today. Finally, it is with great privilege to announce that in the past few years we have had two of our current members inducted into the San Diego Sports Hall of Fame for the many years of professional officiating; Lee Bjornson and Katie Moulder. Congratulations! Now, as the sport grew along with yearly rule changes, Field Hockey play at the high school level developed into a fast, exciting sport that caught the attention of many San Diego County High Schools. Did you know San Diego County has over 50 high schools that have an active Field Hockey program at the Varsity, Jr Varsity, and Freshmen levels making it one of the largest areas on the West Coast for this unique sport? This growth demanded a larger Association to cover all the games with certified officials; certainly a challenge we prepare for every year.
SDFHOA membership has consistently held at approximately 30 certified officials year after year but our recruitment efforts never end. Certainly a priority with the Board of Directors as membership increases or decreases each year for many reasons i.e. work schedule change, health, relocation, retirement etc,. An active Recruitment Program helps sustain our Association. If you are new to the area or an official in a different sport and desire to get involved in Field Hockey Officiating use our Contact Form to reach out to us so we can tell you all about the great things SDFHOA has to offer.
Another area critical to meeting our Mission is the SDFHOA Website. We are excited to share with our existing members and any potential new recruit all the tools you will need to be successful. It includes all the forms, meeting schedules, training, certification, pay, uniforms,and other resources necessary to be ready to officiate Field Hockey games. We created hyper-links that take you directly to NFHS rules, training videos, and other documents to easily assist you with professional development which is central to our Association goals. You want to learn more, just go to the Tabs at the top of the Home page, it will lead you to various topics and information.
The SDFHOA was established in the early 70’s with a handful of Officials responsible for covering all Field Hockey games within San Diego County. In fact, there were so few officials that many high schools had to adjust their game schedules each week based on the limited people who would be available to umpire. During these early years and decades that followed, it was Jodi Johnson, Ellie Minor, Cindi Villa, and Janet Balsley who are all credited with being the original pioneers of our Association and they were also tireless coaches in San Diego County. Over the years, these ladies relentlessly recruited, trained and mentored so many new officials; always willing to share their knowledge and excitement about the Field Hockey game. Our Association would like to honor these ladies for being highly respected leaders in the Field Hockey community and we owe them a great amount of gratitude for all their time and service in making our Field Hockey Officials Association what it is today. Finally, it is with great privilege to announce that in the past few years we have had two of our current members inducted into the San Diego Sports Hall of Fame for the many years of professional officiating; Lee Bjornson and Katie Moulder. Congratulations! Now, as the sport grew along with yearly rule changes, Field Hockey play at the high school level developed into a fast, exciting sport that caught the attention of many San Diego County High Schools. Did you know San Diego County has over 50 high schools that have an active Field Hockey program at the Varsity, Jr Varsity, and Freshmen levels making it one of the largest areas on the West Coast for this unique sport? This growth demanded a larger Association to cover all the games with certified officials; certainly a challenge we prepare for every year.
SDFHOA membership has consistently held at approximately 30 certified officials year after year but our recruitment efforts never end. Certainly a priority with the Board of Directors as membership increases or decreases each year for many reasons i.e. work schedule change, health, relocation, retirement etc,. An active Recruitment Program helps sustain our Association. If you are new to the area or an official in a different sport and desire to get involved in Field Hockey Officiating use our Contact Form to reach out to us so we can tell you all about the great things SDFHOA has to offer.
Another area critical to meeting our Mission is the SDFHOA Website. We are excited to share with our existing members and any potential new recruit all the tools you will need to be successful. It includes all the forms, meeting schedules, training, certification, pay, uniforms,and other resources necessary to be ready to officiate Field Hockey games. We created hyper-links that take you directly to NFHS rules, training videos, and other documents to easily assist you with professional development which is central to our Association goals. You want to learn more, just go to the Tabs at the top of the Home page, it will lead you to various topics and information.
