Job Well Done

Officials,

The following is a letter our association received by a fellow sporting official regarding the game he recently watched between the Long Beach and Fullerton ACHA teams. It is not very often we get officials from another sport complementing our work, and I wanted to share his letter with you all. Thanks to those mentioned for representing us well, and to everyone else working this season – keep up the good work!

Mr. Kitano,

I hope this email isn’t a bother, and I appreciate you taking the time to
read it.

My name is Shawn Hochuli, and I am a football Referee in the PAC-12.  I
wanted to drop a quick line regarding a hockey game I watched last night
between Long Beach and Fullerton in Lakewood.

Admittedly, I don’t know a whole lot about hockey.  But, I do know some
about game control and game management when it comes to officiating.  And,
if you don’t mind my saying, it was an immense pleasure to witness the job
that one of your crews did in those areas in a difficult environment.

I don’t know any of the officials, but Mr. Biagi’s crew, including Mr.
Nugent and Mr. Weber were, in my humble opinion, EXCEPTIONAL, throughout the
game.  I was in attendance during an off weekend of my own – to watch a
friend play (on the losing side) – and had no idea the intensity of the
rivalry.  I quickly realized it, though, as the teams were after each other
all night.

Mr. Biagi’s crew worked hard to be in the middle of every skirmish and, I
fully believe, helped prevent many a melee with their preventive
officiating.  The game easily could have turned into an all-out brawl had
they not exercised such command, authority, and presence that proper game
control and game management necessitate.

Watching your crew in action last night made me proud to be a part of the
officiating brethren.

Congratulations on the fine work you do in training such top notch
officials, and to that crew for representing us all in such a fine manner.

Good luck with the rest of your season,

Shawn Hochuli
PAC-12 football Referee (and now NFL referee!)