 
|
|||||||||||||
              
|
City Shots: The Ref
Thursday, October 04, 2001 By Lillian Thomas, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Referee Carmen Trovato (right) and coach Garth Taylor can't remember exactly what they were talking about when this photo was taken during a Garfield Gators game at Fort Pitt Elementary School.
"He was out there just joking around with me," said Trovato, one of the regular officials at the Gators' midget football league games.
"Carmen always has some conversation," said Taylor. "We talk about a lot of things. Any time a penalty flag is thrown, I ask, 'What did the kid do?' I try to teach my kids and so I find out exactly what the penalty was for so we can address it. Or maybe he was asking me about food, if we were making chicken [at the snack stand]. I remember he asked me, 'You got your wings?' "
Trovato, a member of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, teaches at Arsenal Middle School and has been refereeing for 35 years.
"We took over their league about three years ago," Trovato said. "I guess they had some troubles with other officials. No one wanted to do their games, no one."
Part of the problem was that the games often got started late, Trovato said.
Part of the problem might have been the places the games were played -- predominantly lower-income black neighborhoods. Bob Jones, a Gators coach who is now head of the league the Gators play in, said there was an incident involving some of the other teams in the league that was the final straw for the former officials, who quit.
Trovato said that when he was approached about officiating for the league, "I told them if they wanted us to do the games, it would have to be PIAA rules, and our rules, too. Games start on time. Coaches can't run out on the field screaming.
"You know what? We use all PIAA rules and they follow them. They might ask for a ruling on something, but they're very respectful. That's why we do it. We've had no problems in that league at all. None."
Taylor, who works as a juvenile parole officer for Cornell Abraxas, says he always makes a point of talking to officials who call the games. "I want them to know, 'You can feel comfortable with me, you can feel comfortable here, in this neighborhood.' "
City Shots is following the Garfield Gators during their season this fall.
|
||||||||||||
