‘Houston, we have a problem.” Ominous quotation uttered during Apollo 13 space mission.

As the current scholastic basketball season enters its final weeks of games, I’m reminded of what I have been noticing for many seasons — there’s a shortage of officials. Because the number of teams in Hawaii has expanded while the numbers of officials have shrunk, I see many of the same officials wherever I go.

Could this shrinkage be due to the all too common, disparaging comments that get directed toward the referees from sullen spectators? With decorum going off the deep end, we are witnessing a damaging chain reaction affecting youth sports.

Today, officials have every reason to feel uncomfortable doing their jobs. When you hear someone shout out, “We know where you live,” during the course of the game or as the officials hustle off the court, you know a line has been crossed. If you were an official, how would you feel if after a game you were left on your own to safely get to your car?

Throughout sports’ history, people such as James Naismith and Dick Fosbury have been the impetus for major changes in the way things are done. Such a person here on Oahu is Chuck Martin, a highly respected veteran physical education teacher and basketball official. Over a decade ago, Martin noticed a downward trend in the number of basketball referees, and knowing that community sports couldn’t thrive without officials, Martin decided to do something to avert a looming catastrophe.

With the support of the athletic department at ‘Iolani School, Martin created the Aloha Basketball Officials Association (ABOA), where he began to recruit and train students and adults to become basketball officials. Their mission was to alleviate the shortage of officials by providing a quality officiating service to lower-level teams in the East Honolulu area.

“If they’re interested,” Martin said, “tell them to contact me, and I’ll set them up with a whistle and a shirt.” Some of his graduates have gone on to become state certified officials.

Because of the graying of the officiating pool, replacing the senior officials has become problematic. While other states have also been grappling with the problem, it took Kyle Armstrong, a young entrepreneur from Indiana, to develop an online, turnkey officiating curriculum to help lessen the shortage.

Armstrong’s upstart company RefReps (www.refreps.com) provides schools with educational officiating resources, including instructor guides, point-of-view video training packs, and support materials. Six hundred eighty high schools in 38 states are now working with RefReps to develop the next generation of sports officials. RefReps’ graduates are already helping to ease the crunch.

By utilizing either Martin’s ABOA as a model or seeking the services of RefReps, something needs to be done to relieve our shortage of officials.

What would prevent one of our high schools from creating an officials club? Why can’t an officiating course be offered as an elective in a PE program that would encourage students to become sports officials?

High school athletes have indicated that studying the games’ rules and refereeing mechanics has helped them become more knowledgeable players who can appreciate what it’s like to be an official.

To help circumvent the cost of uniforms and fees, schools could come up with a barter system to defray the cost of officiating elementary and middle school-level games. Grants could be directed to the National Federation of High Schools Association and other associations who support youth activities.

If you have an interest in learning more about how to become a basketball official, go to the Hawaii State Basketball Officials Association website.

Because our future depends on the education of our children, we all need to be concerned about the future of youth sports. I just hope it doesn’t come to where we have to offer bonuses for people to sign up to become sports officials.

Kailua resident Charles “Chic” Hess, Ed.D., is a retired physical education teacher and basketball coach.