We sometimes forget that teachers have a life outside of school. Teachers actually do leave the classroom, and do some pretty exciting things both on and off the RHS campus.

Although it may not be thought of as so, officiating is a major part of any sport. A handful of our teachers actually give back to the community by refereeing. One of them is Mr. Dale Eckenburg, who referees basketball.

Mr. Eckenburg began refereeing during his freshman year of college at Cal Poly, doing recreational sports.

“I started because it sounded like an easy job and an easy way to make money,” he said.

Currently just officiating basketball, Mr. Eckenburg balances school, family, and coaching with refereeing. Because he referees Varsity games, he can still do it all because the games are later at night.

High school refereeing is a five tier system, based off of skill level, which means that the better referees get the better games. Referees are also allowed to choose the days that work the best for them, which helps with the balance of schedules.

Other RHS teachers that currently referee include Mr. Spears and Mr. Hurrianko. Mr. Kirk and Mr. Marjama have also refereed in the past.

How do RHS teachers stay unbiased when it comes to refereeing teams? Actually, it’s pretty easy.

“We are advised not to officiate teams that we may be affiliated with,” Eckenburg said.

Mr. Eckenburg usually referees playoffs, going for two or three rounds before he has to switch over to coaching boys tennis. Three years ago, he actually refereed the section finals at Arco Arena (Sleep Train Arena).

Refereeing is important, and it is really impressive that busy Rocklin teachers are able to give back to the high school youth in their community.