By Stephen Smoot
They are not the ones that fans pay to see. Their job, ideally, is to remain invisible. Few ever notice them or say anything unless they have some negative commentary to share.
But for sports officials like Sonny O’Neil, they do the job not for the money, but for the passion of being an essential part of the sport.
His love of sports started as a player who spent time on the courts as a youth, then later with independent basketball. As he grew older and had children of his own, O’Neil moved to coaching youth basketball.
“I coached my son for three years,” he said, “fourth through sixth grade elementary school basketball.”
He had a front row seat to the officiating, which was mixed in quality. Sometimes, he said, “I was so ashamed or how poor the officiating was.” Once he decided to let an official know his opinion of the performance. The official shot back that “if you think you can do it so much better, you can do it.”
Challenge was accepted – for more than three decades.
Over the years, the game has evolved “into a lot faster paced game.” The emphasis moved in many areas from execution to athleticism, as well as accepting innovations like the controversial Eurostep move.
“That was a walk when I first started,” he remembered. In a Eurostep, a player halts his or her dribble, takes one step one direction to get the defender moving, then sidesteps the other direction.
“It was a walk when I first started,” O’Neil said, adding that “I think it came down from the college level. Everything we get in sports comes from the college level.”
For O’Neil, the best memories and aspects of the job come from the relationships formed over time. “You get to talk to the kids,” he shared, adding that “you see them from elementary school through when they graduate from high school. And now, I am refereeing their kids.”
A long period of excellence and relationship building leads to professional respect in a field not known for it. O’Neil remembered a tight game on the road against a powerful rival. On that evening, the boys from Pendleton County pulled out a close win. A couple of the other team’s most devoted supporters made a point to thank O’Neil for a game fairly officiated.
Another important part of the position involves the relationships built with professional peers. In the Potomac Highlands, officials have to travel together for long trips to get to their games. During drives that can take over an hour, friendships form and memories get made.
Some area officials and O’Neil have over a quarter of a century of working together. He described his respect for Orville Harper who has worked games for more than half a century.
O’Neil also officiated baseball, softball, and volleyball. Of all those sports, he will continue working volleyball games. He decided to retire because covering all of those sports keeps him running all year long. For the farmer and school board member, all the travel and games “got to be a little too much.”
He remembered a time on the campaign trail, giving a political speech. Both he and Steve Conrad were running for the Pendleton County Board of Education. O’Neil made a statement about having time for the responsibilities while officiating and also working at Hinkle Trucking.
“Sonny, when do you have spare time?” Conrad asked in amazement.
For the love of the game and making the experience of it as positive as possible for all, O’Neil made the time.
