{"id":13747,"date":"2025-07-09T06:13:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T11:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=13747"},"modified":"2025-07-14T08:56:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T13:56:01","slug":"neogas-thomas-strohl-named-official-of-year-twenty-sixth-annual-ihsa-officials-conference-set-for-july-11-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/sports\/more-sports\/13747-neogas-thomas-strohl-named-official-of-year-twenty-sixth-annual-ihsa-officials-conference-set-for-july-11-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Neoga’s Thomas Strohl Named Official Of Year, Twenty-sixth Annual IHSA Officials Conference Set For July 11-12"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image_print\"Print<\/span><\/a><\/div>

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) will host its 2025 Officials Conference on Friday and Saturday, July 11-12, 2025, at Normal Community West High School in Normal. The annual conference provides professional development and networking opportunities for athletic contest officials from around the state who officiate 25 IHSA sports.<\/p>\n

IHSA officials can register for the event online via the IHSA Officials Center and walk-up registration is also welcome on the days of the event (for any questions on registration, please contact Melissa Burt at mburt@ihsa.org).<\/p>\n

Each summer, the IHSA offers the opportunity for its 12,000-plus licensed athletic officials to attend the conference, providing training in all sports in a collegial atmosphere focused on empowering officials to grow in their craft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe high school officiating community in Illinois is a special group of people, and the success and longevity of this conference is a direct reflection of that,\u201d said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. \u201cThese officials are driven by a passion for their sport and a desire to give back. This conference is a unique opportunity for them to gather together to celebrate their shared passion and to improve their skills by learning from each other\u2019s experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IHSA will have a community service piece to the conference once again in 2025, as the IHSA will team up with Donate Life Illinois to encourage attendees to become organ, eye, and tissue donors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking in surgery I have seen both sides of organ donation,\u201d said Joseph Meyer, a 25-year IHSA official who resides in Springfield. \u201cThe wonderful way the hospital does honorary walks for the person donating and their families. I have also seen how families get the chance to live normal lives after receiving a donation. That\u2019s why all my family members are organ donors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite a national shortage in officials, the IHSA has seen an increase in the number of officials licenses it has issued in each of the past three school years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited about the progress, but we can never have enough officials,\u201d said IHSA Associate Executive Director Kurt Gibson. \u201cWe are striving to continue to find ways to recruit new officials while retaining our current officials. We hope that the uptick in licenses will correlate to greater attendance at the conference, as we believe this conference is an exceptional resource for officials to simultaneously celebrate officiating, improve their skills, and network with their peers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conference will feature clinic opportunities, breakout sessions on specific officiating topics, a delegate meeting for all recognized officials\u2019 associations, and an awards ceremony where the Officials of the Year and service awards will be presented.<\/p>\n

National leaders in the officiating space, such as Arbiter, Referee Magazine, RefReps, and the YMCA will all have a presence at the conference as well.<\/p>\n

Walk-up registration at the event is allowed, but interested individuals are strongly encouraged to register online in the IHSA Officials Center or by contacting Melissa Burt at mburt@ihsa.org.<\/p>\n

The 2025-26 IHSA Officials of the Year include:<\/p>\n

IHSA OFFICIALS OF THE YEAR<\/strong><\/p>\n

Girls Basketball — Thomas Strohl (Neoga)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boys Basketball — Richard Doman (Gibson City)<\/p>\n

Boys Soccer — Pasquale “Pat” Mattera (Arlington Heights)<\/p>\n

Girls Soccer — Mike McDermott (Lockport)<\/p>\n

Football — Chris Terpstra (Lisle)<\/p>\n

Boys Lacrosse — Nitin Rao (Northbrook)<\/p>\n

Girls Lacrosse — Elizabeth Demara (Bloomington)<\/p>\n

Baseball — Jim Urbanek (Chicago Heights)<\/p>\n

Softball — Dale McConnell (Centralia)<\/p>\n

Girls Volleyball — Jeffrey Crow (Mt. Vernon)<\/p>\n

Boys Volleyball — Kym McKay (Batavia)<\/p>\n

Boys Swimming & Diving — Emil Barbato (Schaumburg)<\/p>\n

Girls Swimming & Diving — Randy Clark (Bloomingdale)<\/p>\n

Water Polo — Joseph Trickey (DeKalb)<\/p>\n

Cross Country — Jesse Rocha (West Chicago)<\/p>\n

Boys Track & Field — Michael Gibbs (River Forest)<\/p>\n

Girls Track & Field — Tiffany Seay (Chicago)<\/p>\n

Boys Wrestling — Dave Fellinger (Chicago)<\/p>\n

Girls Wrestling — Dr. Dan McDonnell (Morris)<\/p>\n

Girls Gymnastics — Betty Axelson-McClelland (South Barrington)<\/p>\n

Competitive Cheerleading — Amber Cruser (Waterloo)<\/p>\n

Competitive Dance — Allison Stewart (Grayslake)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) will host its 2025 Officials Conference on Friday and Saturday, July 11-12, 2025, at Normal Community West High School in Normal. The annual conference […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-more-sports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNeoga's Thomas Strohl Named Official Of Year, Twenty-sixth Annual IHSA Officials Conference Set For July 11-12 - Effingham's News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effingham's News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/sports\/more-sports\/13747-neogas-thomas-strohl-named-official-of-year-twenty-sixth-annual-ihsa-officials-conference-set-for-july-11-12\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Neoga's Thomas Strohl Named Official Of Year, Twenty-sixth Annual IHSA Officials Conference Set For July 11-12 - 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