For more than 10 years, accountant Darren Hall of Holden worked almost every day of the high school soccer season as a referee.

Two years ago Hall became the Brewer High Schools girls junior varsity coach. Last year he coached the boys JV, and this year he coaches the boys varsity. Hall still referees, but his availability is severely limited because of practices and games.

And that, unintentionally, is a factor that has contributed to a current referee shortage.

Every sport would love to have more officials, but the anecdotal evidence – as well as the result of a national survey – is that soccer and field hockey are the sports with the most acute shortage.

The number of referees has decreased over the years, but lately levels are so low that games have to be moved because of a lack of officials. Referees are working one per game at the junior varsity or middle school levels. They frequently officiate doubleheaders or work two or three games per day.

The increasing number of middle school, freshman, and junior varsity teams has stretched the referee pool to its limit.

“We have a task in front of us,” said Pam Hennessey, a field hockey referee assigner who has 15 referees for games that range from Belfast to Dexter to Millinocket. “There are a lot of people who haven’t returned and there hasn’t been anyone coming up.”

It’s not just a problem in Maine. Ninety percent of state level high school sports leaders who responded to a 2001 survey conducted by the National Association of Sports Officials said there is a shortage of officials in their state.

Soccer and field hockey were the top two sports in need of officials. Eighty-six percent of survey respondents said soccer was the sport most in need of officials, followed by field hockey at 81 percent. Baseball (79 percent) was third.

Gerald Hutchinson, who assigns soccer refs to middle school, junior varsity, varsity, and some local college games from Greenville to Lee and Millinocket to Hampden, said he has 43 referees available.

Eight of those officials are new this year and so are not generally assigned to varsity games.

“They’ve really been a godsend,” Hutchinson said. “If we can keep them with us, that will really help.”

Jamie Russell, a teacher at Central High in Corinth, basically clears his slate during the soccer season. He often referees nine or 10 games a week and also has to attend board meetings six times a season.

Russell has kept a busy officiating schedule since 1985, but in the past few years has done more doubleheaders.

“It’s a grind even though it’s a short season,” he said.

The money is one factor that keeps refs working. Top soccer officials make $48 for a varsity game and less experienced refs earn $43. Junior varsity games are $34. An upper-level field hockey official can make $40 for a varsity game. Refs are also reimbursed for their mileage.

In Aroostook County, where most towns have one middle school team, numbers are also down.

Assigner Bob Stedt has 30 officials available to him in a region that stretches from Fort Kent and Madawaska in the north to Sherman Station and Danforth in the southern part of the county.

“We’ve been able to cover all of the varsity games, but maybe a couple of junior high or JV games we’d only have one [referee],” he said.

But the proliferation of lighted fields has helped. Stedt, a 28-year official, said refs often go to a sub-varsity game at around 4 p.m. and then a varsity game at 7.

Many schools now have freshman field hockey teams, said field hockey assigner Gail Santerre, who covers a huge swath of the state from Pittsfield and Rockport to Lewiston and Bethel. The three middle schools in Augusta each have their own teams in addition to the program at Cony High.

Santerre has 22 officials on her roster, but only 12 who can work every day. One afternoon this week there were two college games, seven high school games, three freshman games, and eight middle school games on the schedule.

“For the [college and high school games] alone we need 18 officials,” she said.

There isn’t one overall reason why referees stop working games or why the numbers are low, assigners say. Officials retire, deal with medical problems, or need to spend more time at work or with family.

According to the NASO survey, lack of sportsmanship directed at refs is another reason officials leave.

Of 60 responses, 68 percent said they were of the opinion that officials do not re-register because of poor sportsmanship by coaches and players and 76 percent said officials did not want to cope with poor sportsmanship by spectators.

“[Sportsmanship] is the most crucial factor in my decision to return,” said Jana Pierce of Howland, a first-year referee who is considering whether she’ll be back next year.

“For the most part, the teams and coaches have been great and fun to be around,” she added. “But there are some coaches who don’t like calls and don’t understand calls when they should. It’s terrible sportsmanship.”

Those issues are understandable for younger refs, Russell said. It may be part of the reason people aren’t getting into officiating.

“I could see people being bothered by that,” he said. “A coach might see a new referee or an inexperienced referee and question calls.”

Referee assigners have tried all manner of recruiting techniques lately, but none seems particularly effective.

Stedt said the Northern Maine officials group sends out letters to referees, colleges, and anyone who expresses an interest, has taken out advertisements, asked current refs to recommend people, and offers referees a discount on dues if they recruit new faces.

Hennessey, who is the athletic director at Husson College in Bangor, has held summer leagues where referees can learn the game, and plans to offer a field hockey umpiring course this spring. The Maine Principals’ Association posted referee contact information on its Web site.

“There’s just not the interest out there that they’re used to be,” Stedt said. “I don’t know what’s going to change it. … It takes a lot of time, but it’s not bad money. It’s a great way to stay in shape and stay in touch with high school kids.”