Susan Mackey
Editor

Officiating can be a stressful job and when you add a full-time student schedule on top of it, time can be precious.

Jeremiah (JD) Van Dyke, a full-time NIACC student, majors in physical education and spends much of his time on the road traveling to and from games he officiates across North Iowa.

Van Dyke's involvement with officiating high school and junior high sports keeps him busy year round.

Van Dyke, who graduated from Greene High School in 2000, participated in sports during high school and said he developed a love for them.

When Van Dyke was a freshman at Greene, he said he got interested in officiating basketball. Although he wasn't certified then, he said he still did some tournaments and other games for the experience.

"I like watching the players, and I get to see a lot of talent, young and old," Van Dyke said about his experiences in the striped shirt.

Van Dyke said he got certified as an official by taking classes at NIACC in October and November of 2000 during his freshman year.

He refereed basketball games almost every Monday through Saturday night for high schools around Mason City during the 2000-2001 school year.

Van Dyke said he plans on adding high school football to his busy schedule this fall. During the basketball season, Van Dyke said he hears quite a bit of talk from the stands because he is so young.

"I sometimes get frustrated with the comments I hear (about his age) from the fans about a call," Van Dyke said.

In order to deal with it, he said he has learned to fade it out of his mind though.

"I've had interesting situations because I was a local player and fans recognized me as a Greene athlete that was now wearing stripes," Van Dyke said.

He said he once showed up at a JV basketball game and Greene ended up being the visiting team.

He said he found out when he saw the Greene team warming up. He said it was hard for him to do the game and he decided then to turn down any game that Greene plays in the future.

Van Dyke said he has developed some mentors in the field of officiating and he didn't have to look far from NIACC.

Gary Christensen, a division head here at NIACC, is also a noted official for basketball and football throughout Iowa.

"Christensen kind of became my mentor because I always go in and talk to him about it. I ask him questions that I don't know," Van Dyke said.

Van Dyke said he also had the opportunity to travel across North Iowa as he refereed games from Waterloo all the way to St. Ansgar.

In the future, Van Dyke said he plans to keep officiating and maybe do a little coaching too. He said he would love to someday officiate for college basketball and maybe someday the pros.

Van Dyke said there are several reasons he would encourage other students to get involved with officiating.

"I recommend people get into it so they can stay with the sport and it will keep more young people coming into officiating," Van Dyke said.

Ponsiano Mpanduji
Staff Reporter

Although it may be early to think about snow flakes on skis and snowboards, two advisers for the NIACC ski club are making plans to restart a group that once existed on campus.

Staff members Bruce McKee and John Brietzke plan to re-launch a ski club after a 10-year break.

The club is still in its early stages of enrolling new members according to McKee, one of the club's advisers and NIACC's instructional technology coordinator.

According to McKee, the club will be a non-contest club dedicated to fun, participation and is open to all NIACC students.

According to the advisers, who have a background in ski trips and experience as skiers, they hope to provide members an opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful ski areas in the region.

Several weekend trips will be made to local ski resorts in Minnesota like Mount Kato, Afton Alps, Welch Village and Spirit Mountain, which is located near Duluth, Minnesota.

While there, club members will go downhill skiing and snowboarding.

According to McKee, if there is interest on the part of members, the group will look into cross-country skiing by the Mason City Lime Creek Nature Center and Rock Falls along the Shellrock River.

"There is also a planned trip to Colorado during the spring break in Keystone, Breckenridge and Vail," McKee said. That trip is scheduled for March 9-15, 2002 according to the club's website.

The group is also planning to cover other expenses.

"In covering expenses for the club, arrangements are underway for price discounts on lodging and transportation to become available," Brietzke, a NIACC instructor in Personal Finance and Microeconomics, said.

The club is planning a fundraising event in November to help reduce costs for student members.

"The event will be run by club members, and open to the public to allow students to sell and buy used and new equipment," Brietzke said. "A percentage of the sales will then go back to the ski club to support trips and other activities."

In general, each student will pay for his or her own lift tickets and meal expenses, and advisers are hoping that transportation cost will be paid for by fundraisers and support groups.

Those interested can register for the club online at http://staff.niacc.cc.ia.us/skiclub/.

Tentative Trip Schedule

• Dec. 15 - Mount Kato
• Jan. 19 - Welch Village
• Jan. 27 - Afton Alps or cross country skiiing
• Feb. 3 - "
• Feb. 16 - "
• Feb. 23 & 24 Spirit Mountain - Duluth, Mnn. March 9 - 15 - Keystone, Vail, Breckenridge
  
  
• All dates and locations are subject to change based upon snow conditions and the interests of club members.
• The NIACC Ski and Snowboard Club will host a Ski Swap fundraiser on October 20, 2001 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Wayne's Ski and Cycle, 4700 4th St. S.W., Mason City. See their website for more info.