Dla członków WP

fertieg18

Messerli accumulated a 98-63 record and coached the Indians to the state semifinals in 1981 and 1982. He coached players like Todd Twachtmann and Carey Bender.
A typical varsity game pays $75-$80 per official,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a JV game $55-60 and a middle-school contest around $40.
“I worked the West Delaware-Mount Vernon (eighth-grade) game Tuesday, and both teams were working out of the shotgun,” he said. “They weren’t passing all the time, but they were passing some.
Four years ago,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], he began officiating middle-school and junior-varsity games. After two years of that, he signed on with a crew — with Brad Butschi of Robins,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Marc Frette of Marion, Bill Keel of Hiawatha and Paul Witte of Cedar Rapids.

Messerli serves as the referee, the head official who he says “keeps the game rolling, makes the signals, keeps the ball in play.”
The crew does varsity, JV and middle-school games throughout Eastern Iowa, a total of about 30 throughout the fall.
But he didn’t leave football. Not for good, anyway.
“Sure I do,” he said. “I miss the camaraderie with kids. There’s nothing like a Friday night with the kids, especially after a win. I miss the camaraderie with coaches.
Former Marion coach Dave Messerli signals a first down in a middle-school game between Mount Vernon and West Delaware on Tuesday at Mount Vernon. (Cliff Jette/SourceMedia Group News)
“My wife (Jill) commented to me that I might like to try it,” said Messerli, 60, who still teaches government and coaches boys’ golf and freshman girls’ basketball at Marion.
And yes, he still misses coaching.
“The refs that dealt with me in a calm manner were the ones I respected,” he said. “When you talk to a coach calmly, and you don’t get uptight with him, they usually respond in a positive manner.”
Messerli, who coached Marion High School from 1981 through 1998, has gotten back into the game as an official.
“The thing I don’t miss about it is feeling rotten all the time, the stress. At first, I was just uptight on Fridays. By the time I resigned, I was uptight all week.”
Now, most of the pain is physical. His knees are arthritic, and he had difficulty walking after working Tuesday.
“It’s more an open game now. It’s a different game.”
He tries to be the kind of official he respected when he coached.
MARION — Dave Messerli left coaching more than a decade ago.
Since his coaching departure, the game has evolved. Messerli’s teams, as were most teams in the ’80s and ’90s, were ground-oriented.

Dave Messerli follows the play as Mount Vernon's Charlie Engelbrecht carries the ball Tuesday. (Cliff Jette/Sourcemedia Group)
This week, Messerli worked a JV game in Lisbon on Monday and a middle-school contest in Mount Vernon on Tuesday. He’s taking Friday off; he’ll be inducted into the Marion High School Athletic Hall of Fame.