After 22 years of coaching boys basketball, including 14 as head coach at Tri-Valley High School, Jon Nelson needed a break from the game he loves. The stress was wearing on him, despite a 228-169 record and three McLean County Tournament championships. The long hours were limiting time with his wife, Jen, and their two daughters.
That was March 2019.
Soon after, some recruiting began. People with striped shirts and whistles asked, “Have you ever thought about doing it (officiating)?” One was his brother-in-law, official Andy Gerdes of Paxton.
Nelson was intrigued, but …
“It was just weird at first I guess, going from the coaching side,’” he said.
Last year, with daughters Sydney (college) and Laney (high school) now older, Nelson decided, “What the heck. I’m going to try this.”
He secured a striped shirt, whistle and his Illinois High School Association certification. Some of the former “recruiters” joked, “You’ve joined the dark side now.”
In truth, Nelson is helping combat an officials’ shortage and loving every minute.
“It’s the fun of game night minus the time commitments and the stress that go with coaching,” Nelson said. “When the game is over, I’ll go back and watch film of a play and think, ‘Was this a charge?’ But it’s not the daily grind and the highs and lows of coaching.”
Nelson’s plate is still pretty full. He continues to teach English at Tri-Valley and is head coach for boys golf and girls track. Yet, by season’s end, he will have officiated 23 boys varsity basketball games, plus at least one in the Class 1A LeRoy Regional.
That’s in addition to numerous junior high boys and girls games and six high school girls varsity contests. Last year, he worked four boys varsity games along with girls varsity and junior high boys and girls games.
Not every call – or non-call – is popular among fans and coaches. Nelson is better equipped than most to handle that.
He was an assistant coach at Pleasant Plains and head coach at Blue Ridge before coming to Tri-Valley. He also played three years of varsity basketball at Manteno High School and one at Illinois College.
“I think from playing and coaching my whole life, you learn to adjust to that (criticism),” he said. “As a coach, when you have parents and fans behind your bench during games, it’s kind of the same thing. I really don’t hear that.
“When a coach gets on me, I understand their perspective. I know it’s not personal. I know it could be they’re frustrated with their kids, or maybe they’re in a high-pressure job and feel like they need to win to keep their job.”
Nelson has officiated games involving coaches he faced in the Heart of Illinois Conference. He has worked multiple games involving LeRoy coach Mark Edmundson and Flanagan-Cornell’s Brian Yoder, among others.
One game included Fieldcrest and Matt Winkler, the Knights’ retired Hall of Fame coach, was the bus driver.
“We had a good laugh about it,” Nelson said. “Here we are in completely different roles. But it’s been kind of fun (seeing coaches).
“I can remember the first few times I walked on the floor, it was almost like it was a prank. They’re like, ‘Are you seriously doing this?’”
Edmundson will tell you Nelson is doing it well. The LeRoy coach said of Nelson’s decision making, “I see eye to eye with what he calls.”
Every time?
Well …
“There have been a couple of times I’ve seen things and said things to him, and he just comes over and talks to me, which a lot of officials will not do. They will avoid you,” Edmundson said. “But he comes over and reasonably talks to you, which is nice.”
Nelson worked a recent boys varsity game at Bloomington’s Cornerstone Christian with veteran officials Mark Jontry and Kraig Komnick. Lowpoint-Washburn and Cornerstone Christian went into overtime, a good test for a relatively new official.
“There are a lot of emotions and a lot of calls at the end of the game,” Jontry said. “But it was good.
“Jon knows where he’s supposed to be. His mechanics in terms of positioning, where he’s supposed to go, where he’s supposed to rotate, during a live ball or a dead ball, he’s picked that up rather quickly. His other mechanics in terms of hand signals, stopping the clock, are really, really good for somebody who’s only been doing it a couple of years.”
What Nelson is doing is rare, but not unprecedented. Randy Moss has been a basketball official for a decade or more after a lengthy head coaching career at Monticello High School. Former Cornerstone head coach Rick Owens also has done some officiating. There are others to be sure.
Aiding Nelson is the fact he had a good relationship with officials while coaching. Jontry recalls Nelson as “not one who said a lot.” The result has been a willingness of officials to guide and mentor Nelson.
“There are so many guys I’ve worked with who have helped me,” he said. “I really appreciate that. I’m a guy who’s like, ‘I want to learn to do it right.’”
At 47, Nelson plans to officiate for many years. He loves the exercise and sees it as “a great way to stay in the game” once he retires from teaching.
Who knows? Maybe he’ll start a trend among coaches.
Edmundson’s only taste of officiating was a couple of freshman games he worked solo after the officials failed to show.
“I was kind of like Jon, I actually did enjoy it,” Edmundson said. “Unfortunately, with a back and a hip and a knee right now, I’d have to improve a lot to be able to get up and down the floor.
“To be honest, I’m not saying I will never do it. If I can get healthy enough, I might try it as well.”
Why not?
“Come one, come all,” Jontry said.
