Please Register for the 2025-2026 Membership Year now.
One of the missions of the association is to provide its members with the opportunity to develop their professional skills to better serve the sports of track and cross country. To that end we offer a mentoring program wherein a veteran member official will actively work with a member official of less experience. Mentoring can be a highly rewarding relationship for both parties, and for the ITCCOA and IHSA it can be a very rewarding method for new or younger officials to learn from successful practitioners. Working with someone who’s “been there, done that” can help you navigate your time in officiating more easily (and recover from missteps more quickly), and vastly speed up your learning curve. But to realize the best of the benefits of mentoring or mentoring programs, it’s important to think through what you – and the ITTCOA and IHSA – hope to gain from the relationship, and what your responsibilities will be. The program guidelines are found below as well as other documents that may be helpful in fostering a lasting mentor/mentee relationship.
- The supervising official (Mentor) must be a member of ITCCOA and have a minimum of seven (7) years of experience as a licensed IHSA official in track and cross-country.
- The official being mentored (Mentee) must be a member of ITCCOA and have five (5) or fewer years of experience as a licensed IHSA official in track and cross-country
- The supervising official and mentored official must work together at four (4) meets during the year. One meet will concentrate on an official’s pre-meet responsibilities and field events. A second meet will focus on the duties of clerk of the course and starter/assistant starter. A third meet will emphasize the mechanics of a properly functioning finish line and an official’s postcompetition responsibilities. A final meet is to let the mentored official apply what was generally learned in the overall practice of good officiating.
- The official being mentored is to also serve as a volunteer official in some capacity in the IHSA and/or IESA State Series competition (Regionals, Sectionals, and/or State Finals). This may occur independently of the supervising official, although a joint presence is preferred.
- Upon successfully completing the four (4) mutually attended meets and the state series requirement, the mentored official will receive compensation in the amount of $75 from the association. The successful mentee is also eligible for complimentary attendance to the Annual Meeting in December and complimentary attendance to the ITCCOA T&F Level 1 Clinic usually hosted in January
- The number of mentored officials sponsored in any year may be restricted due to limited resources within the association. If you feel you are able to meet the responsibilities of the Mentor or the Mentee in this program, complete and forward the application.
Click the White Box below to go to the Google Form to apply for the Mentor Program or print the form and mail it to Jeff Vorreyer. It would also be good to send Mark an e-mail to follow up or just ask questions.
Forms needed to complete the mentoring program. Please download, fill out, and send these in to:
Jeff Vorreyer16W460 Timberlake DriveHinsdale, IL 60527vorreyer3@att.netWhat is a mentor?
How to mentor?
What relationship should I have with my mentee?
Meet our Mentoring Chair
Contact Jeff at:
vorreyer3@att.net
Jeff Vorreyer
Jeff came to be a Cross Country/Track and Field official after a corporate career. During
that time, he established successful running teams at two companies and participated in
the corporate running community himself. This led him to take up work with the IESA,
USATF, and IHSA (where he is also an assignor). Jeff attempts to ensure that all
officials are provided with opportunities that allow them to excel and grow in their ability
to work within the sport. That excellence then benefits the athletes and institutions that
we all support.
Jeff is retired and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife.
Note: Mark and Leslie Schall have moved to Florida, but will be back in Illinois occasionally for meets and to visit their children and grandchildren. Thanks to Mark and Leslie for their service to the ITCCOA.