Tom Bromeland starts a recent game in Blue Earth with the toss of the jump ball. Bromeland has been registered as an official with the Minnesota State High School League for over 30 years.

When Tom Bromeland was a youngster attending school in Frost, he was always very active participating in sports.

“My favorite sport was whatever one I was playing,” the 69 year old Bromeland says. “I participated in basketball, baseball, football and track.”

And now, some 50-plus years after graduating as a Frost Viking, Bromeland remains active in many sports – as a referee or official.

“I have been registered with the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) for 30-some years,” he comments. “Before that I was umpiring many youth sports including baseball, softball, basketball and football.”

Currently, he referees or officiates in the above named sports for the MSHSL, works high school baseball, softball and boys and girls basketball games in Iowa and referees womens basketball games for NCAA Division III schools.

With all of the games he works, he puts a whole lot of miles on his vehicle – and his body.

“Last year, between officiating and three summer clinics/camps, I put 19,600 miles on my vehicle,” Bromeland says. “I worked a total of 157 dates last year.”

He feels attending the clinics and camps are important to help keep him at the top of his game.

“I have been attending the camps and clinics for the last 10 years,” Bromeland notes. “I treat them as a vacation because I don’t have any other hobbies. It is like continuing education.”

He has witnessed many changes in the sports he is involved in. One change that is common among all sports is the change in the athletes themselves.

“The athlete of today is bigger, stronger and faster than the athlete of 30 years ago when I began officiating,” Bromeland shares. “As far as changes in individual sports, there is now a pitch count in baseball that never used to be a thing. The way traveling is called in basketball is certainly different than when I played and the game is more physical. There is also more specialization by athletes which has resulted in fewer three-sport athletes.”

He says there are subtle differences between Minnesota and Iowa in the way they do things at the high school level.

“High school rules are different than college rules and college rules are different than professional rules,” Bromeland remarks. “You really can’t compare professional NBA basketball to high school basketball.”

It’s why he says he is always anxious to keep learning.

“In football for example, for a holding penalty to be called it has to be at the point of attack,” Bromeland explains. “Now, if it occurs away from the play and an official sees it, we will tell the player, we saw it, but no penalty will ususally be called.”

Another change Bromeland has witnessed is the addition of a third referee in basketball.

“That was a good move because of the speed of the game,” he states. “The addition of the shot clock has helped speed the game up even more. But one thing hasn’t changed. You still have to put the ball through that ring to score points.”

While the miles he puts on his body do not add up as quickly as the ones he puts on his vehicle, Bromeland does get a pretty good workout when he is officiating, especially when he works basketball games.

“I have never personally kept track, but from what I have read, a referee runs two and a half to three miles during a basketball game,” Bromeland comments. “And I usually work two games a night, either a girls and boys game, or a B-squad and varsity game. If that is correct then I am putting on 5-6 miles per night.”

As of today, Bromeland says he weighs the same as he did when he was a high school freshman.

“I dropped 30 pounds eight or nine years ago,” he shares. “Now, my goal is to maintain my weight along with my strength and flexibility.”

One of the ways he spends his time staying in shape is by working out at the Faribault County Fitness Center.

“I do a lot of stretching,” Bromeland reveals. “I also lift weights and do exercises to keep my knees strong. I will start doing more cardio and spend some time on the treadmill before the fall sports season begins. Once basketball season starts I get in all of the running I need by running up and down the court.”

He admits he almost goes into a little bit of a depression after the basketball season ends and he has to wait two to three weeks for the baseball/softball season to begin.

“Refereeing/officiating is an addiction and a hobby for me. But it is one that puts cash in my pocket,” he says with a big smile.

According to Bromeland, basketball is his favorite sport to officiate for a very simple reason.

“With basketball I get to work in a controlled environment,” he explains. “For instance, one year in football the first game I worked in the season the temperature was 103 degrees. The final game, which was a State Quarterfinal contest, it was 15 degrees and we got three and a half inches of snow during the game.”

With the shortage of referees and officials that the MSHSL is currently experiencing, Bromeland has no problems staying busy.

In fact, during the month of January this year, he will have off the four Sundays plus Jan. 1 and Jan. 14.

“Last year, during a period of seven weeks, I worked every night of the week except Sunday,” he comments. “Wednesdays and some Saturdays are usually the days I work college games.”

During the day Bromeland works for Bevcomm as a dispatcher.

“Sometimes I have to leave a little early from work so I just use some vacation time,” he says. “I guess that is another change that has occurred over the years. When there were more schools operating in the area, a referee did not have to travel as far to pick up some games to work.”

Bromeland is certified by the MSHSL, the Iowa High School Athletic Association for boys sports and the Iowa Girls Athletic Union for girls sports.

He also belongs to four officials associations – the Mankato Area, Sherburn Area and Rochester Area Officials Associations in Minnesota and the North Iowa Officials Association based out of Mason City, Iowa.

“I work with a lot of different officials. Two years ago I worked with 75 different officials and only worked five games with the same officials,” Bromeland says. “But that is one of the things I enjoy because working with other officials and seeing how they do things gives me an opportunity to continue learning.”

He says his goal in officiating is to be better tonight than he was last night.

“As one clinician said, ‘If you are not ripening, you are rotting,'” Bromeland notes. “Some people feel you get in shape by reffing basketball – and that works for some people. But I feel I need to be in shape to do a good job of working a basketball game.”

He plans on continuing to ref games as long as he is healthy and his body holds up.

“The kids playing the game never age. Every year I officiate 16-18 year old kids but I get older every year,” he shares. “But, I love what I do and am thankful for the opportunity I have to do it.”