A TRUE BROTHERHOOD
As siblings, Rick and Al Kaczander have
been doing things together for a lifetime.
But few are more enjoyable than the rare
occasions they've called games together

during distinguished officiating
careers.
Though three years younger, Rick
started officiating first and built a
solid reputation in the recreation
leagues and high school circuit. Al,
now 63, joined him after leaving the
stress of coaching youth basketball
behind.
"When you lose a close game or
the players don't do what you ask of them,
it sits with you for awhile said the elder
Kaczander, a professed gym rat from West
Bloomfield. "As an official, you do the best

you can and when it's over, that's it."
The retired Southfield Public Schools
gym teacher now has more time to spend
with Joyce, his wife of 42 years, but still
loves to squeeze in a few basketball, foot-
ball and softball games in any given week
when possible.
Both Kaczanders said their devotion
to refereeing for roughly 30 years is an
extension of their shared love for sports
ingrained by their late father, Ted, a staple
at local youth leagues and Jewish commu-
nity centers for decades.
"It all started with him and grew from

there said Rick, who has served as ath-
letic director at Akiva Hebrew Day School
in Southfield for five years.
The Detroit native now lives in Oak Park
with Carol, his wife of 35 years.
It's also a bit of penance, given the hard
time he used to give officials as a player at
Detroit's Henry Ford High School.
"I was awful," he said with a chuckle
while pondering the irony.
"I got thrown out of a number of games
because I was just aggressive and hated to
lose. And look at me now."

FIVE-SPORT STANDOUT
Although he has called Rick Kaczander
a good friend for more than 40 years,
Michael Ross found his way into referee-
ing on his own after knee injuries ham-
pered his playing days in 1986. He started
with adult recreation leagues and is now
a regular with the Michigan High School
Athletic Association, officiating basketball,
baseball, football, softball and volleyball.

"I like to go year-round. And for me, I
just enjoy doing it:' said Ross, a Detroit
native who graduated from Southfield
High School. "It's a hobby and you do it for
the kids, to give something back:'
It wasn't easy, but over time, he said he
has learned that there's more to the profes-
sion than interpreting the rulebook,and
more work involved than most spectators
realize.

"It's so easy to call things from the
stands, but very few people appreciate how
fast the game moves:' he said. "For an offi-
cial, you have to start off being perfect and
improve from there:'
Ross, 59, of West Bloomfield said his
experiences officiating have boosted his
love for sports and brought about inter-
esting friendships, particularly with his
Jewish counterparts.

"There's nothing more fun for me than
to walk into the locker room and see those
guys:' said Ross, a professional driver.
"We're like a small Jewish fraternity
— and you know it's going to be a fun
evening of kibitzing and having a good
time:'

Alan Kaczander and Rick Kaczander

Burt Hurshe

Fred Cohen

Rick Loewenstein

MR. LONGEVITY
The Michigan High School Athletic Association
(MHSAA) awards their officials with a plaque
for each decade of service. Burt Hurshe will get
his fourth in May.
"A lot of guys can't say they've done anything
for 40 years and I'm proud of that:' said Hurshe
of Waterford.
Fewer can say they've done it in two careers.
Hurshe, 63, also spent 42 years teaching
physical education at Southfield and Waterford
schools before officially retiring in 2006.

But officiating, once a means for exercise and
a few extra dollars to share with Donna, his
wife of 30 years, became a life's a passion. From
basketball, Hurshe moved on to umpiring soft-
ball, baseball and eventually football, becoming
one of the MHSAAs longest-serving quadruple
threats in stripes.
He also has taken on administrative duties as
president of the North Oakland County Officials
Association, where he handles hiring and game
assignments.
In addition to his achievements with the

MHSAA, Hurshe was named to the Detroit
Public School League Hall of Honor in 2008 and
inducted into the Detroit Catholic High School
League Hall of Fame in 2005.
He loves sports, but more than that, Hurshe
cherishes the relationships he has made with
coaches, players and even fans over the years.
"Sports are important, maybe more than ever
before with everything going on now, because
it's a common denominator between people he
said. "I've met a lot of great people and really
feel blessed."

LOVE THE RULES
Fresh from finishing the boys' high school bas-
ketball season in March — his 36th campaign
as a referee — Fred Cohen still can hardly
believe how it all started. One stint wearing a
paint-stained jersey as a stand-in for an absent
official and he was hooked.
Staying on the court long after his playing
days were done, without the rigors of coaching,
was exactly what he needed to stay close to the
games he has loved since childhood. Officiating
basketball also gave him a chance to help shape
the next generation of players in some small
way, while still maintaining a teaching career

and life with Judy, his wife of 19 years.
A teacher at heart, Cohen, now in his 33rd
year with the Detroit Public Schools, never
anticipated officiating would evolve into a
rewarding second career.
Paying attention to his diet and regularly
practicing yoga and tai chi has helped keep
Cohen's 59-year-old frame relatively problem-
free, despite the miles he tacked on sprinting
from baseline to baseline.
But Cohen, who knows Hurshe well inside
and outside the gym, marvels at the prospect of
approaching four decades in a striped uniform.
"It's mind-boggling to think about doing

something for that long and doing it well:' said
the Detroit native, who now calls Waterford
home.
One thing he hasn't totally mastered despite
his experience is toning down his intensity. It's
part of what drove him as an athlete and to
become one of a select group of officials to work
Division I and II collegiate games in both men's
and women's basketball from 1982 to 1992.
"As an official, you always have to walk that
fine line, and by smiling too much, people may
think you're cocky' he said. "I don't smile that
much while I'm out there, but I am having fun."

HUMANITY AT HEART
Though he grew up playing the game and could
comfortably call an area ice rink his second home,
Richard Loewenstein still felt butterflies when he
first took to ice as a referee earlier this year.
After 14 seasons as a coach affiliated with
USA Hockey, he was eager to start his new,
unfamiliar role, but questioned how well he
could do it. So, he did what good coaches do
and focused on the basics.
There was no question he knew the game,
which he had been playing since age 4 and
coached competitively for more than a decade

around Southeast Michigan.
But surprisingly, it was his ability to relate
to people, a skill he has honed as CEO of
Farmington Hills-based JARC, that proved just
as beneficial on the ice.
"Having respect for others, listening, and
decision-making ability all apply to both jobs:'
he said, reflecting on how one position compli-
ments the other.
"In the end, it's a game that can't be played
without people and, in the game, when emo-
tions are up, you have to have human-relation
skills."

Loewenstein of West Bloomfield isn't afraid of
making split-second decisions, either. It helped
him excel as a two-sport star at Bloomfield Hills
Cranbrook and at Babson College in Wellesley,
Mass., where he was named outstanding senior
athlete in 1982 for his prowess on the baseball
diamond. He was inducted into the Michigan
Jewish Sports Hall of Fame last year.
"I'm trying to prove myself' he said of adding
two to three high school hockey games to his
weekly schedule. "But I love skating, exercising
and being around the kids. I can see myself
doing this for a very long time." ❑

June 10 • 2010

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