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DESTINATION

Cheers For This Ref

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

S

heldon Larky admits he was one
of those youth soccer coaches
who got on referees’ nerves.
“I was one of those yelling coaches,”
he said.
That is, until he was told by the
Royal Oak Youth Soccer Association
that he needed to take a referees’ class.
Larky said he learned that refs knew
what they were talking about, and he
eventually became a referee.
Decades later,
his role as a soccer
referee remains a big
part of Larky’s life.
The West Bloomfield
resident will be
honored May 6 by
the Michigan High
School Association
Sheldon Larky
for his 30 years
of service as an
MHSAA official at the MHSAA’s annu-
al Officials’ Awards & Alumni Banquet
in East Lansing.
He also was honored five years ago
by the MHSAA for 25 years of service.
Larky, 75, stopped officiating in
2016 — “I just can’t keep up with the
speed of the game,” he said — but
he’s continuing as president of the
Soccer Referees Association that
assigns referees to Oakland Activities
Association and other area high
school games. There are 63 referees in
the association.
He also watches games and evalu-
ates referees for the association. He’s
been the association president for
more than a decade.
Larky estimates he worked about
2,700 games from college to under-age
8 during his refereeing career.
One of the highlights, he said,
was being the referee for the soccer
championship game at the 1998 JCC
Maccabi Games hosted by Detroit.
He remembers Mexico City
beat Long Island (N.Y.) 2-1 at West
Bloomfield High School for the title
and impressing the Mexicans by
speaking to them in Spanish.
Another career highlight was being

FRANKLIN ATHLETIC CLUB

Our Bar Mitzvah was executed
professionally and with the
utmost attention to detail.
Everybody had a blast!

- The Weinsteins, Farmington Hills

an assistant referee for an MHSAA
state championship game in the
1990s. It was a Division 2 boys state
title game at Plymouth Canton High.
Here’s another highlight: Larky
recalls refereeing for games involv-
ing Alexi Lalas when he played for
Cranbrook-Kingswood High School.
Lalas went on to become a member
of the U.S. men’s soccer team from
1991-1998, and he played for the U.S.
in the World Cup in 1994. He also
played in Major League Soccer and in
Italy. He’s best known now as a soccer
analyst on TV, currently employed by
Fox Sports.
“Looking back, it seems almost sur-
real that I got to do those things as a
referee,” Larky said.
For the last six years, Larky has been
the color commentator for boys soc-
cer and girls soccer state champion-
ship games on the MHSAA’s radio net-
work. He did the same job previously
on the MHSAA’s television network.
So, what has changed in high school
soccer through the years?
“Having artificial turf instead of
natural grass fields across the area has
added five years to a referee’s career,”
Larky said. “Turf is much safer. There
are no holes or ruts to step in and the
drainage is good so you’re not running
in puddles.”
Larky said he’s also seen a transfor-
mation in high school soccer coaches
from foreign-born to American-born
coaches who have played soccer in
high school and perhaps in college,
pro or semi-pro leagues.
And, of course, the quality of com-
petition in girls soccer has improved
greatly, he said.
Now living in West Bloomfield, the
lawyer said he’s about the same dis-
tance from his law office on Telegraph
in Bingham Farms as he was when he
was in Oak Park for 46 years, but now
he drives into the sun instead of away
from it. He’s been at the office since
1983. •

Send tips to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

Jewish Heritage Day at Comerica

Jewish Heritage Day will be celebrated once again Sunday at Comerica Park when
the Detroit Tigers take on the Chicago White Sox. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m.
Ticket packages include an upper box infield or upper reserved seat, Hank
Greenberg Hall of Fame plaque reproduction, Tigers kippah and a donation to
Tamarack Camps and the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.
Call (866) 66-TIGER (668-4437).

Create your perfect celebration

contact Crystal at (248) 352-8000, ext. 298

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April 27 • 2017

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