By Debbie Adams
William “Bo” Herndon’s primary job is Director of Public Works for the Town of Vinton. He
has worked for the town for 13 years and has advanced rapidly from Utility Technician to
Special Projects Manager to Assistant Public Works Director before being named as Director of
the department in 2021.
In addition, he has a part-time job as referee and umpire for high school football and girls fast-
pitch softball. He has been a sports official for 25 years, beginning at age 27, with Rec League
sports. He coached when his sons and grandson were playing sports and transitioned to
officiating after that. Herndon is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School. He played football
and baseball himself.
Director Bo Herndon spends his spare time as a sports official for high school and college
softball, travel softball, and football. (photos courtesy of Bo Herndon)
In his years as an official, Herndon has spent 20 years umpiring high school fast-pitch softball,
15 years with USA travel softball, two years of college softball, and one year of college Division
1 ball. That’s in addition to high school football, where he has officiated at two state
championship games.
He says he got involved in the officiating side of sports when a buddy he worked with talked
about being a referee and mentioned that it’s a paying job. Herndon signed up for Little League/
Rec League ball and moved up through the ranks to officiating high school and college games.
Sports officiating requires hard work and dedication– there is training involved, annual tests,
post-game evaluations, certifications, and conferences to attend to get your name on a list of
those qualified– in addition to maintaining your day job.
The USA Softball umpire program Herndon works with is among the nation’s largest officiating
organizations with over 26,000 officials actively involved each year. Those umpires are
nationally recognized as the best trained and proficient in the sport.
This summer Herndon was chosen as one of the umpires in the 2024 USA Softball Nationals
held in Salem. The Nationals included 20 18U teams and 10 14U teams. Twenty-seven umpires
were chosen from across the East Coast, including Tennessee, Florida, Rhode Island, and
Georgia. He was one of three chosen in Virginia, and the only one from Southwest Virginia.
“Being selected for Nationals in my hometown was really cool to show off the new sports
complex and give suggestions on where to eat,” Herndon said. “There is nothing better than
being on the ball field and watching the plays come together.”
In 2023, Herndon participated in the USA Softball Umpire-in-Chief Conference in Oklahoma
City. This fall he will umpire out of state to get his last qualification for his “USA Softball Elite
Umpire” status. There are not many that make it to this position. His ultimate goal is to officiate
at the college Division 1 level, which includes schools like Virginia Tech and UVA.
continually. Herndon is shown here at an Umpire-in-Chief Conference in Oklahoma for USA
Travel Softball.
Herndon says his favorite sport to watch is football– he just loves the game; but his favorite sport
to officiate is softball with its fast-paced action.
Fast pitch softball is what’s played at competitive youth, high school and college levels. In fast
pitch, pitchers use a windmill-like motion to deliver the ball to the batter. It involves pitching
speeds often exceeding 60-70 mph.
He alternates between umpiring at the plate or on base but prefers the plate, because “you are
more in control of the game.”
Herndon says most officials he works with referee and umpire part-time. It’s a good part-time
job; you get to travel, meet and work with lots of nice people– and different kinds of people– and
make good friends. He especially loves “Friday Night Football” as a “guys night out” with other
officials after the game.
“Once in a while you get burnt out” with what can be long hours (he recently called seven games
on a Saturday), but the “love of the game” keeps you going.
Generally, softball season runs from the first week in February to the last week in November.
Regular season football goes from August to December. In the next two or three weeks, Herndon
will be working football, softball, and travel softball nights and weekends continually, in
addition to his regular job in Public Works.
He estimates that in 2022, he officiated at nearly 300 softball games and 50-60 football games.
Herndon says he tries not to officiate too close to home– sometimes the visiting team and fans
think you might show favoritism to the home team.
What does it take to become a successful sports official? Herndon says it helps to be calm and
thick-skinned, not easily upset– and to not take things personally. “There is always somebody
who is not going to like your call– usually half of the people there. Most of the time when fans
get upset, it’s not at you– it’s at the result of the play.”
“At the end of the day, officials just want to get it right,” Herndon says. “You don’t want to be
the reason someone wins or loses. The best job you can do as a referee is not be seen.”
Being an official involves good judgment and trusting your judgment– something that comes
over time with experience. You have to make decisions quickly and move on.
Asked about officiating football games with such a wide playing area and so many players to
watch at once, Herndon says there are generally five to seven officials, all with a certain zone to
watch, looking for different things like illegal blocks, for instance. His own job as the official in
charge who gives the signals (indicated by his white hat) is to watch the quarterback and the ball
carrier.
the White Hat as the leader of the crew at high school football games.
Most sports officials tend to be middle-aged with a few younger men or women and some
retirees. Some are adjusting to no longer coaching their children who have grown up, but who
still want to be involved in sports in some way.
Herndon has a friend who has been officiating for 50 years. His own goal is a 30- to 40-year
career. He says that while he is getting older, the ages of the players and their level of
competition stays the same.
Herndon is regarded as a pretty friendly, easy-going guy, but he’s also matter-of-fact and
business-like as an official. He has good advice for those who are interested in becoming
successful sports officials. For Rec League parents who may take a game too seriously, “tell
them, nobody is scouting your Little League kid; let them enjoy the game.”
For new or less-experienced officials, remember, “Be approachable; don’t ignore the coaches;
one of their jobs as a coach is to question. Listen to what they are asking you. They are probably
not questioning your call, they just want to be able to make adjustments in their game. They are
trying to figure you out and what you call as an official.”
He says he has learned over time not to take things personally as an official, to keep things in
perspective, and to try to see the other person’s point of view.
So, keep in mind, when you are watching a game, that sports officials, like Herndon, are
professionals and the key to competition that is fair and conducted according to the code of
conduct and rules of an organization. As one sports group puts it, “without sports officials, it’s
just recess or a scrimmage.”
