Photo by Jim Tate Marshalls Kari and Kelly Loft are both hosts — Kari in softball and Kelly in hockey.
MARSHALL — Kelly and Kari Loft are athletes and coaches. Why not take a turn and try hosting?
Kelly Loft is the assistant athletic director for communications at Southwest Minnesota. His wife, Kari, is an ELL (English Language Learner) teacher at Marshall High School. They are SMSU graduates, regulars at Marshall, and most recently, rookie officers.
Kelly recently officiated his first varsity hockey game in Luverne. Although he is 49 years old and a first-year official, he is enjoying a new perspective on the sport he excelled at at Mankato West High School, which led the Big 9 Conference. He scored a goal in 1993, his senior year.
he was playing hockey “From tick level to high school” and coached both Squirts and Pee Wees at Marshall for five years. He also served as the public address announcer for Marshall High School girls games for four years.
A few years ago, his friend Jason Peterson approached him about becoming an official. He decided the time had come.
But why now? “(Kari and I) were empty nesters (our son Dillon and daughter Regan had graduated from MHS), so it’s a way to stay in the game and get some exercise. I love hockey; I often work nights and weekends, but I also have time to referee during the week.” he said.
He received recognition from two governing bodies: the Minnesota High School League, which covers high school games, and USA Hockey, which covers lower-level age group games. There are some rule differences between the two.
“Those are small things, but you have to be aware of them.” said Mr. Loft.
He is a member of the Southern Minnesota Hockey Officials Association and selects the games he wants to attend through an online app called ArbiterSports that shows available games and the number of officials needed for each.
“You just pick the matches that you can officiate.” he said. “You might be working with officials you’ve never met before. It’s not like soccer where you work with the same guys every week.”
He is a linesman, meaning he does not call penalties on a regular varsity three-man team. In the case of a two-man crew, he will call a penalty.
As an official, what did he learn from wearing the stripes? “A good mentor is key.” he said. “I’m trying to improve my mechanic skills and be more confident in my calls. That means I want to ‘sell it.'” Also, there’s a lot more going on than people realize. . ” he said.
Kari Loft came to SMSU to play softball. She is a South St. Paul native who has quietly been instrumental in the Marshall High School softball program’s rise to prominence in recent years. She was an assistant coach at Burnsville, was an assistant at SMSU for 10 years and coached the B team for 12 years after coaching the C team for several years at Marshall High School. She stopped coaching during her daughter Regan’s fourth grade.
“For most of her high school career, I didn’t get to see her. She played for me on the B team, but during varsity games I was coaching on the other field. During her senior year, I quit coaching to watch her play because I couldn’t watch her play.
Cali said, she “I’ve been involved in softball since I was in third grade. I became a player and then a coach, so I thought the next thing I wanted to do was become a referee.”
She gained experience as a referee two years ago in the spring when she played a low-level match. But she wasn’t certified. She earned her certification through the Minnesota High School League last spring and has played in varsity games in the area. They are allocated through the Southern Prairie Umpires Association, which is responsible for allocating both softball and baseball games in the region. She also holds several age group tournaments in the summer, and those matches are primarily verbal.
“The town will contact me to see if I’m available. I don’t referee much during the summer.” she said.
At the age of 50, she took on the challenge of refereeing for the national team for the first time and came full circle.
“I love officiating. It keeps me in the sport and allows me to be a part of the game. When you unmask a foul ball, you know you’re part of the action.” she said.
Kari is the only female umpire in the Southern Prairie Umpires Association, a fact she would like to see change.
“I think we could always use more female referees.” she said. “I wish I could see more of it.”
Fan behavior is a concern for executives in all sports and is a reason why fewer people serve on boards. Kari is thankful that she hasn’t encountered such behavior yet.
“Officials are always sensitive to fan behavior, but in every game I’ve been to so far, the fans, players and coaches have shown great sportsmanship. I’ve been pleasantly surprised and grateful for that. ” she said.
One thing she has to realize as a referee is that she is no longer a coach.
“I see something and I want to say something, I want to point out something, I want to give guidance.” she said. “You might ask yourself, ‘Why did they do that?’ But then you remember you’re the referee.”
Kari and Kelly met in college, and their first date – a game of pool in SMSU’s game room followed by a Chocolate Clipper dessert at Perkins – led to marriage, children, deep community involvement, and now their latest chapter. Little did I know that it would lead to. Live, host.
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