ight years ago I thought I had hung up my skates and stripes for good, but I couldn’t stay away. Had I known then how hard it would be to gain acceptance again, I might never have left in the first place.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

About 10 years ago refereeing hockey ceased to be enjoyable for me. I hung on for another year or two because the money was good. At the time, my best days were probably behind me. I was 36. Mostly, I was refereeing men’s rec hockey, but I was still doing a few Junior A and higher level minor hockey games.

Continued...