By John Raffel
Wayne Watts has put plenty of shells in his starter’s gun during his years as a track official. In fact, it’s been so many that Watts smiles when thinking about it.
The Lowell resident, who taught and coached in the Howard City and Morley Stanwood school districts, recently was honored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association for 45 years of service as an official.
Watts keeps busy with his fruit orchards but continues to work track meets. He retired in the 1990s from track coaching at Morley Stanwood, where he had been for nearly 30 years. He also officiated basketball games.
“When I went to Morley Stanwood, they wanted me to do junior high meets and stuff like that so I stayed registered,” Watts said.
One thing Watts has discovered in his years of working at track meets is that there’s plenty to do.
“You have so many different events and you have to be on your toes all the way through the meet,” he said. “I like watching the kids. That’s one of my main reasons.”
Watts has had the opportunity to work at some prestigious meets.
“I’ve worked at state finals but not as an official, but as a referee or something like that,” he said. “I’ve done several regionals.”
Watts chuckled when reminded how important it is for an official to make sure he has enough shells in his starting gun.
“I’ll tell you, they cost something too, those shells; they’re about 50 cents apiece,” he said. “With those shells, we don’t have a lot of take-home pay. But we do it for the kids. It’s nice to see a lot of good athletes perform.”
He’s a native of Trufant, which is near Howard City. In high school, Watts ran the sprints and relays at Trufant High School. He later went to Lakeview and graduated from Sand Lake. He played various sports at the schools, which are both now part of Tri County High School.
It’s hard for Watts to determine how much longer he’ll stay in officiating. He just keeps going. He’s already got requests for next season.
“I live in Lowell, so I go to Portland and any areas down here,” he said. “I do a few in Grant. I do the Mohawk Relays [at Morley Stanwood.] I’ve been up to Reed City. I go as far as Lansing.”
Watts remains a major supporter of Morley Stanwood sports. He served as honorary coach for Bob Raven with the 2012 Class C state champion girls’ basketball team and was in the cheering section with the student supporters during the Mohawks’ semifinal games at the Breslin Center.
He’s also an active member of the Michigan Sports Sages.