By Veronica Sandate Craker

Windermere Real Estate Agent Greg Tripp spent years coaching kids with the Tri-City Amateur Hockey Association.

It was while coaching that the retired police captain became frustrated with the referees.

Windermere Real Estate Agent Greg Tripp loves to hit the ice in his free time. The retired police captain has been serving as a hockey official for the Tri-City Amateur Hockey Association for almost 15 years.

“I thought, ‘Boy these officials are terrible,” Tripp said. “They don’t make the calls I believe they should be making — from a coach’s perspective anyway.”

So Tripp decided to skate a mile in their shoes by volunteering to be a referee.

“I took the referee training clinic and was humbled,” Tripp said. “It’s a tough job. It’s suppose to be one of the fastest sports in the world to referee.”

When he started training as a referee, Tripp had been a hockey coach for 10 years. He’s been officiating for the past five years and each year the 59-year-old attends a training clinic for local hockey referees given by the Tri-City Amateur Hockey Association.

“It’s an eight hour class,” Tripp said. “There’s about two hours of ice time and they’re given training, and there’s also an examination.”

Before becoming a real estate agent, Tripp spent 25 years as a police officer for the city of Kennewick. The retired police captain doesn’t have any qualms about dealing with confrontation while officiating games.

“I’m not intimidated by much of anything on the ice,” Tripp said. “I can make the call and talk to people about it as well.”

It isn’t abnormal to see a person in law enforcement take to officiating, Tripp said.

“Some of the skills we use in law enforcement we can also use when interacting with coaches who may be upset,” he said. “Part of our goals is not just to officiate the games, but to teach.”

During a normal week Tripp can officiate between two to four games during the winter season, which runs from September to mid-March.

“The most fun I have is officiating the younger games and mentoring the younger officials and helping them come along and learn these interpersonal skills,” Tripp said.

While it takes a lot of time, energy and even money to be a referee Tripp said he plans to keep doing it as long as he can.

“I like doing it, I enjoy it,” Tripp said. “I like seeing kids I’ve coached who are now adults … and they have kids themselves now and it’s just fun to get out there and interact.”

To learn more about the Tri-Cities Amateur Hockey Association visit www.tcaha.com.