Sports

Edison’s Isom honored as state’ top ref

• Former Calhoun County High School star Terrence Isom is recognized by the Georgia Athletic Officials Association as the Peach State’s top basketball ref.

Scott Chancey

WARNER ROBINS — Terrence Isom already has a state baseball championship from his time at Calhoun County High School.

But these days as a player-turned-ref on the basketball court, he now has the top honor in his profession, being named the Georgia Athletic Officials Association’s top hard-court referee this past school year.

“I’ll tell you, it means a lot,” Isom, who now lives in Warner Robins, told The Herald on Friday. “With all the officials across the state, I felt really honored to be selected. I had no clue I was even in the running for it. And to get a phone call saying I’m Official of the Year, it put me on cloud nine for a second.”

That award earns Isom at least some proverbial pats on the back in a profession where most coaches, players and fans want to give him a kick in the pants.

“You do get a lot of grief, but it’s worth it,” Isom said. “When you win something like this, that makes it all worth it.”

Isom has officiated in the GHSA Final Four for six consecutive years.

“It’s intense for me,” said Isom, who refereed the GSHA Class AAA championship game that Glenn Hills won against Carver-Columbus. “It’s kind of a rush, especially when you officiate a big game. That’s a huge rush.”

 Isom also officiates GISA and college games involving conferences such as the Southern Intercollegiate, Gulf South and Peach Belt.

“It’s a way of staying involved in the game,” said Isom, who is an electrical engineer at Robins Air Force Base. “I’m a huge basketball fan, and I like interacting with the fans and players. Some of the fans can be pretty comical. They think they’re getting under your skin, but with my personality, I kind of laugh at it. I used to be one of them, I thought I knew everything about officiating until I actually tried it.”

Isom, who graduated from Calhoun County in 1988, was part of the Cougars’ state runner-up basketball team to Richmond Hill in 1987 and earned his state championship baseball ring in 1985 as a reserve first baseman. He then signed an Air Force ROTC scholarship with Tuskegee and walked on the baseball team until broke his ankle sliding into second base.

After earning his engineering degree, Isom began service in the Air Force, where he played on a traveling team. Once he realized there was no future in that, friend James Snider suggested officiating was a great way to stay involved and make extra money.

Isom tried it, and 10 years later, he is still going strong.

“I fell in love with it from the start,” Isom said. “Once you start, you either love it or hate it. I can be pretty addictive.”

 & nbsp;Snider, who also lives in Warner Robins, recalled Isom’s talent when he first started officiating.

“I brought him all the way up from officiating 5-and-6-year-olds to the basketball varsity teams,” Snider said. “He went to his first collegiate officiating camp with me, and he turned out to be one of the better officials on the base. I’m very happy for him. Any time I see him out on the court or working a ballgame, I feel like I’m on the court with him, knowing I had an input into his training. I’m very proud of him, he turned out to be an outstanding official.”

The Edison native, whether he is at a prep or college game, always keeps one thing in mind.

“if you’re decent enough, and you don’t make a whole lot of mistakes and have a lot o f colleagues who can vouch for you, you can really have a lot of success in this,” Isom said.

And that has made all the difference.

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