Woodruff Native and High School Football Referee Lee Smith
Demonstrates the Human Side to Officiating as Association President
By:
Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
Lee Smith, Woodruff native and high school football referee, loves the game. He also loves showing the human side of referees amid a thankless job.
Smith, who has officiated for 17 years, served as the vice president of the South Carolina Officials’ Association during the 2025 high school football season. Smith was then elected as president of the association and assumed that role on January 1 of this year. In his new capacity, Lee has a platform to bring referees, coaches, players, and fans together on the same page.
Many years ago, Lee says, officiating high school football was something he felt led to do. Being native to a town like Woodruff, Smith understood how much small-town football means in South Carolina, something he wanted to continue being a part of.
“Me, I wasn’t any high-prized athlete who was going to make it at the next level. But I did come from a great hometown that, you know, it was all about football,” Smith explained. “I played for a great coach in Willie Varner, who was a great mentor and taught a lot about life.
Once I made it back to the area after graduation and a little stint in the military, Max Craig, Mike Cohen, and Alex Wells were among those who got me into officiating. “Great guys and great officials, and they are still involved in the game, just not on the field. I knew I couldn’t be an athlete on the field, but I knew I wanted to be on the field, and officiating is the next best thing. That’s what got me inspired.”
Smith began training in 2007, and in 2008, he officiated his first varsity game, a contest between Christ Church and Palmetto. It was an unforgettable experience, he said.
“It was my first introduction to Friday night, and I really enjoyed that,” he said.
Smith learned quickly that there is a stark contrast when it comes to the speed of the game being on the field as opposed to watching from the stands. It was the biggest adjustment in the early years of his officiating career.
“The biggest hurdle for me, it wasn’t about the people in the stands,” stated Lee. “I can barely hear them anyway, no matter how loud they holler. The biggest thing for me was the speed of the game for the athletes we have now, and the size of the athletes we have now. When I played, one of our biggest linemen was barely over 200 pounds, and now kids are 315 in the ninth grade. The perspective of being on the field and seeing that come at you is different than being up in the stands and seeing the whole field. So, your point of view as an official is way different. When you have the (Marcus) Lattimores and (Jadaveon) Clowneys of the world flying around you, it brings a different perspective.”
Referees are the most conspicuous when they get calls wrong. When explaining how officials handle criticism from coaches and fans, Smith emphasizes that no matter how hard someone tries, they can never get every call right.
He adds that refs are their own biggest critics, because they care greatly about the games they call. To that end, he has advice for young referees who are just beginning their careers.
“You’re never going to get everything right,” Lee said. “Human error is just a part of the game, and there is no replay. You just hope you made the right call at the right time based on what you saw. Never call anything you did not see. That is one of the biggest learning curves for new officials.”
In recent years, Smith has begun work to bridge the South Carolina Officials’ Association with schools through training, seminars, and the McDonald’s Kick-off Classic Jamboree, which was started and is exclusively run by South Carolina high school football referees.
With 13 officiating districts across the state, Smith is the first referee from his district, consisting of Spartanburg, Cherokee, and Union Counties, to be elected to the presidency. It is something he is proud of, and a standing he knows can be used to further connect everyone to the game of football.
“One of the things I am more proud of than anything is, I am the first president from Spartanburg, Cherokee, and Union Counties,” he noted.“That is our district, District Two. I was elected as the first vice president and president in the state’s history from our district.
Through his collaborative efforts, Lee has been able to broaden education to more officials, coaches, and players through communication, cooperation, and the McDonald’s Kick-off Classic. His strong relationship with many influential head coaches throughout the state has helped bring those initiatives to life.
“I think it’s invaluable,” said Northwestern High School head coach Page Wofford. “There is an idea that referees and coaches are at odds all the time, and I have done my best as I’ve matured to kind of change that perception. I’ve gone to meetings, been around officials when they go through their rules meetings, and the first thing that struck me is, they speak a different language.
When they talk about rules of the game, it is absolutely a different language from a coach or a player or a fan would understand. Lee’s relationship with the coaches is second to none.”
Wofford added, “It’s not a surprise to me (Lee) is in this position, but it is a surprise to me he is the first official from that region to be president.
For him to be elected by his peers is not a surprise. He has always been a great communicator and first-class guy. You can trust him.”
Northwestern, along with Byrnes and Woodruff High Schools, are three of the six host locations for the McDonald’s Kick-off Classic. Both Byrnes head coach Reggie Shaw and Woodruff coach Brett Sloan speak highly of their relationship with Lee and the wealth of experience he brings to the table.
“The thing I like about Lee is, I can talk to him and be open, honest, and transparent,” explained Coach Shaw. “He doesn’t take it personally and has the best interests of everyone at heart. I’ve enjoyed working with him and getting to know him, and I am excited about him having that role.
Having an advocate, someone you feel you can pick up the phone and talk to; he gives me feedback and lets me know when my thinking is skewed and gives me the freedom to call him. That’s a great perspective.”
Coach Sloan echoed those sentiments and said that being able to show the human side of football officials, not just the men in striped shirts that fans see and often complain about on Fridays, imparts valuable lessons to his players and the community.
“Lee does an unbelievable job building relationships with football coaches across the state of South Carolina,” he said. “He is more than willing to come speak at practices to educate players and coaches on the rules of the game. He does a great job communicating what officials look for in certain situations so that we, as coaches, have a better understanding of why things are called as they sometimes are. Lee is a great asset to the game of football in our state.”
Smith has taken on the role of mentor to younger, more inexperienced officials. He understands the excitement and emotions that go into each game but also wants every referee to be the best possible representation of their profession. Something he strives for as well.
“My main goal is, I really want every official, whether it’s a first-year official or a 40-year official, every official to really dive in and be mechanically sound on the field,” said Lee. “What I mean by that is being in the right place at the right time to make the right call. That’s our goal as officials.”
Lee continued, “So, we always in the world of officiating, you officiate for many years and then all of a sudden, it hits you, and you are like, oh wow, it is second nature.
You get butterflies when you go to big games and big matchups, but it is about getting comfortable with what you are doing.”
Referees are human and fallible but also caring stewards of the game they represent. That is a lesson Lee Smith hopes everyone learns, too.
