Door DW Stewart
For the past 50 years, Hillsborough player Paul Tomazoli has managed football, baseball, and softball at high school, college, and national levels. On December 31, 2021, Tomazoli retired and officially made his last recall.
After graduating from Nokomis High School in 1963 and writing in soccer and baseball, Tomazoli continued his love of these two sports when he became a high school official. He was selected to do several All-Star games in both football and basketball and was commissioned to lead three games for the Illinois State Football League, the maximum allowed at the time. In 2002, after 37 years of high school sports management, he retired.
In 1970, Tomazoli began his career with the American Softball Association (ASA), which later became the American Softball Association (USA) when women’s softball was added to the Olympic Games.
Over the years, he has been chosen to be a referee for 10 National Softball Championships and six National Junior College American Championships, having been named the main referee in five of the six championship games.
Tomazoli spent 21 years in college softball and chaired several conferences, including the Big Ten, Ohio Valley, and Missouri Valley. He also served as the chair of the governing body of the Central American Conference (UIC), appointing referees for all college games in the conference for 17 years.
The choice of Tomazoli to run the women’s softball team at the Olympics was a two-time highlight of Tomazoli’s career as they toured the Midwest.
tomazoli; Recognized as one of the state’s top softball officials in 2000 It became the UIC for Illinois, USA. In the past 21 years, he has served as Governor General of 33 National Championships and is the longest-running ICU staff in the history of the state of Illinois, USA.
In 2011, Tomazzoli was named the UIC District by the National Softball Association, with headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was one of 10 college towns in the United States, and its area includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and part of Ohio.
As UIC District 6, Tomazoli is responsible for training over 3,200 referees and is considered one of the best coaches in the country for over 15 years. He was also responsible for appointing referees for all national championship matches in his region and in 2021 he was awarded the ASA National Region 6 Regional Award for Excellence.
In the spring of 2021, the Canadian Olympic team hosted national games in Marion, southern Illinois. Tomazoli was asked to select, appoint and rate referees for the games, including the Mexican Olympic team, the Dutch Olympic team, the Canadian Olympic team, and two college all-star teams. After the matches, the Canadian coach praised Tomazoli for his excellent work in appointing the referees.
In 2004, in recognition of his distinguished career in softball, Tomazoli was inducted into the Illinois Hall of Fame, the Illinois Amateur Softball Association’s highest honor.
While he may not be behind the record, Tomazzoli’s impact on the sport he loves will be felt for generations to come.
