On January 5, 2017, the Jerseyville High School vs. Carlinville High School girls’ basketball contest had a family feel to it, at least for the three individuals in the black and white striped shirts. The officiating crew that worked that evening’s game featured veteran official Chuck Rathert, along with his son Joe Rathert and daughter Katie Kosten, all of Edwardsville.
"It was a joy and a privilege to work basketball with my son and daughter," said the patriarch of the Rathert officiating family. "They are two fine IHSA officials carrying on the family sports tradition."
It’s not hard to see how the family got entrenched in officiating, as Chuck is a five-sport official (Baseball, Basketball, Football, Softball, Volleyball) with over 90 combined seasons of officiating between the five sports.
The lineage doesn’t stop there either, as Chuck’s daughter Annie Frey is approaching a decade of IHSA volleyball officiating, while her husband Jarrod is a three-sport official. Katie also works volleyball, while Joe is a four-sport official who works the same sports as his father with the exception of volleyball.
The trio commemorated the special game with the photo above, where they were joined by Joe’s son (and likely future official), Luke.
"I have been blessed to work as an official for many years," added Chuck. "It has been a remarkably rewarding avocation. All three of my kids were multi-sport student-athletes. I like to think that they wanted to stay close to competition. Having seen how much I have enjoyed working games, I think it was natural for them to join the officiating community. And they are all very good at it!"