Marshall Behrens even describes himself as "flamboyant." But it's with the insistence that he's never going for that.

For this referee for all seasons, flamboyance is instead simply a byproduct of passion.

"What might be perceived as flamboyance is just that I care that much," Behrens said. "Not an ounce of that is intentional. It's because I care that much about the kids and the game, and it's just who I am. I guess I wear my emotions on my sleeve."

Spend much time in southeast Minnesota gymnasiums the last 15 years, or baseball and softball diamonds, or football fields, and you know Behrens.

You can't miss the 40-year-old St. Charles native. He's the shortish guy with the close-cropped haircut, the military-styled strut to his walk (especially in tense situations) that he couples with a right arm that he stiffens to a 45-degree angle and rhythmically wags with each quick step. He's also that guy who occasionally stops the action to verbally chastise an abusive fan or coach and who can get from one end of the floor to the other like nobody's business.

Tough to take your eyes off him.

"If there's a play where Marshall maybe got tied up at one end of the court and has to get to the other end, he's like a bottle rocket," said close friend and fellow longtime referee Jeff Wills, who officiates many games with Behrens and raves about him. "He's one of the fastest officials around."

He's also the official who's simply around, and like none other.

Behrens' guess is that out of a year's 365 days, he's officiating 300 of them. There's high school and college football in the fall, high school and college basketball in the winter, high school and college baseball and softball in the spring, then amateur and American Legion baseball in the summer.

Behrens takes Sundays off, when he and his wife of five years Ellie turn to their mutual passion, food.

"We're foodies," Behrens said. "Our dream is to buy a restaurant on a lake, open a bar and grill and retire there. We both like to cook. My best entree is either steamed mussels or prime rib."

Sounds like a wonderful retirement dream. But its definitely for well down the road, when Behrens can no longer put on his striped officials shirts or his baseball/softball chest protector.

Take the whistle out of Behrens' mouth right now and there'd be problems. He is a Molecular Medicine Research supervisor by day at Mayo Clinic. By night, Behrens chooses to be an official. Except on Sundays.

"Officiating has turned into a full-blown addiction for me," Behrens said. "I do it because I care about the (players and coaches) and I enjoy it so much. Even when I have a rare night off, it almost bothers me. I feel like I should be out there."

Behrens was just an OK athlete (his description) growing up in St. Charles, where he played varsity football, basketball and baseball. But he was passionate about all three sports.

That's what's made transitioning to officiating something he got started on with intramural basketball while enrolled at Wisconsin-Stevens Point such a natural.

Not afraid of the limelight and with a keen eye toward the nuances of sports, Behrens took to officiating in a hurry.

Looking back, though, he says he had a long way to go.

"I think I was too naive then to know that I wasn't that great at it," Behrens said. "When you first get started, you think you're a lot better than you are."

But the 57-year-old Wills, himself one of the most respected referees around, sure gives Behrens high marks now.

It's Behrens' zeal for the work that Wills says makes him so special. Behrens never comes close to taking a night off when he's wearing those stripes.

"Marshall treats every game the same," Wills said. "We can be working a ninth-grade game on a Saturday morning, and he gives as much attention, passion and focus to that game as he does to the varsity game we do later that night.

"He is fully loaded every day. He gives it everything he's got."

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Marshall Behrens: Love of work - Post-Bulletin