Rewards

After 30 minutes explaining the role of referees in the Respect programme to a group of 23 this morning and 45 minutes taking 12 of them through the awarding/management of a kick from the penalty mark, I have to report that all the coffee in my system still has me buzzing.

This was the most responsive group I have seen during any of the four courses in which I have been involved. They asked challenging questions, participated fully in the practical sessions and the most rewarding was that more than 2/3 of the candidates wanted to shake my hand on leaving the course.

They all passed, which obviously has a bearing, but they were lining up to thank the instructors and one even appeared to want to hug some of us. Their enthusiasm for the subject matter was only surpassed by the instructors desire to improve on previous courses. Certainly today I think that we've set a standard that we will have to work hard to replicate and better. I really hope that most of this group get involved in local football and I can see some of them going on to be very good referees.

Just a short PS, one of the first times I helped out on a County training event was supporting Mr Steve on a Matchday Skills Course at a local Supply League Club. It was nice to see that one of the young lads on that course attended this Basic Course for New Referees over the last two weeks. He was so enthusiastic that he injured himself in one of the practical sessions, but soldiered on through to the end and was (rightly) very pleased with himself when he successfully completed the course. Well done Rob!