The end of the weekend

After the weekly family trip to the local sports centre for our Sunday swim I made my way back to the County FA to observe the closing sessions of the course and the candidates undertaking their written and practical examinations.

I caught Deefor going through the causes and procedures for a delayed, suspended, postponed or abandoned game. Some of this was a refresher from a practical outdoor session the previous day and some of it had the potential to quash any enthusiasm - it never happened. Despite having the traditional post lunch 'graveyard' session Deefor kept the tone light and the candidates were now beginning to twitch in anticipation of the examinations.

I had unfortunately missed the session on offside offences organised by Sarge. I'd watched him prepare and adjust the presentation over and over again on Saturday until he was happy with the structure and the content. I was disappointed to miss it, especially bearing in mind his level of experience.

Jimmy2bob ran through a revision session with all the groups to make sure any questions which had been parked during the previous 1 1/2 days were covered off. The questions were wide ranging and certainly showed that the candidates had been thinking about their subject in some detail.
All of the questions were relevant either to the course or the instructors. In answering them, the instructors increased their credibility by being able to demonstrate their in depth knowledge as well as refer back to their own experiences.

Then at last it was time for the practical examination. Each instructor took a pair of candidates to a different location around the field of play and asked them a series of questions based on practical aspects of refereeing. This included demonstrating the correct hand signals, making use of a flag and also a whistle as well as talking through how they would manage certain in-game situations.
I found the questions straight forward as I was able to visualise the scenarios being described, for some of the candidates however it was more difficult. This took me back to my own Oral examination back in April 2000 and just as then, careful coaxing, encouragement, coaching and a huge dollop of patience by a dedicated instructor ensured the candidates provided the correct answers.

Back inside the building the other groups were undertaking the written examination in the form of a series of multiple choice questions, each based on some aspect of the laws of Association Football but described in a practical situation. The candidates all seemed to cope pretty well with this part and all too soon, the examinations were complete and it was time for marking.

Chuckle Elder did a great session on what a referee must carry in his kitbag and expanded this further with a demonstration of buzzer flags. I'm sure it was intentionally haphazard as I noticed the tension start to drain away from the candidates who were awaiting their results. The news was good and all candidates had passed. Jimmy2bob ran through the next major step - getting match experience. Each trainee now had to arrange to referee 6 games of 11 v 11 games in any age group before the end of September.

At the beginning of October they will all be invited back to County HQ where they will be officially confirmed as fully fledged referees. In between times they have all been offered the services of a coach, one of the instructors from the course, who will be there to offer support and to listen after a tough game, or to congratulate after a good one. For many of the candidates their qualification means their club will always have the services of a qualified referee, something that might not have been possible last season.

For some it meant they had a means of keeping involved in a sport they obviously had a passion for, but were no longer able to achieve what they wanted as a player or coach. For others the course represented the start of something great, the path to refereeing in the FA Cup Final.

It might seem a little pretentious to say that but on a course like this one, somewhere in England, someone is taking the first steps to undertaking that role and to representing their country at a major championship just as David Elleray, Graham Poll, Mike Riley and Howard Webb have done over the last decade. I hope that some day the referees I coach at the Academy will make it to the professional game. Many of these candidates, because of their age and aptitude have a good a chance as any. It would be nice to think I could say I remember them becoming referees ...

P.S. Barcas, head of the referee's committee in my County, asked me if I was thinking about becoming an instructor? I had to admit that all I needed was someone to ask me. I'm going to deliver a presentation about the course to the local RA in a few weeks. If it goes well, I'd like to pursue that further. Who knows, I might help train the World Cup Final referee from 2035???