It's only 6 days since my last post but I've packed a fair amount into them.
I had a night off last Thursday from everything and it was needed before a busy weekend. On Friday I travelled with work to our office in Runcorn before heading to Wakefield to carry out my 18th assessment of the season. The game was challenging and the referee was suffering from a lack of match practice having recently come back from his honeymoon.
On Saturday a trip to Bradford to watch a female Supply League referee. I found a few pointers to help her develop and she acknowledged them with grace, commenting that she had identified one herself and was working on it.
Sunday was full of stress as I led the first day of a course for 23 new referees. There should have been 26, but three didn't turn up despite our best efforts to get them in. It was hard enough with my fellow tutors as Umar had had a very late night and Dave arrived an hour later than planned.
Things went quite well, despite a few hiccups. Day two is next Sunday.
Showing posts with label Instructing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Instructing. Show all posts
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Busy week
Sunday - instructing on a Basic Course for New Referees. Gavin and Umar on their first courses and me as Course Leader could have been a recipe for disaster but we worked through all of our sessions and finished within 30 seconds of our planned end of day - good job by all!
Monday - back to the County FA HQ for the inaugural RA/FA Development Evening. We had 4 good sessions ranging from James Doyle on Disability in Football, to Andy Madley on Offsides, Ken Haycock on Recognising Challenges and finishing with Bobby Madley talking about his career from refereeing on the Wakefield League to his current level refereeing on the Football League. He did his first Football League middle last Saturday at Bury vs Port Vale. All were very good and it was a late one by the time the post talk chatter had died away.
Tuesday - back out with my notepad and pen assessing another referee in the Northern Counties East League. This time it was a game in the President's Cup. The home team lost 3-1 despite going ahead in the 13th minute and the referee only issued one caution. I had a few points for all three officials and again it was another late night getting home.
One of the worst aspects of being an assessor is the mental gymnastics you go through after a game when you have delivered the de-brief but not yet written the report. You try to unwind but until the report is written and sent, you can't let the game go. It didn't help that I was feeling run down, a fact borne out by the appearance of not one, but three cold sores on my lip.
This left me unable/unwilling to go out training on Thursday having typed up the referee and assistant reports on Wednesday night. This came on top of the final (hopefully) resolution of a work issue, with a virus/worm disrupting the work at one of the sites I support for the last 4 months. In addition, my young son has not been well and exhibiting signs of anxiety, probably from being out of his usual routine and also my father in law suffering a detached retina last weekend. THIS HAS BEEN A TOUGH WEEK!!!
So it was a pleasure to go watch an experienced official today together with young Henry Naylor making his debut on the North East Counties. I took Fat Lad along as my guest. It was a challenging game with the home team running out 2-1 winners. To the amusement of all the players, a wayward shot managed to find me standing at the perimeter fence. I couldn't get out of the way without looking undignified, so I stuck out an elbow and watched the fierce shot ricochet off. The referee was in stitches and even went as far as congratulating the player who took the shot.
Fat Lad and I were helpless with laughter and it typified the day as we really enjoyed the game and the performance of the referee. Tomorrow sees me celebrate my 47th birthday and lead the 2nd half of the new referees course mentioned at the top of this post. I'm looking forward to it!
Monday - back to the County FA HQ for the inaugural RA/FA Development Evening. We had 4 good sessions ranging from James Doyle on Disability in Football, to Andy Madley on Offsides, Ken Haycock on Recognising Challenges and finishing with Bobby Madley talking about his career from refereeing on the Wakefield League to his current level refereeing on the Football League. He did his first Football League middle last Saturday at Bury vs Port Vale. All were very good and it was a late one by the time the post talk chatter had died away.
Tuesday - back out with my notepad and pen assessing another referee in the Northern Counties East League. This time it was a game in the President's Cup. The home team lost 3-1 despite going ahead in the 13th minute and the referee only issued one caution. I had a few points for all three officials and again it was another late night getting home.
One of the worst aspects of being an assessor is the mental gymnastics you go through after a game when you have delivered the de-brief but not yet written the report. You try to unwind but until the report is written and sent, you can't let the game go. It didn't help that I was feeling run down, a fact borne out by the appearance of not one, but three cold sores on my lip.
This left me unable/unwilling to go out training on Thursday having typed up the referee and assistant reports on Wednesday night. This came on top of the final (hopefully) resolution of a work issue, with a virus/worm disrupting the work at one of the sites I support for the last 4 months. In addition, my young son has not been well and exhibiting signs of anxiety, probably from being out of his usual routine and also my father in law suffering a detached retina last weekend. THIS HAS BEEN A TOUGH WEEK!!!
So it was a pleasure to go watch an experienced official today together with young Henry Naylor making his debut on the North East Counties. I took Fat Lad along as my guest. It was a challenging game with the home team running out 2-1 winners. To the amusement of all the players, a wayward shot managed to find me standing at the perimeter fence. I couldn't get out of the way without looking undignified, so I stuck out an elbow and watched the fierce shot ricochet off. The referee was in stitches and even went as far as congratulating the player who took the shot.
Fat Lad and I were helpless with laughter and it typified the day as we really enjoyed the game and the performance of the referee. Tomorrow sees me celebrate my 47th birthday and lead the 2nd half of the new referees course mentioned at the top of this post. I'm looking forward to it!
Saturday, 7 August 2010
1st one
I enjoyed my trip out today carrying out my first Supply League assessment of the season.
It was closely contested game settled by a single goal and the referee was kept quite busy. Meanwhile my beloved Leeds United went down 2-1 on their return to the Championship (old Division 2).
The last time we lost on the opening day of the season, we went on to win promotion. I can't see lightning striking twice unfortunately. Now it's time for a reasonably early night as I'm leading a Basic Course for New Referees at the County HQ tomorrow.
I've had one of the instructors on the phone twice late at night this week as he checks his understanding of what's required. I am impressed by his preparation and hope we have a smooth passage over the next two Sundays ...
It was closely contested game settled by a single goal and the referee was kept quite busy. Meanwhile my beloved Leeds United went down 2-1 on their return to the Championship (old Division 2).
The last time we lost on the opening day of the season, we went on to win promotion. I can't see lightning striking twice unfortunately. Now it's time for a reasonably early night as I'm leading a Basic Course for New Referees at the County HQ tomorrow.
I've had one of the instructors on the phone twice late at night this week as he checks his understanding of what's required. I am impressed by his preparation and hope we have a smooth passage over the next two Sundays ...
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Promotion Seminar
The WRCFA run a couple of seminars each season for referees seeking promotion from 7-6 and 6-5. In previous years, I've been on the receiving end of the presentations given during these evenings. This year I was on the other side of the fence as I was delivering the training.
Ken, the County Training Officer asked me to deliver a session on The Assessor and the Assessment Process. I spent a couple of weeks mulling over how I wanted to run things and settled on a simple PowerPoint presentation with a couple of Group Exercises thrown in for good measure. I forgot to print off my Lesson Plan and had to make some last minute notes of timings on a separate folder.
The examination for the candidates was started by Steve Rhodes, Referee Development Officer and it was about that time that disaster struck as Dave, who was delivering a session on Recognising Challenges, found that his DVD would not play on any of the laptops available. After a few minutes rooting around upstairs, Steve produced a laptop which accepted the disc and we got under way.
I found the group pretty responsive and I ran through the role of the assessor, the assessment process and the assessment report. I then took questions and that was where I lost the time that caused me to over-run by around 5 minutes. Dave's session followed and then we gave the candidates their results. Most seemed to have passed which is good news.
I got some unsolicited feedback from a couple of candidates who said they enjoyed my session, so I'm happy with that. Time to turn my attention to the preparations for the Basic Course for New Referees on August 8 ...
Ken, the County Training Officer asked me to deliver a session on The Assessor and the Assessment Process. I spent a couple of weeks mulling over how I wanted to run things and settled on a simple PowerPoint presentation with a couple of Group Exercises thrown in for good measure. I forgot to print off my Lesson Plan and had to make some last minute notes of timings on a separate folder.
The examination for the candidates was started by Steve Rhodes, Referee Development Officer and it was about that time that disaster struck as Dave, who was delivering a session on Recognising Challenges, found that his DVD would not play on any of the laptops available. After a few minutes rooting around upstairs, Steve produced a laptop which accepted the disc and we got under way.
I found the group pretty responsive and I ran through the role of the assessor, the assessment process and the assessment report. I then took questions and that was where I lost the time that caused me to over-run by around 5 minutes. Dave's session followed and then we gave the candidates their results. Most seemed to have passed which is good news.
I got some unsolicited feedback from a couple of candidates who said they enjoyed my session, so I'm happy with that. Time to turn my attention to the preparations for the Basic Course for New Referees on August 8 ...
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Training 3.4
It's been a busy week so far as I met with Jamie and David on Monday to prepare for the next Basic Course for New Referees at WRCFA. The course is running in August and the second Sunday coincides with my birthday. I've been appointed as Course Leader, so that's an early present and an honour.
Last night it was time for the Sunday league's last planning meeting before the new season kicks off on September 5th. We had a long discussion about the arrangements for fixtures, the reporting of results and also the Respect programme. It seems I might end up being responsible for all three depending on developments over the next 3 weeks.
So tonight's training ... because of the meeting last night I missed the usual session so was pleased that Paul got in touch to train with me tonight. Training on my own again after Sunday, would have been a bit of a trial.
The session was simple in that we did the usual lap of the field and out shuttles before starting one of my most hated runs. It was run one touchline, walk the remainder of the perimeter of the field, run one touchline and one goal line and walk the other half, run one goal line, one touchline, one goal line and walk the other touchline, then run a full lap.
After a 2 minute rest, we did it in reverse and then after a 4 minute rest we went back up from one touchline to full lap. The only change was we did two touchlines and a goal line when doing three sides. Another 2 minute rest and then we worked our way back down to one touchline again. I was absolutely shattered but glad to still be running (well moving faster than a jog) at the end.
It was time for stretches and home for a bath.
Tomorrow night sees me delivering some training at a Promotion Seminar for referees going from Level 7-6. I'm telling them about assessors and the assessment process.It's a new session for me, so a fresh challenge. The presentation was finished on Sunday, so I just need to make sure I stick to my timings and all will be fine!
Calories burned off tonight 927 with an average heart rate of 143bpm. Clicking the image below shows the pattern of my heart rate across the exercise period.
Last night it was time for the Sunday league's last planning meeting before the new season kicks off on September 5th. We had a long discussion about the arrangements for fixtures, the reporting of results and also the Respect programme. It seems I might end up being responsible for all three depending on developments over the next 3 weeks.
So tonight's training ... because of the meeting last night I missed the usual session so was pleased that Paul got in touch to train with me tonight. Training on my own again after Sunday, would have been a bit of a trial.
The session was simple in that we did the usual lap of the field and out shuttles before starting one of my most hated runs. It was run one touchline, walk the remainder of the perimeter of the field, run one touchline and one goal line and walk the other half, run one goal line, one touchline, one goal line and walk the other touchline, then run a full lap.
After a 2 minute rest, we did it in reverse and then after a 4 minute rest we went back up from one touchline to full lap. The only change was we did two touchlines and a goal line when doing three sides. Another 2 minute rest and then we worked our way back down to one touchline again. I was absolutely shattered but glad to still be running (well moving faster than a jog) at the end.
It was time for stretches and home for a bath.
Tomorrow night sees me delivering some training at a Promotion Seminar for referees going from Level 7-6. I'm telling them about assessors and the assessment process.It's a new session for me, so a fresh challenge. The presentation was finished on Sunday, so I just need to make sure I stick to my timings and all will be fine!
Calories burned off tonight 927 with an average heart rate of 143bpm. Clicking the image below shows the pattern of my heart rate across the exercise period.
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Really this is the end
I missed most of the Championship play off final between Blackpool and Cardiff City played at Wembley yesterday but from the radio commentary, tv highlights and match reports in the newspapers, it's obvious this was a very special game and well looked after by Andre Marriner and his team of officials. The highlight for me has to be the post match interview with Ian Holloway manager of the victorious, if slightly unfashionable Premiership new boys, Blackpool.
He put his faith in the players who had gotten the club this far, pledged to let them have their chance at establishing Blackpool in the top division of English football and also put the world to rights with a few political statements. He admitted he had made a few mistakes over the years but looked forward not back. It will be very entertaining to hear his post match interviews when his team have been battered by Chelsea or sneaked a win at the City of Manchester stadium next season!
Today I wrapped up my season with the second day of the County FA's Basic Course for New Referees. Mark (the new boy) was fully involved today and it looked like his assessment went well. I worked with Dave W and we had some fun with our candidates especially during the mass confrontation exercise. I'm pleased to report that all 27 candidates passed the course and are now classed as Level 9 referees. When they complete their 6 qualifying games and attend their callback evening, they will be promoted to level 8 (under 16) and level 7 (16 and over).
Some of these new referees, especially the young girls, have some great opportunities available to them and I hope they take them. Meanwhile I am awaiting confirmation that the coaching groups have been advised to the candidates and then I will make contact with my group and hopefully begin the support needed to develop the FA Cup Final referee for 2035 (still my dream after 2 years as an instructor!). Batten down the hatches Mohammed, Mick, Danni, Michael and Ellie, we'll have some fun when the new season starts!
He put his faith in the players who had gotten the club this far, pledged to let them have their chance at establishing Blackpool in the top division of English football and also put the world to rights with a few political statements. He admitted he had made a few mistakes over the years but looked forward not back. It will be very entertaining to hear his post match interviews when his team have been battered by Chelsea or sneaked a win at the City of Manchester stadium next season!
Today I wrapped up my season with the second day of the County FA's Basic Course for New Referees. Mark (the new boy) was fully involved today and it looked like his assessment went well. I worked with Dave W and we had some fun with our candidates especially during the mass confrontation exercise. I'm pleased to report that all 27 candidates passed the course and are now classed as Level 9 referees. When they complete their 6 qualifying games and attend their callback evening, they will be promoted to level 8 (under 16) and level 7 (16 and over).
Some of these new referees, especially the young girls, have some great opportunities available to them and I hope they take them. Meanwhile I am awaiting confirmation that the coaching groups have been advised to the candidates and then I will make contact with my group and hopefully begin the support needed to develop the FA Cup Final referee for 2035 (still my dream after 2 years as an instructor!). Batten down the hatches Mohammed, Mick, Danni, Michael and Ellie, we'll have some fun when the new season starts!
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Busy
Anyone who bothers to track my activities in the Games List on the right will have noticed that the number of games as an Assistant Referee has increased by one! The reason is simple, when I came hone from a meeting in Newcastle last week, I decided against a trip out to watch the Fat Lad in favour of watching some football on tv.
As I was finishing my evening meal my phone rang and a slightly stressed Peter asked for a favour. He had a game to look after but he was at least 75 minutes away and was going to miss kick off. So I agreed to turn out, did my job and slipped quietly back into retirement.
On Saturday I carried out my third Supply League Assessment and on Sunday I wrapped up day two of the County's latest Basic Course for New Referees before heading out for a surprise Valentine's Day dinner with my wife and son. On Monday it was time for a post course de-brief with Jamie and David, which also led nicely on to planning for the next course which is due to be held in May.
Tonight (Tuesday) I have completed another Supply League Assessment and despite the freezing cold temperatures, I had an enjoyable evening in David's company. Tomorrow brings me round to my son's 5th birthday (and party!)
As I was finishing my evening meal my phone rang and a slightly stressed Peter asked for a favour. He had a game to look after but he was at least 75 minutes away and was going to miss kick off. So I agreed to turn out, did my job and slipped quietly back into retirement.
On Saturday I carried out my third Supply League Assessment and on Sunday I wrapped up day two of the County's latest Basic Course for New Referees before heading out for a surprise Valentine's Day dinner with my wife and son. On Monday it was time for a post course de-brief with Jamie and David, which also led nicely on to planning for the next course which is due to be held in May.
Tonight (Tuesday) I have completed another Supply League Assessment and despite the freezing cold temperatures, I had an enjoyable evening in David's company. Tomorrow brings me round to my son's 5th birthday (and party!)
Monday, 23 November 2009
TheFA.com - Btec National Referee Qualification
TheFA.com - Btec National Referee Qualification
New referees benefit from local college link-up.
This initiative is fully endorsed and supported by The FA and delivered in partnership with the Hampshire County FA.
As part of the Btec National qualification, South Downs College are the first Further Education College to deliver a full referees qualification as part of unit 20 - ‘Understanding the Rules and Laws of Officiating in Sport’.
(Great initiative and nice to see my friend Lucy involved)
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
TheFA.com - International Course deemed a success
TheFA.com - International Course deemed a success
By Ian Blanchard - Wednesday, 04 November, 2009
30 instructors from 23 nations enjoy course staged by The FA.
The FA International Referee Instructors' Course, Staverton Park Conference Centre, Daventry,11 - 18 October 2009
As leaders in the education of referee instructors, The FA have just completed a one week course from the 11 - 18 October 2009 for 30 referee instructors from 23 countries.
Sunday, 1 November 2009
TheFA.com - Not to be shouted at!
TheFA.com - Not to be shouted at!
24 new referees qualified in North Riding region this week.
Referees perform a vital role in the game, and with the growth in the popularity of football, particularly for women and children, the demand for match officials is increasing.
Earlier this week, 24 young referees from across the North Riding County passed out as official referees and are now fully qualified to officiate on Junior and Youth league games in the area. (Click the link above for more …)
Friday, 18 September 2009
Pleasant Surprise
The postman arrived later today meaning I missed him before taking my son to school.
He brought me some excellent news as I received a letter advising that I had met the criteria for Licensed Instructor status. I had a nice letter from Ian Blanchard, accompanied by my licence, a Licensed Instructor badge and a certificate. So the hard work on the course in July and in preparing my sessions for the last Basic Course I helped with, have paid off.
I owe thanks to a lot of people, those who first considered me to have the potential, those who pushed me towards instructing, those who had confidence in me to push me on a further step and those who helped me fulfil my potential. I still have some development to do and as a certain Badger says, onward and upward, always learning ...
Thank you Barry, David, Jamie, John, Steve, Alan, Andy, Bobby, Janie, Ian, Ray, Peter, Adam, Craig, Vince, Roger and Steve S as well as all the other fantastic candidates on my course at Staverton Park in July. Now it's time to get some work done ... Callback evening - September 30, Basic Course - October 11 ...
He brought me some excellent news as I received a letter advising that I had met the criteria for Licensed Instructor status. I had a nice letter from Ian Blanchard, accompanied by my licence, a Licensed Instructor badge and a certificate. So the hard work on the course in July and in preparing my sessions for the last Basic Course I helped with, have paid off.
I owe thanks to a lot of people, those who first considered me to have the potential, those who pushed me towards instructing, those who had confidence in me to push me on a further step and those who helped me fulfil my potential. I still have some development to do and as a certain Badger says, onward and upward, always learning ...
Thank you Barry, David, Jamie, John, Steve, Alan, Andy, Bobby, Janie, Ian, Ray, Peter, Adam, Craig, Vince, Roger and Steve S as well as all the other fantastic candidates on my course at Staverton Park in July. Now it's time to get some work done ... Callback evening - September 30, Basic Course - October 11 ...
Monday, 7 September 2009
Bad timing, bad timing
In this post I covered the clash of dates between a work trip and the 5-4 promotion seminar.
Things got worse today as I was invited by the County Training Officer to deliver some of the training at the promotion seminar itself. So I'm really not impressed about the clash of dates. My only hope is that the meeting finishes for around 2 pm and I can make the mad dash back from Scotland.
Things got worse today as I was invited by the County Training Officer to deliver some of the training at the promotion seminar itself. So I'm really not impressed about the clash of dates. My only hope is that the meeting finishes for around 2 pm and I can make the mad dash back from Scotland.
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
FAMOA Development Evening
It's always disappointing when there's a poor turn-out for any event, especially when that event happens to be the County FA's Development Evening being run in conjunction with FAMOA. It may have been the low key promotion via the County website, it may have been the day of the week (Mondays are never good) or possibly the timing, just as the season was getting underway when evening fixtures take higher priority. Whatever it was, those who stayed away missed out on an evening packed with practical advice and the opportunity to "get up close and personal" with the Referee Development Team based at Fleet Lane.
In a change from previous events when key note speakers have rolled into town, delivered a high powered presentation and then moved on to their next venue, this was very much an event geared towards the majority of referees. It was aimed at those who ply their trade on their own, on council owned fields with little more than their own experience and knowledge to help them effectively carry out their role as guardians of the Laws of the Game.
The evening opened with a review of the achievements of the referees in the County. At the top of the list was the appointment of two West Riding referees as the men in the middle for the FA Cup semi finals. Martin Atkinson and Mike Riley had the honour of leading their teams out to look after those prestigious fixtures. Martin went one step further when he took on the role of the 4th Official for the Final itself just a few weeks later. Mike has also moved on a step too having recently hung up his whistle in readiness for his new role with Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO).
Other successes were recounted such as Dave Richardson's appearance on the line at the same final, the continuance of the meteoric rise of the Madley brothers from Ossett and the progress of the County in continuing to recruit new referees as well as support those just starting out their careers. A worthy footnote was added concerning the contribution made by Steve Rhodes, the County's Referee Development Officer, the coaches at the Referee Academy at Thorp Arch and the County's experienced group of match referee assessors.
Enough of looking back, though, it was soon time to look forward to the new season and the delegates were soon asked to consider their contribution to the Respect programme. The session opened with a hard hitting video backed by the Foo Fighters track, The Great Pretender. It was followed up by a thought provoking 25 minute session covering showing respect for the game, key moments and how we, as referees react to them, managing players and the key skills involved in doing so. I had been asked to deliver this session at short notice and fortunately I had a similar presentation already prepared for the Basic Course for New Referees. So Blue Peter moment aside (Here's one I prepared earlier ...), I finished with another short video showing celebrity players trying to play football without a referee but includes some terrible acting from the FA's finest, Howard Webb and Fabio Capello!
I handed over to Ken Haycock, County Training Officer, who took the audience through some typical situations relating to dealing with confrontation. It wasn't the usual "in your face" confrontation referees have to deal with all too often on the field of play, but instead it was the more insidious "Not you again" comment so often muttered by a club secretary, a player who has received a caution in a previous game or possibly just a spectator. The audience were asked to consider each situation in turn and their responses were captured and with the wide range of experience in the room, it presented a great learning opportunity for the less experienced to prepare themselves for the next time someone says to them, "Not you again ref!"
Having held the audience captive for nearly an hour, it was time to get them out of their seats, moving around on their feet and into some workshops. In the first we split the audience into two groups and put them to work looking at the key considerations they would have as referees when dealing with free kicks in different areas of the field of play. This led to some healthy debate and the opportunity for a recently qualified 14 year old referee, Gavin Johnston, to shine as he brought the practical experience from his course into his group. He showed great confidence in talking in front of a group of more experienced match officials and assessors.
In the other group, things became quite heated as current match officials, Jason Payne and Chris Payne (no relation), verbally jousted with County FA Council members over the management of an attacking free kick around the penalty area. It was re-assuring to see many of our more experienced assessors in this group sharing their knowledge freely, even if voices did have to be raised to be heard among the side discussions taking place!
Once the dust had settled, the groups were moved on to the next workshop where they considered the factors which would influence the playing of advantage in different areas of the field of play, defence, midfield and attack. Once more the more experienced assessors shared their knowledge however they didn't manage their time very well and got stuck on just one of the three scenarios they were asked to cover. The other group stuck to the task and as it was brought to a close, they put the finishing touches to some excellent points.
The audience re-united back in the main room and were treated to an introductory talk from one of the County's most recent recruits in the form of Roger Furnandiz, former Football League referee. Roger took the audience through the highlights of his career before giving them some pointers on various aspects of refereeing. Meanwhile back in one of the workshop rooms, Ken and I were furiously pulling out the learning points from the two workshops. When Roger had finished his stint, Ken and I delivered them back to the audience.
The evening was wrapped up by Barry Chaplin, Chairman of the Referee's Committee and the audience adjourned to the bar leaving the presenters to clear up. As I mentioned at the opening of this piece, the numbers who turned out for this event were disappointing but I'm sure that those who did, went away with at least one thing they can try this season that will enhance their game control and hopefully help them enjoy their football a little more in 2009-10.
As for those who missed out on the event at County HQ, the evening is being taken on a roadshow around the County to give it a more local feel. Hopefully it will call at a town near you and you can have the chance to join in the fun. I believe the first event is in Huddersfield on August 20th, so if you've nothing more pressing, Get Into refereeing ...
In a change from previous events when key note speakers have rolled into town, delivered a high powered presentation and then moved on to their next venue, this was very much an event geared towards the majority of referees. It was aimed at those who ply their trade on their own, on council owned fields with little more than their own experience and knowledge to help them effectively carry out their role as guardians of the Laws of the Game.
The evening opened with a review of the achievements of the referees in the County. At the top of the list was the appointment of two West Riding referees as the men in the middle for the FA Cup semi finals. Martin Atkinson and Mike Riley had the honour of leading their teams out to look after those prestigious fixtures. Martin went one step further when he took on the role of the 4th Official for the Final itself just a few weeks later. Mike has also moved on a step too having recently hung up his whistle in readiness for his new role with Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO).
Other successes were recounted such as Dave Richardson's appearance on the line at the same final, the continuance of the meteoric rise of the Madley brothers from Ossett and the progress of the County in continuing to recruit new referees as well as support those just starting out their careers. A worthy footnote was added concerning the contribution made by Steve Rhodes, the County's Referee Development Officer, the coaches at the Referee Academy at Thorp Arch and the County's experienced group of match referee assessors.
Enough of looking back, though, it was soon time to look forward to the new season and the delegates were soon asked to consider their contribution to the Respect programme. The session opened with a hard hitting video backed by the Foo Fighters track, The Great Pretender. It was followed up by a thought provoking 25 minute session covering showing respect for the game, key moments and how we, as referees react to them, managing players and the key skills involved in doing so. I had been asked to deliver this session at short notice and fortunately I had a similar presentation already prepared for the Basic Course for New Referees. So Blue Peter moment aside (Here's one I prepared earlier ...), I finished with another short video showing celebrity players trying to play football without a referee but includes some terrible acting from the FA's finest, Howard Webb and Fabio Capello!
I handed over to Ken Haycock, County Training Officer, who took the audience through some typical situations relating to dealing with confrontation. It wasn't the usual "in your face" confrontation referees have to deal with all too often on the field of play, but instead it was the more insidious "Not you again" comment so often muttered by a club secretary, a player who has received a caution in a previous game or possibly just a spectator. The audience were asked to consider each situation in turn and their responses were captured and with the wide range of experience in the room, it presented a great learning opportunity for the less experienced to prepare themselves for the next time someone says to them, "Not you again ref!"
Having held the audience captive for nearly an hour, it was time to get them out of their seats, moving around on their feet and into some workshops. In the first we split the audience into two groups and put them to work looking at the key considerations they would have as referees when dealing with free kicks in different areas of the field of play. This led to some healthy debate and the opportunity for a recently qualified 14 year old referee, Gavin Johnston, to shine as he brought the practical experience from his course into his group. He showed great confidence in talking in front of a group of more experienced match officials and assessors.
In the other group, things became quite heated as current match officials, Jason Payne and Chris Payne (no relation), verbally jousted with County FA Council members over the management of an attacking free kick around the penalty area. It was re-assuring to see many of our more experienced assessors in this group sharing their knowledge freely, even if voices did have to be raised to be heard among the side discussions taking place!
Once the dust had settled, the groups were moved on to the next workshop where they considered the factors which would influence the playing of advantage in different areas of the field of play, defence, midfield and attack. Once more the more experienced assessors shared their knowledge however they didn't manage their time very well and got stuck on just one of the three scenarios they were asked to cover. The other group stuck to the task and as it was brought to a close, they put the finishing touches to some excellent points.
The audience re-united back in the main room and were treated to an introductory talk from one of the County's most recent recruits in the form of Roger Furnandiz, former Football League referee. Roger took the audience through the highlights of his career before giving them some pointers on various aspects of refereeing. Meanwhile back in one of the workshop rooms, Ken and I were furiously pulling out the learning points from the two workshops. When Roger had finished his stint, Ken and I delivered them back to the audience.
The evening was wrapped up by Barry Chaplin, Chairman of the Referee's Committee and the audience adjourned to the bar leaving the presenters to clear up. As I mentioned at the opening of this piece, the numbers who turned out for this event were disappointing but I'm sure that those who did, went away with at least one thing they can try this season that will enhance their game control and hopefully help them enjoy their football a little more in 2009-10.
As for those who missed out on the event at County HQ, the evening is being taken on a roadshow around the County to give it a more local feel. Hopefully it will call at a town near you and you can have the chance to join in the fun. I believe the first event is in Huddersfield on August 20th, so if you've nothing more pressing, Get Into refereeing ...
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Appraisal Time
I remembered the suntan lotion this time and I escaped the sunburn usually associated with delivering practical training on the Basic Course for New Referees.
I had an indoor session on pre-match day preparation to deliver, just after the opening ice-breaker exercise by Bobby. It was lively enough and we still had time for a brief panic attack and some technical hitches before I settled into my run through. It went well and I finished right on the 30 minute mark.
Then it was outside to prepare for my session on which I was being appraised. It was another pre-match session, this time covering from the arrival in the car park to entering the field of play. I covered the meet&greet with the club secretary, including getting a match fee and expenses before moving on to a player equipment inspection. The candidates had some fun completing an inspection on their group mates.
The last session was based on a game I devised around getting a team of officials on to the field at a cup final. The candidates seemed to enjoy themselves and responded well. As a result, they appeared to learn a lot. Steve, who was carrying out the appraisal was happy too and gave me some very encouraging feedback.
Next it was back outside to help Bobby with a session on referee signals. We had a lot of fun running around the various stations getting the candidates to loosen up and start to have some more fun, then it was time for lunch.
After lunch we had a long session on starts and restarts and then it was time for me to stand down. I read through my feedback again and asked Steve how he thought it would be graded. Again he gave me good feedback and then it was time to head home.
I had an indoor session on pre-match day preparation to deliver, just after the opening ice-breaker exercise by Bobby. It was lively enough and we still had time for a brief panic attack and some technical hitches before I settled into my run through. It went well and I finished right on the 30 minute mark.
Then it was outside to prepare for my session on which I was being appraised. It was another pre-match session, this time covering from the arrival in the car park to entering the field of play. I covered the meet&greet with the club secretary, including getting a match fee and expenses before moving on to a player equipment inspection. The candidates had some fun completing an inspection on their group mates.
The last session was based on a game I devised around getting a team of officials on to the field at a cup final. The candidates seemed to enjoy themselves and responded well. As a result, they appeared to learn a lot. Steve, who was carrying out the appraisal was happy too and gave me some very encouraging feedback.
Next it was back outside to help Bobby with a session on referee signals. We had a lot of fun running around the various stations getting the candidates to loosen up and start to have some more fun, then it was time for lunch.
After lunch we had a long session on starts and restarts and then it was time for me to stand down. I read through my feedback again and asked Steve how he thought it would be graded. Again he gave me good feedback and then it was time to head home.
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
On Call
Since coming back from my Licenced Tutor course a couple of weeks ago, I've been in demand.
I was already set up to deliver one indoor and two outdoor sessions on the County FA's next Basic Course for New Referees and then during a chance meeting last week I was asked to help on the Supply League Assistant's evening.
When we were wrapping that up last night over a glass of orange squash, I was asked to become involved in the County FA's FAMOA event next Monday. I've been asked to deliver the presentation on the Respect programme. I have an up to date version however I've been asked to re-work the presentation I delivered to the Basic Course in February.
I've trimmed a few lines off the PowerPoint slides and dropped in some interactive stuff. The Lesson Plans are written for the indoor and first outdoor session. On the second outdoor session, it is absolutely huge so it's a case of keeping the candidates moving and interested - no mean feat and it will certainly be a challenge.
I was already set up to deliver one indoor and two outdoor sessions on the County FA's next Basic Course for New Referees and then during a chance meeting last week I was asked to help on the Supply League Assistant's evening.
When we were wrapping that up last night over a glass of orange squash, I was asked to become involved in the County FA's FAMOA event next Monday. I've been asked to deliver the presentation on the Respect programme. I have an up to date version however I've been asked to re-work the presentation I delivered to the Basic Course in February.
I've trimmed a few lines off the PowerPoint slides and dropped in some interactive stuff. The Lesson Plans are written for the indoor and first outdoor session. On the second outdoor session, it is absolutely huge so it's a case of keeping the candidates moving and interested - no mean feat and it will certainly be a challenge.
Friday, 31 July 2009
Last night ...
I had a run out with Gav and Jamie at the County FA.
Jamie asked me if I fancied helping with a trial game for the County's new U18 team. The game was split into thirds each lasting 30 minutes. I was on the line for the first two and then went in the middle for the last period.
I really enjoyed the run out but was nervous about the tweak I picked up last week on my course. I need not have worried as things went ok. Fat Lad was at a meeting at the County HQ and during a break I heard him shouting to keep up with play!
In the first period my hrm wasn't working properly and I hit a max of 115% and an average of 75% (Calories 510). In the second period the hrm settled down and I maxed at 87% with an average of 76& (Calories 425). In the final period, I hit a max of 95% and an average of 86% (Calories 510). So total calories came to 1445.
After the game I bumped into the County Training Officer and was invited to help facilitate one of the groups at Next Tuesday's Supply League Assistants evening - so feeling very valued!
Jamie asked me if I fancied helping with a trial game for the County's new U18 team. The game was split into thirds each lasting 30 minutes. I was on the line for the first two and then went in the middle for the last period.
I really enjoyed the run out but was nervous about the tweak I picked up last week on my course. I need not have worried as things went ok. Fat Lad was at a meeting at the County HQ and during a break I heard him shouting to keep up with play!
In the first period my hrm wasn't working properly and I hit a max of 115% and an average of 75% (Calories 510). In the second period the hrm settled down and I maxed at 87% with an average of 76& (Calories 425). In the final period, I hit a max of 95% and an average of 86% (Calories 510). So total calories came to 1445.
After the game I bumped into the County Training Officer and was invited to help facilitate one of the groups at Next Tuesday's Supply League Assistants evening - so feeling very valued!
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Training 2.15
After two days of HI work, the leader took pity on the lesser mortals and decided we'd have a "lighter" session.
This consisted of various quick feet exercises designed to increase mobility as well as push recovery levels up a little. I paired up with David who looks like the youngest candidate on the course and we worked through the various exercises (2x rep for each) until we completed a nice short little session. We were even joined by the boss' boss Mr B.
The session was a very wet one as the heavens opened and I managed to tweak the tweak I had last week. I kept going to the end and we trooped back for breakfast after a little over 35 minutes. Calories 510, average 74%, max 88%. Tomorrow is a recovery day so it's pool, sauna, steam room before the course work begins again.
Delivered today and got a reasonable mark for a first attempt at the new standard. Got an opportunity to improve tomorrow and twice on Thursday before we have our attendance presentation. I managed to purchase a couple of extra polo shirts (3 Lions badge) so I'll be comfortable through to the weekend.
This consisted of various quick feet exercises designed to increase mobility as well as push recovery levels up a little. I paired up with David who looks like the youngest candidate on the course and we worked through the various exercises (2x rep for each) until we completed a nice short little session. We were even joined by the boss' boss Mr B.
The session was a very wet one as the heavens opened and I managed to tweak the tweak I had last week. I kept going to the end and we trooped back for breakfast after a little over 35 minutes. Calories 510, average 74%, max 88%. Tomorrow is a recovery day so it's pool, sauna, steam room before the course work begins again.
Delivered today and got a reasonable mark for a first attempt at the new standard. Got an opportunity to improve tomorrow and twice on Thursday before we have our attendance presentation. I managed to purchase a couple of extra polo shirts (3 Lions badge) so I'll be comfortable through to the weekend.
Monday, 20 July 2009
Training 2.14
When a man 6 years your senior laps you twice on a 30 minute exercise you sometimes wonder if you should give up.
Not today and certainly not in front of some of the most talented young officials in the game today. Instead I persevered and ran until I heard a horrible wheezing noise coming out of my mouth. The most satisfying thing was that the senior gentleman had also run himself to a standstill, once more illustrating the value of working at your own pace.
Today was, in essence, a simple exercise. We ran a figure 8 shape for 75s, 60s rest, 60s run, 45s rest, 45s run, 30s rest, 30s run, 15 sec rest, 30s run, 30s rest, 45s run, 45s rest, 60s run, 60s rest and a 75s run. This was repeated twice and then a couple of 60s runs were thrown in at the end for fun (!?).
Hard work in the rapidly rising heat of the early morning and while fighting off the influence of 6 pints of lager the previous evening while "bonding". 845 calories burned, 98% max and 86% (new high I think) average. Tomorrow is a slightly lighter session with the emphasis on mobility (fast feet). It could be interesting.
More interesting is that tomorrow I deliver my first tutor session. Another one to do on Wednesday and 2 practical sessions on Thursday. The fun starts now!!!
Not today and certainly not in front of some of the most talented young officials in the game today. Instead I persevered and ran until I heard a horrible wheezing noise coming out of my mouth. The most satisfying thing was that the senior gentleman had also run himself to a standstill, once more illustrating the value of working at your own pace.
Today was, in essence, a simple exercise. We ran a figure 8 shape for 75s, 60s rest, 60s run, 45s rest, 45s run, 30s rest, 30s run, 15 sec rest, 30s run, 30s rest, 45s run, 45s rest, 60s run, 60s rest and a 75s run. This was repeated twice and then a couple of 60s runs were thrown in at the end for fun (!?).
Hard work in the rapidly rising heat of the early morning and while fighting off the influence of 6 pints of lager the previous evening while "bonding". 845 calories burned, 98% max and 86% (new high I think) average. Tomorrow is a slightly lighter session with the emphasis on mobility (fast feet). It could be interesting.
More interesting is that tomorrow I deliver my first tutor session. Another one to do on Wednesday and 2 practical sessions on Thursday. The fun starts now!!!
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Prepare for launch ...
Failing to prepare means preparing to fail. So the registration for next season with the County FA has been completed, as is the registration with my Supply League and my intentions for my Sunday League have been made clear (fewer games and certainly no punishing schedules as I did at the end of last season).
I was mentally putting my feet up as I was winding down towards Sunday's flight to Crete. It then struck me that I hadn't received the promised correspondence about my National Licensed Referee Instructor course. It was/is supposed to arrive before the end of June. The only problem is that I won't be here for most of the rest of June.
What if I was supposed to travel with another delegate? What if the course dates had been changed? What if the course had been cancelled? What if I needed to submit some pre-course work? I then remembered the basic tenet of communication - it's two way thing.
There's always a sender and a receiver. If I wasn't the receiver, then I had to be the sender. A 4 line e-mail to the Course Administrator's office got a reply within 25 minutes, re-assuring me that the course correspondence might be out by the end of the week, but the course was still on and I was definitely still on it.
Another box ticked ... now it's only two more sleeps and two more training sessions until I break up. My case is already packed as well. You can't beat good preparation!
I was mentally putting my feet up as I was winding down towards Sunday's flight to Crete. It then struck me that I hadn't received the promised correspondence about my National Licensed Referee Instructor course. It was/is supposed to arrive before the end of June. The only problem is that I won't be here for most of the rest of June.
What if I was supposed to travel with another delegate? What if the course dates had been changed? What if the course had been cancelled? What if I needed to submit some pre-course work? I then remembered the basic tenet of communication - it's two way thing.
There's always a sender and a receiver. If I wasn't the receiver, then I had to be the sender. A 4 line e-mail to the Course Administrator's office got a reply within 25 minutes, re-assuring me that the course correspondence might be out by the end of the week, but the course was still on and I was definitely still on it.
Another box ticked ... now it's only two more sleeps and two more training sessions until I break up. My case is already packed as well. You can't beat good preparation!
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Oddments
I have a few pieces of correspondence to deal with just now.
Top of the list is the e-mail from Ian Blanchard's office via Jordana North's desk at Soho Square asking for my shirt size as it seems that unique polo shorts are being prepared for the National Instructors Course in July. Next in line is the cheque which arrived in this morning's post.
It represents my match fee and expenses from Game 74. I earned at least double but I'm not (despite what players ask) on commission and my inbred good manners (and league constitution) prevent me from asking for more!
The third item is a notification form for setting out how many games I am prepared to offer to my existing Supply League. I am selecting 4/4 as I intend to concentrate on my Saturday games next season, but I have asked to be moved to a new Supply League, just for a change of scenery. So I may hang on to that one a little longer!
Top of the list is the e-mail from Ian Blanchard's office via Jordana North's desk at Soho Square asking for my shirt size as it seems that unique polo shorts are being prepared for the National Instructors Course in July. Next in line is the cheque which arrived in this morning's post.
It represents my match fee and expenses from Game 74. I earned at least double but I'm not (despite what players ask) on commission and my inbred good manners (and league constitution) prevent me from asking for more!
The third item is a notification form for setting out how many games I am prepared to offer to my existing Supply League. I am selecting 4/4 as I intend to concentrate on my Saturday games next season, but I have asked to be moved to a new Supply League, just for a change of scenery. So I may hang on to that one a little longer!
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