Assessment #3

My heart was beating fast. It was make or break today. It was the last game of football of the year. My last shot. I needed the pass if I wanted to get to the next level.

Assessment #1

I hope you’re being evaluated. That’s shocking.

Assessment #1

“You haven’t passed your assessment”

I was sitting on the other side of the bench with both legs on either side and

Week 1

It’s a quiet week having returned from a long haul flight but things are about to return to normal with the refereeing routine. Almost a month off since the last game.

What is tomorrow?

Week 37

The first day of the week was a couple of Mens recreational games with my instructor who I took my referees course with. It had been a while since I had seen him so it was definitely nice. That’s a lie. I was super excited about it. It was only the second time in four years I had seen him.

I was brought up and taught both in my youth and early years of refereeing with a simple phrase/saying.

Week 36

No games during the week. No training either. I decided that it would be good to have a full 5 days with no intense physical activity involving the legs other than generally walking.

It was also a major transition in schedule as I moved from work to classes so it was useful to slow things down.

I’ve had plenty of reflection on match control and how it has affected certain games throughout my career that have been memorable. It will be interesting to try out some new techniques when I next have the chance.

All the action was the weekend.

Week 33 Part 2

A day’s rest that was well-used.

Soon off for my next game on Saturday. I met to carpool with a senior and highly experienced referee in my area. He was also one of my favourite assessors since he breaks down the cause and effect relationship very well. It’s clear to see what I need to work on to resolve issues I have in the game. It goes a little beyond

Week 33 Part 1

No games on the first day of the week but I was phoned by a younger referee nervous about getting his first official assessment. He was in the middle for a mid-competitive youth age group. Instead of lecturing him, I asked him how he had prepared and how he intended to go about doing certain aspects of the game. He seemed to be in the right frame of mind but just missing the confidence. After chatting for a few hours with him when he came over to my place, he calmed down and gave me a surprise

Week 31

Half the week is no refereeing but doesn’t mean training has stopped.

Actually I have to be fair. This is my first training session all season because I haven’t had a break like this at all. Was good for the off-time to be controlled on my own terms but since it isn’t in-game, I notice fatigue more during training since there are no fouls to focus on.

A great opportunity for recovery. In the meantime, I wrote up my first assessment report for an assistant referee as practice. Definitely felt time-consuming just doing it for one member of the crew. Now I know

Game #4

I consider this Game #4 this season because these games qualify me as being active.

It was no ordinary appointment either. I won’t lie to you here. I was definitely nervous pre-match. It was set to be a highly competitive match. All Cup matches are because there must be a winner and only one team will prevail. This was going to make or break my season.

Sunday was match day and