A referee who has progressed quickly through the promotion system from Level 7 to Level 5 and then selected to be a Level 4 official may not be fully ready for the challenges that lie ahead. Indeed, the new Level 4 referee may be relatively young and inexperienced but will have to cope with the demands of premier division matches in senior football and the management of experienced and older players and officials.
A workshop, held for the third consecutive year, was held on Sunday 27 July at Charterhouse School, Godalming. The aim of this workshop was to prepare better the new Level 4 referees for their first season in senior football. 15 invited referees aged 19 to 50 attended from Surrey, Middlesex, Sussex and the AFA.
The course was developed and led by David Hutchinson, Licensed Referee Instructor from Surrey. The instruction team consisted of experienced instructors Andy Taylor (Middx), Vince Penfold (Surrey), Ashley Slaughter (Sussex) and Paul Saunders (Sussex). Tim Lawrence, Tony Newman, Vic Rolland and Vic Skilton contributed on the day in an informal way.
Indoor, interactive sessions were held covering the following topics:
Adapting skills to meet the senior football environment
· Maximising authority
· Prematch briefing of assistant referees
· Administration essentials
· Assessments including the impact of application of law and match control on the final mark
Practical sessions outdoors covered:
· Match incidents: player-player and mass confrontations, managing misconduct in the technical areas
· The art of lining and assistant referee skills
The day was informative and enjoyable and the fifteen referees are now much better prepared as they embark on their careers as Supply League referees and Contributory League assistants.
Those who attended from Surrey were Rod Chatfield, Tim Gilmore, Daniel Machnik and Dave Sheldrake and we wish them well for next season.
David Hutchinson
FA Licensed Instructor
July 2008