The Momentum Club

This past week marks 10 years since I started refereeing football which in itself feels like a lifetime. However, the past 10 years has transformed me into the person I am today and hopefully I can show you how following a passion can lead to great things (and may even convince you to give refereeing a go).

As a 15 year old, I came across an advert online looking for referees, being a terrible footballer myself but with a real passion for the game and a desire to be involved I decided to sign up. This was mostly because I didn’t want your regular Saturday job in a cafe or such like. So I signed up for the course, a total leap into the unknown.

Over the next few weeks, I attended the Grammar FP club in Aberdeen going through the laws in incredible depth (now over the past 10 years the tech has caught up and there is an online course which I link below) and eventually sat my exam and passed. What next? A leap into the unknown certainly. My first game was a whirlwind which included 4 penalties and a retake and plenty of adrenaline. However, after that first game I was hooked. The buzz of being in the middle of it all is a buzz I still get today and is a feeling that you can only describe to other match officials. For 90 minutes, my full focus is on football. Whatever problems I may have are parked in the changing room door and my full attention is on the field of play.

What started as me looking for some extra cash turned into full blown pursuit to climb the ladder up the football levels. Not only that, I was now a part of a community, one that has produced some really good friends of mine over the years and gave me so much transferable skills that I could use in everyday life, some of which I will talk about below.

If I look back over the years, lots of things have changed. 16 year old me was an introvert, fairly shy and quiet, but refereeing gave me my confidence but not only that it gave me so much more:

• A major part of refereeing of course is decision making, on the field you need to be decisive in a split second with just the 1 look at an incident. This has really helped of the pitch as well in working life and my social life where I am able to make rational but logical decisions much quicker than perhaps I would be able to.
• A side of refereeing that many people may not think about is the side of leadership and teamwork. Now I think these two things come hand in hand, to be a part of team you need a strong leader and vice versa. I will talk about the amazing opportunities I have had within refereeing later on however I have been fortunate enough to work with assistant referee’s and been an assistant referee on a number of occasions. This is a different dynamic than operating on your own on a council park. Like every football team, you need to have cohesion together which is primarily led by the referee showing leadership by setting out his expectations of the assistants but equally the assistants play a key part in the outcome for the team, so through refereeing my teamwork and my leadership skills have improved ten fold.
• A clear fitness goal – refereeing is physically demanding. Referees cover a lot of ground, anytime lot of which at a high intensity trying to get into the best position to see infringements etc. Certainly since I first started there is a greater emphasis on fitness but has kept me motivated to stay fit.

The opportunities in refereeing are now a major selling point to those who are thinking about it. Now when Ii first started my expectations were fairly low as I said I was only looking for an extra few quid. However, the progression that is there to be had, especially after the introduction of VAR, is incredible. Currently I operate as a referee in the Highland league (tier 5 of the pyramid) and as an assistant referee in Scottish League 1 and 2 (tier 3 and 4) which is incredible to think as if I played instead I would never have got to the level I am at. Not only that, I have been involved in so much exciting games and tournaments that have taken me to some amazing places. I have been able to travel all over Scotland, to Northern Ireland and even as far as Spain to referee so there are so many exciting opportunities within refereeing to explore.

Now sadly it isn’t always sunshine and rainbows (like most things), you only have a look at the media to understand how hard it can be to be a referee. Its hard to be the most disliked person on the field. However, the real trick is trying to drown out the noise, stick to the laws of the game and build relationships with managers and players. A real breathe of fresh air to football is referees being allowed to do more media appearances like Anthony Taylor doing podcasts etc. It makes referees more human and starts to breakdown barriers / stereotypes that people may have. Also, the introduction of VAR based shows both here in Scotland and in England has brought a focus on refereeing however in a positive manner in my opinion by allowing Joe Public to hear the audio from games with VAR involved. Again this makes referees more rational and allows fans to understand what goes into a decision.

The opportunities within refereeing are endless, the positive effects of refereeing both in a physical and social aspect to me far out weighs the negative stereotype that is painted within football and wider society.

Currently referee shortages play havoc in the lower reaches of the game. Kids missing out on football with their pals as a result of no referees. I’m so glad that I stepped into refereeing when I did.

As mentioned earlier there is a new way you can complete the course which is online and you are able to complete at your leisure, the link is below.

https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish-fa/referees/become-a-referee/

If you are interested in learning more drop me a DM and I can point you in the right direction.