Whistle of the Month - May
May's Whistle of the Month as chosen by editor Aaron Dine was the article below written by local referee Craig Robson on his season:
A season in review
In August last year I started my second season as a referee (my first full season). Now it’s May, I thought it might be interesting to look back on the year and reflect…
My season in numbers…
| Matches - 71 | Referee (R) - 44 | Assistant Referee (AR) - 27 | League - 48 |
| Cup -17 | Friendly - 6 | Cup Final (R) - 0 | Cup Final (AR) - 3 |
| Cautions - 55 | Send offs - 1 | Official reports - 2 | Personal hearing - 1 |
| C1 (US) - 30 | C2 (D) - 18 | C3 (PI) - 3 | C4 (DR) - 0 |
| C5 (F) - 0 | C6 (E) - 3 | C7 (L) - 0 | S5 (DOGSO) - 1 |
My season in matches…
Best appointed match (R) – St. Helena Bobs vs. Portsea Community, PSFL Premier Div Best appointed match (AR) – Havant & Waterlooville Ladies vs. Portsmouth Ladies, Hampshire Women’s Challenge Cup Final Most enjoyable match (R) – South Hants Glass vs. Horndean XI, MVFL Div 4 Most enjoyable match (AR) – Portsmouth vs. Chelsea, FA PL Academy U-18s Least enjoyable match (R) – Curlew vs. Bluebell, HSFL Div 1 Least enjoyable match (AR) – Maidenhead United Ladies vs. Aldershot Town Ladies, Southern Region Women’s League Cup semi-final Best assessed match (R) – Fleurs de Lys vs. Newcome Arms, PSFL Div 1 Worst assessed match (R) – Newcome Arms vs. Fleurs de Lys, PSFL Div 1 Best assessed match (AR) – Horndean vs. AFC Porchester, Wessex League Div 1 Worst assessed match (AR) – Horndean vs. Fawley AFC, Wessex League Div 1
My season in words…
I entered the season chasing promotion to level 6 which I achieved in March this year. Having attained level 6 I applied for promotion to level 5 and have been assessed twice already (hats off to Mr. Potter there). Whilst there is plenty of room for development – I have been told I need to (deep breath) manage dissent better, communicate with players only when needed and think about what I say during a match e.g. “watch your hands”, as well as run a better control path, be more consistent in application of law and more. Having said all that, things are going fairly well and with a little bit of luck I should be on course to get my “5”.
I feel my lining has improved substantially from last year when I was shocking (Bunny can verify this – I dropped him in it at least twice at a Cup semi-final at Eastney Barracks) and this is primarily down to lining regularly on the Wessex League. Having been assessed several times this too has helped me to improve my overall game, but I strongly recommend those seeking promotion to levels 6, 5 and 4 that they either attend the assessors course (if eligible) or go to watch a match with an assessor to get an idea of what assessors are looking for and how this differs from one level to another.
Finally I’d like to say thanks to Chris Bagnall, Mike Desborough, Ray Hallett, Ash Potter, Bunny Redding and Dean Treleaven for their support and advice throughout the season.
If you are interested in contributing to the magazine then please send your articles to the Magazine Editor, Aaron Dine: ajd77@cantab.net