What are the benefits of being in the School of Excellence?
Coaches
Each Academy in the School of Excellence is assigned a Referee Coach from the School of Excellence Staff that provides support, encouragement and advice throughout the season.
Professional Clubs.
School of Excellence Referees are appointed to referee MK Dons, Reading and Wycombe Wanderers youth matches in addition to the matches they referee on local leagues. These matches are played in an environment where no criticism or abuse is tolerated and this creates an excellent development opportunity where referees can try new things without fair of criticism. Each match is observed by a Referee Coach who provides feedback to the officials on how they can develop.
Meetings
Meetings are held Bi monthly at which the School of Excellence referees can share match incidents and discuss refereeing issues. Guest speakers are also invited to hold In service training events.
Fitness
This season we have introduced education on fitness and will be offering the referees a training opportunity twice a season under the guidance of the School of Excellence Fitness Coordinator.
What is expected of a School of Excellence Referee?
There are a lot of positives to being in School of Excellence and as such, much is expected of them.
Poor behaviour is not tolerated at any time, whether on School of Excellence duty or not.
Attendance at meetings is compulsory and referees are expected at all times to be positive, receptive to constructive criticism and take advantage of all opportunities to develop their skills.
How do you get selected to join the School of Excellence?
Interest in the School of Excellence is high and we have limited places - currently there are 30 referees in the School of Excellence. Therefore we undertake a process of identification and eventual selection of the most promising referees.
Identification can be through your attitude and enthusiasm which may be noted by the Referee Development Officer or through feedback to the RDO by other referees/assessors/mentors/ clubs/leagues etc.
All those considered to have the potential are invited to an Open Evening with their families in June or July where further information is provided. Those wishing to be considered then put themselves forward for a selection interview from which those who are deemed to be the most committed and able to progress are offered places.
School of Excellence places are under constant review and those who do not meet the requirements are asked to leave. This is not a commitment to be undertaken lightly.
Who is in the School of Excellence?
At the moment the School of Excellence consists of the following referees:
George Perrott
Harry Tarrant
Chris Shacklock
Daniel Todd
Ryan Dix
Sean Denton
Colin Capp
Lauren Tuxford
Alex Gifford
Steven Gifford
Ashley Burton
Gifford Manyange
William Elgeti
Jack Hobbs
William Jewell
James Sumner
Robert Whittaker
Ed Henderson
Joe Weatherley
Samantha Nice
Scott Davies
Matthew Hawkins
Matthew O'Riordan
John Payne
Charlie Bullock
Stephen Saunders
Sam Baldock
Richard Dow
Michael Harper
Stefan Blunden
For further information on the School of Excellence or to express your interest in becoming a School of Excellence referee, please contact:
Corin Readett, Referee Development Officer.
corin.readett@berks-bucksfa.com