Referee Program Check-In
Despite the busiest part of the year for referees (the spring and summer) having wrapped up, initiatives to support Club Referee development are still underway.
This past Saturday, November 9th, two exhibition games took place that permitted four of our Club Referees to achieve some “firsts” in their officiating careers.
Maddy, Adrian, and Jared
Saturday’s 11am U13 girls OPDL exhibition match between NT Nitros and Cherry Beach saw Club Referees Maddy and Jared on the line as ARs for an OPDL game for the first time. Club Referee Mentor, Adrian, took up the role of the middle referee.
The match ended 2-1 for NT in what was a very close game on a brisk, but sunny day. The referee crew could not have asked for a better November day to officiate at one of the highest levels of youth competitive soccer!
The 3pm U13 boys iModel exhibition match on Saturday between NT Nitros and Toronto High Park FC saw Club Referee Leni and Hanna officiate an 11v11 format for the first time, along with being ARs for the first time. Club Head Referee, Ben, was in the middle, with Adrian acting as a stand-in fourth official along with his mentorship role.
The match itself ended in a 3-2 win for High Park after a closely contested two halves. NT pulled ahead with the first goal of the game early in the first half, but High Park went on to score three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead. With around 10 minutes left in the game NT pulled one back to make it 3-2, but were unable to find that last goal to pull the game level before full time.
Hanna, Ben, and Leni
Taking notes during the game, Adrian’s observations allowed for the crew to spend time reviewing the match from an officiating standpoint afterwards.
It’s often a nervous experience officiating at a new level for the first time, but Leni and Hanna had a number of positive points of feedback to take away from the experience, the most important of all was enjoying the new challenge and having fun!
Club Referees are looking forward to stepping out on the field again for the final exhibition games of 2024 later this month!
