Having retired from the Senior List of Referees at the end of Season 2005/06, I was delighted to be offered the position by the Scottish Football Association of Association Manager to the SFA Referees (Fife) in October 2006.
My main duties being to act as the SFA representative in supporting the Fife Association to develop all members within the Fife Association and to ensure that all members receive correct advice and guidance.
The transition from the “shop floor” to the post I now hold was not the easiest,certainly over the first few months. There were a number of difficult decisions that I needed to take early on in the position in terms of reclassification to ensure that the criteria set out by the SFA was being met correctly.
From the outset of this Season the structure of the Fife Association is now in line with where I believe it needs to be to move the Association forward. Having a Development Team of Les Deas,Hugh McHendry and Tom Matthews along with George Paul operating as a Fife Advisor, I have a group with a vast knowledge of the game across a broad spectrum from youth football through to what it takes to move onwards and upwards in today’s refereeing world.
Members within Fife have a superb structure in place to assist them at all levels. Ranging from their induction into the Association as a Trainee member with the Referee Support Scheme embracing new members and ensuring that an appropriate mentor is allocated,through to the excellent coaching on offer from the Coaching Coordinator and the highly successful Tutorial team.
There are exciting times ahead for the Fife Association with many of its members being earmarked for progression towards the Senior List. Over the past 12 months I have identified, along with my Development Advisors, a number of highly capable individuals who can and will progress further. Working closely with the Tutorial team and the YDI coordinator,likely candidates for progression are being identified far earlier on in the process than they have ever been. Provided these candidates show willing, the opportunity for fast progression will be given. That is not to say that only those candidates for progression to the Senior classification will be progressed. Prior to the start of this current Season a number of Referees within Fife were regraded to a higher classification, with the indication being that there will be further movement of a few individuals at the end of this current Season.
As in any walk of life, advancement is something that must be earned. The criteria to achieve this in terms of Refereeing is Meeting attendance,involvement within the Association and Training attendance,and more importantly, performance at training. The Fife Association is blessed with an excellent trainer in Tom Matthews,someone who has consistenly ensured that the level of training and advice offered to all participants at the training sessions is of the highest calibre.
As we now enter the business end of this current Season, I believe that the structure is now more clearly defined within the Fife set-up. The mechanisms are well in place and the opportunities for fast tracking and advancement are better than they have ever been. I really only have one question to ask then :- Are you ready ?