The event, open to all referees, assessors, tutors and mentors, started with the day’s key speaker Lee Probert. Lee is on the Premier League select group list of referees and is also on the FIFA list of referees.
Lee’s first interactive presentation of the day was about his career path and how he got to where he is today, from officiating his first match at the age of 16 on the Isle of Wight and having to herd sheep off the pitch to officiating at Wembley in the 2010 FA Trophy Final.
The key message from Lee was that it doesn’t matter where you live, if you are good enough you can make it all the way to the top. With the right belief in yourself and dedication you can go all the way. The surprise visitor later in the day was the ultimate example of this advice.
Following Lee’s presentation was Craig Cox from the FA and Craig provided The FA national update on match officials and how many officials the country has at each level of refereeing, with 5,000 qualified referees at Level 9 that need to be integrated into the promotion system being the most promising figure. Craig highlighted the promotion steps for officials at all levels and really enthused everyone with the possibilities ahead.
The final talk before lunch was from Claire Taylor of Taylormade performance & rehabilitation clinic that is based in Exeter, Claire prior to this was the physiotherapist for Exeter City & Plymouth Argyle respectively. Claire’s presentation was based around prevention of injuries & nutrition, in this Claire covered the benefits of a good warm-up routine with static & dynamic stretches for approximately 15-18 minutes prior to a game, and also the best food and fluid intakes to use.
At lunch a special surprise guest in the form of Devon’s own Mike Mullarkey fresh with his FIFA World Cup Final medal. Mike was kind enough to pose for pictures and give a brief talk on his experience of officiating at the 2010 World Cup Final which was still understandably yet to sink in.
After lunch and with everyone still in amazement of seeing a World Cup medal, Martin Cassidy FA Level 3 Referees Coach gave a presentation on “safety first refereeing” this was featured around the advantage law and when best to play advantage or when to stop the game for a free-kick.
This was then followed by key note speaker Lee Probert who delivered a presentation on “the benefits of keeping it simple & safe” in conjunction with several videos the audience participated with Lee who was demonstrating at what point is it best to blow up for a free kick to prevent players getting out of control with the level of tackles.
Claire Taylor then took the floor again with a presentation on dealing with injuries, in this she covered the types of injury an official might receive and the expected recovery time depending on the grade of the injury. Claire looked at different levels of injuries and how best to go about treating them.
To finish the afternoon off all the speakers took took part in an question & answer session with the main discussion being on whether goal line technology should be introduced into the game.
A great day was had by all and special thanks given to Lee Probert, Martin Cassidy, Craig Cox and Claire Taylor for the excellent presentations, and Adam Hopkins of the Devon FA with Ray Brown of the Cornwall FA for all their hard work in organising the day.