Ken Wallace, New Zealand Football's Referee Development Manager, recently announced his retirement from his post after 20 years in the position. Football South presented Ken Wallace with a gift to thank Ken for his work in Referee development and we wish him the best for his retirement. Ken visited the region last weekend and attended the Otago Daily Times Southern Premiership matches between South City Royals and Green Island on Saturday, and Mosgiel and Northern on Sunday to assess the referee teams. As well as assessing the officiating of the game, Ken ran an assessor's seminar.  

The day was run as a collaborative group discussion around various activities. It focused on how Football South approaches coaching and assessing referees in a positive and constructive manner. The activities included group discussions, video interpretations, and mapping trends coming from local experiences in our regions. Attendee John de Bono gave us an insight into the day, “As with all training sessions we started the day with the Laws of the Game. It’s always an entertaining start to test one another's knowledge of the current laws! Whether a referee or assistant referee on the field or a coach/assessor on the side-line we must all understand the laws.” Chris Rhoades thought the day was hugely beneficial, “I really enjoyed getting together with fellow referees and assessors to review & refresh our knowledge of our roles. The most common feedback I get as an active referee is about inconsistency. The day provided a great opportunity to test our understanding, so we have a consistent view and it especially useful being able to watch video analysis.”  

Craig Smith was another referee who felt the day was incredibly useful and felt it was a fitting farewell to Ken, “It was a great day, focusing on how to provide meaningful, positive feedback, and framing those learning opportunities. I will certainly endeavour to take those lessons and put them into practice. It was great to reconnect with a number of old comrades and meet some new faces. Bouncing ideas in a group setting always provides a meaningful learning experience. Also thanks to the match officials and teams for putting on a competitive match to review and report on. Lastly, thanks Ken for sharing that unique Ken experience with us one last time. Go well and enjoy the next life phase!” 

The day ended by performing an assessment on a very capable trio of referees and a de-brief with our facilitator Ken Wallace. Neil Fox believed it was a very constructive day, commenting “It was great to have Ken facilitate an assessors seminar in Dunedin to upskill the knowledge base and experience in our assessing ranks.” We’d like to thank all those who attended and give a massive thanks to Ken for travelling down, and to Lindsey, our Referee Development Manager, for organising the event. Interested in becoming a referee? Contact our Referee Development Manager at Lindsey@footballsouth.co.nz or fill out a Referee Expression of Interest form.   

Article added: Friday 02 July 2021