REFSIX attends the English College FA's Referee Development Day

Today we attended the inaugural ECFA Referee Development Day that was put on in collaboration between BUCS and AoC Sport.  40 referees were in attendance, who are part of the new Refereeing Hubs being set up at colleges and universities all over the country.

A great lineup with Master of Ceremonies Lucy Oliver co-ordinating the activities for the day.

First up was Tom Bowkett talking about how the RA-FA Youth Council is helping amplify the voice of young referees as well as attracting new referees to the game.  

Liam Slack, Sports Psychologist from the PGMO, then spoke about how top-flight referees use mental techniques to help them focus on the most important decision, the next one!

Michael Oliver was next up discussing how to improve relationships between referees and players/coaches.  

After lunch, and a quick demo of REFSIX, the group were put through their paces with a variety of different practical sessions, including a strength and conditioning session put on by Phil Hewitt, an assistant referee session put on by Jane Simms and Peter Roberts and of course a session by Michael Oliver too.