Support The Hero In The Black

A reminder that Derry Hill United returns to training this coming weekend, Saturday 27th October. The next break will be for Christmas when the Club will be closed on Saturday 22nd December, last training session of 2007 will be on the w/end of 15th December. We return to training the first weekend of 2008 on Saturday 5th January.

Remember to order your items of kit for Christmas - last orders Saturday 27th October.

I also want to take this opportunity to address the issue of player, coach and parent pressure on referees. A subject which has vexed both the national press and FA recently (see this article for details).

DHUFC is currently sponsoring, mentoring and actively promoting its older members to get involved in refereeing. The reason? - there is a huge shortage of qualified referees. Why? - here are some raw figures from within the County;-

• 128 Youth/Minor Football Clubs
• 700 Youth/Minor Teams
• 5 Youth/Minor Leagues
• 300 qualified referees (mostly used to cover all adult games within the County)

Before publically voicing your dissatisfaction about a refereeing decision I ask that you consider the following;-

1. Are you better positioned to make a judgement?
2. Are you better qualified to make the decision?
3. Do you feel that sharing your opinion in public is likely to improve the referee's desire to continue?
4. How would you feel if it was your son/daughter that was subject to this public, verbal abuse?

I would ask you to consider whether you are prepared to referee the match - because if you are, youth and minor football is desperate to have you do so, if you're not then please keep your opinion to yourself. You will be offering far more support to your players by doing this as opposed to turning referees away by shouting your opinion at them.

If coaches, parents and players continue to behave in an aggressive way toward referees they are going to continue to leave in their droves and there will be no-one to referee the game and the children will not play.

Enjoy watching your child, share their delight and enjoyment, their highs and lows, but help them to understand the officials are their friends - without them we have no game. Help us create a friendly, enjoyable and supportive environment in which the players, our children, can develop and learn.

Remember keep the game in perspective and your behaviour in check.

I thank you for your support.

If you wish to become a referee then please contact Alan on WantToRef@dhufc.org

DHUFC pays your course fees and offers support and mentorship to help build your confidence and decision making. Anyone from 14 years of age can apply.