Scottish Centre of Refereeing Excellence (SCORE)

Last month you may have seen us post on social media about our Scottish Centre of Refereeing Excellence (SCORE) candidates. We recently had two of our members complete the programme and another two selected to start.

First of all you might be asking what SCORE is? SCORE is a programme ran by the Scottish FA Referee Operations department in collaboration with Heriot Watt University, has helped to identify and develop talented referees and assistant referees through intensive coaching, observation and training. It has provided the referees with opportunities to obtain one to one coaching and training from experienced coaches. Aside from the refereeing benefits, it has also exposed the officials to a number of academic topics which has helped them manage and deliver their matches successfully.

Recently David Doig and Simon Maclean completed their course which they started back in June 2016, so we sat down and asked them how their journey was…

David Doig

Being a part of SCORE’s first year with a focus driven towards assistant refereeing was a huge privilege, and having now successfully completed the course and reflecting back it was a great experience.

Having a current FIFA official as my Coach for the last two seasons has been invaluable, by being able to learn from his experiences and having the opportunity to discuss incidents occurring from my own matches, or, any other clips we could find from around the world.

The academic side of the course also gave us the opportunity to further explore different areas that have an effect on refereeing, and by having a deeper understanding we could develop these skills into our training or matches.

 
 
Simon Maclean

The SCORE programme has been a great opportunity to develop as an official. It has undoubtedly been hard work, but at the same time has been a highly motivating context for learning, and a privilege to be a part of.

Having games filmed on a regular basis, and the subsequent access to high quality footage, has provided an invaluable opportunity for self-analysis and improvement.

Allied to the opportunity to receive coaching and guidance from top level assistant referees, this has allowed me to develop both skills and confidence as an assistant referee.

The regular get togethers as a SCORE group, and the physical and practical training sessions from top referees and assistants, have also been of great benefit and highly motivating.

The academic course proved interesting and allowed me to look at some aspects of officiating in a new way, and gain further insight into my practice.

Congratulations to both on completing their course and we look forward to seeing their refereeing careers progress. We also announced last month that two new candidates had been selected from Edinburgh and District, Craig Ferguson and Daniel Graves. The Association and both David and Simon wish them both every success on their SCORE journey and can’t wait to see where it takes them.

Leave a comment