PRAISE FROM WITHIN

Andrew Leonard

In the week where an AFL coach found himself in hot water with an official at a junior match it was great to receive positive feedback from a VAFA coach on the work of one of our officials. 
In the recent Women’s Round one of our female umpires Jayde Daly was scheduled to umpire the home Uni Blacks Under 19 Premier fixture. 
University Blacks Under 19 coach Steve Cerni was glowing in his praise of Jayde who was one of the umpires in control.
 In Steve’s words, “If that was the standard and the example set I would  highly recommend that you have more female umpires on your roster. 
“I haven’t been involved with a game with a female umpire since the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and dare I say it, Jayde’s performance was right up there with the best umpires I’ve had.” he said. 
Jayde and her fellow field umpire Julian did not have a flawless outing, as neither do the players and coaches on any given Saturday, but they did show a level of confidence, leadership and enforcement that is necessary for any game to proceed in a competitive spirit. 
A particular highlight was the fact that Jayde and Julian complimented the players after the match telling them they played the game in a great way, fair and without comment. 
Cerni again, “I appreciate that the umpires make these comments, whether they are positive comments or things for improvement.”
This is quite telling for me, because sometimes a players frustration level is reflected in how they feel about the umpiring decisions. Indeed, it is rare that there is no comment to be made.