Referee Instructors Attend EAFF, Course, Set Up Local Course

Referee Instructors Attend EAFF, Course, Set Up Local Course

[January 18, 2019 – Harmon, Guam] – With the Triple J Auto Group Robbie Webber Youth League set to kick off next month, the Guam Football Association Referee Department will be organizing the first introductory soccer referee course of the year beginning Jan. 30.

Slots are still available for the four-session course, and participants who complete all requirements may receive appointments as early as opening day of the youth league on Feb. 9.

“Particularly for this introductory course, we will teach participants the Laws of the Game, as well as what they will need to know to be officiating matches of the younger age groups,” said Shawn Spindel, GFA Referee Administrator and Local Referee Instructor. “Our main goal is to provide the network and support for young referees who we hope will stay in the program and move up the ranks. By providing the proper environment early on with a structured course, we hope to create positive experiences for all participants so they enjoy being out on the pitch officiating matches and take being a referee at a young age more seriously.”

The online registration form is available on GFA’s official Web site here.

Participants must be at least 14 years old by the end of 2019 or older. No previous officiating experience is necessary.

The 2019 introductory course comes after Spindel and other local instructors Kyle Legozzie, and James Oh helped facilitate the 2019 EAFF Referee Course held earlier this month at the GFA National Training Center, with Northern Mariana Islands local instructors Ruselle Zapanta and Cristy Villaflor. The local instructors, as well as intermediate to advanced referees from both Guam and NMI, participated in a four-day course with visiting lead instructor Sachiko Yamagishi and assistant instructor Tadashi Hase from Japan.

Yamagishi is one of Japan’s most decorated referees, earning the coveted Asian Football Confederation Referee of the Year award five times and officiating at all levels of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, including the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, before retiring in 2016. Yamagishi is now a FIFA and AFC Referee Assessor and instructor.

The EAFF Referee Course featured four days of classroom sessions and three days of training on the pitch. On the pitch, participating referees were given the opportunity to learn about field positioning, identifying varying levels and types of fouls, and referee fitness, among other topics, shadowing Yamagishi and Hase. Participants also took part in understanding the various roles of the Assistant Referee on the pitch.

“The EAFF Referee Course was very helpful for myself, James, and Kyle,” Spindel said. “The course did very well in getting us to engage our participants a lot better, as well as teaching us to manage our time more wisely.

“When we facilitate the upcoming introductory course, participants can expect us to be even more knowledgeable, as well as more engaging so everyone stays interested,” Spindel added.

In addition to providing instruction and support for up-and-coming referees from the region, the EAFF referee course also focused on training local instructors to continue referee education for national referees.

Local Referee Instructors and referees who completed all four days of the EAFF course were presented with EAFF certificates.

Participants in the recently concluded EAFF Referee Course held at the Guam Football Association National Training Center earlier this month pose for a group photo. In the photo are, seated, left to right, Northern Mariana Islands local referee instructors Cristy Villaflor and Ruselle Zapanta, EAFF Executive Director Aoi Konishi, GFA Executive Director Cheri Stewart, visiting lead instructor Sachiko Yamagishi (seated in center in white shirt), visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase (seated in center with white and gray shirt), GFA referee instructors Shawn Spindel, James Oh, and Kyle Legozzie, and GFA Director of Referees George Stewart. In the middle row, from left to right, are Ryan Root, Autumn Yatar, Taka Borja, Merrick Toves, Sebastien Manabat, Katherine Magat, Jeralyn Castillo, Angelica Mia Carreon, Davy Laxa, Floyd Muna, Royanne Salas, and Joshua Bamba. In the back row, from left to right, are John Halili, Voltaire Salvador, Don Cabrera, David Drews, Brian Murray, Christopher Harris, Josiah Elwell, and James Lee. Not in the photo is Cason Jackson and Derrick Yen. Yamagishi and visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase conducted the EAFF Referee Course to provide instruction and guidance for intermediate to advanced referees from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as local instructors to continue referee education with national referees. The GFA Referees Department will put on the year’s first GFA Introductory Referee Course beginning Jan. 30.

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Visiting lead instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Sachiko Yamagishi (in all black) explains a match scenario to participating referees during a classroom session at the Guam Football Association National Training Center. Yamagishi and visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase conducted the EAFF Referee Course to provide instruction and guidance for intermediate to advanced referees from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as local instructors to continue referee education with national referees.

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Visiting lead instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Sachiko Yamagishi, demonstrates proper referee posture during a training session at the Guam Football Association National Training Center. Yamagishi and visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase conducted the EAFF Referee Course to provide instruction and guidance for intermediate to advanced referees from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as local instructors to continue referee education with national referees.

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Visiting lead instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Sachiko Yamagishi, high fives course participant Brian Murray after a training session at the Guam Football Association National Training Center. Yamagishi and visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase conducted the EAFF Referee Course to provide instruction and guidance for intermediate to advanced referees from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as local instructors to continue referee education with national referees.

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Visiting lead instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Sachiko Yamagishi (in white shirt) explains an activity objective to referee James Lee and his group during a training session at the Guam Football Association National Training Center. Yamagishi and visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase conducted the EAFF Referee Course to provide instruction and guidance for intermediate to advanced referees from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as local instructors to continue referee education with national referees.

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Visiting assistant instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Tadashi Hase, manages a training session with referees and the Guam U19 national training squad at the Guam Football Association National Training Center. Hase, and visiting lead instructor Sachiko Yamagishi, conducted the EAFF Referee Course to provide instruction and guidance for intermediate to advanced referees from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as local instructors to continue referee education with national referees.

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Visiting lead instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Sachiko Yamagishi, addresses course participants in the closing ceremony of the course as visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase (in background) looks on at the Guam Football Association National Training Center. Yamagishi and visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase conducted the EAFF Referee Course to provide instruction and guidance for intermediate to advanced referees from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as local instructors to continue referee education with national referees.