Our new plan to appoint a head referee is to have someone to mastermind the development and administration of officials in Sussex.
At the moment we have four or five people doing this one job and inevitably it's a little bit all over the place. That's not taking anything away from the guys who are doing it now, but it is something we need to get under the control of one person.
We might still need those people within the new set-up, but as a county refereeing is something we need to address.
The head referee will give officials the best administrative service available.
We want to co-ordinate the promotion aspect of refereeing. It's important officials get what's due to them. If they are good enough, we can get them forward better.
There are at least two referees in Sussex who have just been promoted. We are waiting for confirmation this week, but it's exciting stuff.
Lee Bonaldi and Matthew Knight will be officiating in the upcoming crunch Nationwide Conference match between Yeovil and Rushden.
And then there's the young emerging Ashleigh Slaughter.
Ashleigh is coming on well - and that's because he has been part of the mentor scheme that operates.
Matthew has been one of his mentors. We feel that the mentor scheme is something we can expand. After all, if Ashleigh has come on great guns under the scheme, I wonder how many others can develop with the help of experienced referees.
People like Gary Willard and Martin Bodenham have worked particularly hard and we do have all the other top guys on board as well. We want to encourage them all to help us bring on the young talent.
I read Dave Mallinder's piece last week with interest. He was speaking about offering psychological help to referees.
My comments to that is this is where I want the mentor scheme to become much stronger. There are referees who have difficulty handling all the abuse that might come their way.
This is where we need older heads or top refs to assist us.
The head referee position might be a full-time post. We have not decided yet. But it is certainly an area where we are keen to invest. But maybe there might be someone out there who has passion for this area and will work as a volunteer.
We're just waiting to see who apply and of course will look at our next move after the interviews. I have received a few applications and hopefully we can get something fixed up soon.
If you are interested in this post or would like more information, please don't hesitate to contact our office on 01903 753547.
l APPLICATIONS can be sent in the post to: Ken Benham, Sussex FA, Culver Road, Lancing BN16 9AX.
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