Member of the Month: Chris Kelly
The CDSRA Member of the Month features referees of different ages, levels, and backgrounds to reflect the diversity in our referee community and our association. Our April 2022 Member of the Month is Chris Kelly
Questions & Answers:
Q: Current Referee Level & Highest level attained:
A: My current referee level is regional – I took the regional upgrade course in 2019 and successfully completed all steps by the end of the year. I was upgraded to Regional Status effective January 2020. Locally, as of last year, I passed the threshold where I can be the head referee in games other than youth and adult games that are “my age”.
Q: When did you begin, and what motivated you to start refereeing?
A: Going back several years, I had watched my son (Nick) play soccer. At some point along the way Nick wanted to start earning some pocket money, so in March of 2017 he enrolled in the referee course. That first outdoor season he officiated in 127 games, and of those, I attended 123 of them. I enjoyed watching him so much I said: “I want to do that!”. I enrolled in the referee course at my next opportunity, which was in February of 2018. Somehow, I managed to officiate in more games than Nick did in my first outdoor season.
What has been your most enjoyable game/memory of your referee career?
A: There’s lots of games that stick out in my mind in my referee career so far. Some for good reasons, others for not so good reasons. But one in particular I think back on and still chuckle having a “what was I thinking” moment. I was reffing a boys U11 game in my first year of outdoor, things seemed to be going well. I was keeping up with play, called a few fouls, but at one point in the game the ball had gone out for a corner kick. The ball had gone quite a distance from the field of play and the defending team wanted a substitution. At the time, all I could think of was, “I’m not letting the defending team sub unless the attacking team wants a sub”. So, when the coach made the request, I glanced over at the other coach and he didn’t appear to want to sub, so I denied the sub request. Play continues, no issues from the coach and eventually the game ends.
After the game, this “guy” comes up to me and says “I thought you reffed a great game, but I have one question… why didn’t you allow the defending team a sub on that corner?” I looked at the guy, who was wearing sun glasses, and I’m thinking “who does this guy think he is?”. I respond with “as the referee I have the right to grant or deny sub requests”. And he says “I know the rules, but what was your reasoning behind not allowing the sub? You had more than enough time to get the sub done before the ball made its way back to the corner flag.” And then this guy takes off his sunglasses and I recognize him as the instructor at the referee meeting I attended the previous night – it was Richard Sansregret! (for those that don’t know, he’s a national referee instructor). We chatted at length after the game, I learned quite a bit in that short period of time.
What do you love most about refereeing?
A: I love several things about reffing. Keeping in shape is the first thing that comes to mind. When I’m doing the best I can to protect the players, and at the end of the game, having those players come up to me and acknowledge this, is another. But what I’m finding I love most is the relationships I’ve developed and continue to develop with other referees and even the players themselves. I never thought this would happen when I first signed up for the referee course.
Not really playing soccer when I was young (I played for 1 season), I’m really learning to love the game itself. Being a part of the game and seeing how the players manage things on the field is really quite amazing
Q: When did you first become a CDSRA member. and what encouraged you to join?
A: My very first tournament was a Calgary Rangers 3v3 tournament. That’s where I met Sebastian Richters for the first time. We had a good chat early on in that tournament and he asked if I’d like to further my ref career, suggesting I checkout the CDSRA. I went to my first “RED” meeting and was hooked! I love being able to hang out with other referees and “talk shop”, along with learning something at every meeting I go to.
Q: What advice would you give to somebody just starting out refereeing?
A: For those new referees, it seems like everyone wants to move ahead and do higher level games right out of the gates. I know I did. But what I’d try and pass onto new referees is that it takes time to build as a referee. Learn as much as you can from other referees – there’s a lot of good advice out there and take those things that you can use and build on them. Remembering back to that first season, I wanted to move up to those high level tier 1 games along with adult games as fast as possible – thinking back, I’m glad I didn’t.
Always go back to the Laws of the Game – If you are thinking about a particular situation in a game and wondering if you made the right call, go back and review the section of the Laws you had questions on, and where possible, discuss these situations with other referees. Use the community!
Q: What do you do outside of refereeing and what are some of your interests?
A: Outside refereeing, I spend most of my time during the day at a computer – I’m a software developer, with my latest position being a “data engineer” - mostly it’s working through data migrations. Outside of work I spent time with family and friends enjoying movies, live theatre, hiking, and shopping.