I had an interesting point made to me the other night - the essence of which manifested itself the very next day.
A fellow junior cricket coach remarked to me after our club's prizegiving ... "Isn't it interesting that the people who do the coaching are usually the busiest".
What he was saying was that the people with the least amount of spare time seemed to do most of the club's coaching and administration. I laughed - he's right. I didn't contemplate why until the next day when rugby season kicked off and I was running the sideline for a team I help coach. I'd noticed the same faces running several of the other teams. It got me wondering why more people don't coach or referee. Out in the middle, we had a young referee running his first game of rugby. For a first timer, he did a good job. For a referee, full stop, he did a good job. Away from reffing, I don't know busy he is. But I am guessing he was out there because there is an element of satisfaction and enjoyment he gets. Secondary to that, there are very few rugby referees in Northland - we can always do with more people prepared to have a crack at what could turn into a lucrative career at international level.
Or just something that's rewarding and fun to do.
On the sideline was a supporter, seated, who probably hasn't refereed. But he felt confident enough in his knowledge of the game to throw some blunt advice the way of the referee. Immediately, a senior referee on the sideline made it clear that there was no way that sort of sideline comment was going to be tolerated.
I didn't hear the exact nature of the discussion but it appeared to be fairly robust and I hope there was a good outcome. I was heartened by the support for the young ref. Earlier, a player's dad had chastised me for querying something the young ref had done. It made me stop and think - refs and coaches need support from the sideline and advice from the experts. But to also see the support from the experts - so early in the season - for the young ref, was particularly heartening. If you're an expert, by all means pass on feedback to our sporting referees and umpires. But if you're on the sideline, how about nothing but support for players and refs?