Umpires taken to the edge

JUNIOR umpires from across the south east are taking part in a program to help give the edge.
More than 200 junior umpires from the South East Juniors Football League are involved in an innovative personal development program called The Edge.
The program, which will become an annual occurrence, aims to help the umpires build resilience and face issues they may encounter in their role of officiating.
The Edge has the support of celebrated former AFL umpire and South East Juniors umpires manager Darren Goldspink and is being delivered in partnership with non-for-profit organisation the Beehive Foundation.
Mr Goldpsink, who was awarded the All Australian Umpire award three times and officiated in six AFL Grand Finals, said the program presented an enormous opportunity to make an impact on young lives.
“While my major role is to educate and teach our young people to umpire, as adults and as community leaders we also need to teach them to cope with difficult situations and, hopefully, be good citizens,” he said.
Mr Goldspink said The Edge was a vital link in a greater plan to encourage more young Australians to become umpires by providing greater opportunities for personal development.
“This included helping them to become good people and develop life skills that will serve them well in their future,” he said.
“I believe this initiative will not only assist in their role as an umpire, but also assist them in their endeavours outside of umpiring, whether it is employment, family or community.”
The Beehive Foundation is focused on helping young people to develop coping strategies, self-esteem and confidence through life skills that focus on work ethic, motivation and goal setting.
With more than 1 million teenagers in Australia playing sport, supported by just under 1 million parents, Beehive’s primary focus is on the 3000 plus junior sporting organisations.
Beehive Foundation director and co-founder Mark Haughton said the partnership with up and coming umpires was a major step forward in the foundation’s goal of extending the reach of the programs that have already had a positive influence on young Australians.
“This is an exciting development for the Beehive Foundation,” he said.
“It confirms the capability of our programs to build resilience and self-confidence in our youth, particularly in facing challenges faced by junior umpires in officiating games, which is a challenging role in itself.”