On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April, the second JFL Referee Refresher Course was held at J-Village in Fukushima.

23 referees in charge of the JFL attended the course, as the participants conducted group discussions and practical trainings.

The participants conducted the following schedule.

Instructor’s Comment

TSUCHIMOTO Yasushi, Class-1 Referee Instructor
The second JFL Referee Refresher Course was held at J-Village, after the venue had just resumed its operation on 20th and 21st of April. The referees conducted physical check, practical training, and lecture sessions during the course. Starting this year, the JFL has installed a coaching system for the referees. In our first JFL Referee Refresher Course held in February, we had four coaches meet six of the referees who are in charge of the JFL. From the season opener of JFL on 17 March, until the fifth Sec. held on 13th and 14th of April, we have conducted coaching sessions at the venue and video analysis in groups. With this being our first time employing the coaching system, we are all going through a lot of trial and error at the moment, but we were able to share our approaches and activities during the lecture session held on the first day of this refresher course. By sharing detailed examples among groups, such as “utilising drop-box to exchange opinions regarding performances,” the participants were able to gain precious insights that can be utilised for their future activities. However, the system is still work in progress, so we hope to develop our coaching methods to help the referees reach a higher level.

Participants’ Comments

OTA Tomohiro, Class-1 Referee (Fukushima)
On Saturday 20 April, the JFL Referee Refresher Course was held at J-Village in Fukushima. J-Village just had its grand opening since the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the course was held at a venue that was filled with energy. It was an emotional moment for me to be able to join this course at J-Village. It gives me great inspiration for my future activities as a referee. During this course, we reviewed our activities since the season opening of the JFL followed by practical training sessions. At our review session, we shared our reports on the coaching system and held a discussion on how to respond to freekicks taken in the midfield. We went over each step when discussing about the freekick, which allowed us to realise the importance of focusing on each and every step taken in a certain play. During the practical training session, we covered the requirements for the assistant referee to determine offsides. We got ourselves into groups of three to conduct a drill to simulate the movements and positioning of an actual match, as each person was assigned to act as either the referee or the assistant referee. When looking at each other’s movements, despite playing the same role as a referee, everyone took a different approach, and it gave us the opportunity to observe the role of a referee in a subjective point of view. It is important for us to implement what we have learned here at the refresher course and utilise the knowledge in our future matches. I believe that our approach can help the Japanese football community develop to a new level, so I will continue to make efforts to improve myself.

HATAKEYAMA Daisuke, Class-1 Referee (Miyagi)
During this course, we went through physical check, determining offsides, group discussions, and practical training sessions. While we went through the subject of determining offsides, we utilised our smart phones to check if our decisions were correct or not on site. It gave us the opportunity to think of what creates the gap between our objective view and the subjective view. We used films from the league matches to conduct group discussions on how to carry out freekicks smoothly. At the practical training session, we simulated a match on the pitch to discuss the pros and cons on each other’s positionings and movements. With the league entering the middle part of the season, this refresher course has allowed us to rethink about our role and responsibility as a referee. It also gave us the chance to see and feel how the reconstruction has progressed in Fukushima, especially after seeing the J-Village resuming its full operation on the same day we were there. I would like to thank everyone who has supported the course and made it possible.