The YRDS was an idea introduced by the Referee Development Officer, identifying the fact that year after year the County trained a lot of young referees, but then often did very little to support them. Initially a number of contact meetings were arranged to discuss the problems that young referees encountered, from those early meetings a strategy was decided upon, the focus being on their needs. It was agreed to meet on a monthly basis and to theme the meetings to deal with the issues that had been raised. All referees within Middlesex aged 18 and under were invited and it was also hoped that the YRDS would be a stepping stone for many of them to join the Referee Academy.
As many of the members are under the age of 17, one of the problems is transportation, as none of them can drive and will reply on parents or public transport to get to venues, so it was and important decision to move the meetings around the County to the various Training Centres which would enable more referees to attend.
The Group meet on the last Monday of the month between 6:30pm and 8:00pm, for venues and topics please see the calender.
If you want any more information then please contact Andy Taylor MCFA's Referees Development Officer 07957 626270 or andyjc.taylor@middlesexfa.com.