UDP Group 10 kicked off its second year in the programme with a trip to Malaga, Spain (February 10 – 12)
The umpires travelled to Malaga with their mentors, Carol Metchette (IRL) and Michiel Bruning (NED) to umpire some matches between Belgian, Dutch and of course, Spanish clubs.
The weekend started with some unexpected torrential rain. The rain could not keep the umpires away from the pitch, so on Friday 10th February, Alexandra and Tim umpired a late game. After a thorough drying, the group hit the town for dinner and some sightseeing.
Saturday, the umpires began the day listening to a presentation from a sports psychologist. This introduced the theme of the weekend: stress and its effect on umpires. Sebastian Jackson, the psychologist, explained to the umpires first how to recognise stress. Stress management strategies followed, with tips for learning to leverage the positive sides of stress.
After a classroom morning, the umpires headed to the pitch, where there were plenty of opportunities to test the newly-learned stress management theory. The day ended with a seafood dinner and a debriefing and review of the day’s matches.
Sunday morning, some serious work was on the schedule. All the umpires completed their development plans for 2017, with the assistance of their mentors. The plans are a key aspect of the programme and will ensure that the umpires have clear guidelines to follow and targets to achieve throughout the year.
EHF would like to thank Juan Manuel Requena, Malaga Hockey Club and its volunteers, as well as RFEH for their help in organising this practical weekend.
Source: EHF/Shane O’Donnell