AFL Umpire Rob O’Gorman will mentor two promising Southern Football Netball League Umpires in 2015 through the AFL Victoria's Mates Program.
The Mates Program is an initiative designed to develop a mentoring relationship between AFL umpires and young field umpires in Melbourne’s community senior competitions.
AFL Umpire Rob O’Gorman will be “mates” with two of the League’s up and coming Umpires, Matt Mahoney and Nathan Guy.
During the season the young officials will speak regularly with their AFL mentor, attend an AFL Umpire training night and work together to develop their umpiring game plan.
SFNL Director of Umpiring, Peter Mair, said that a number of the current Field Umpires on the SFNL list have been part of the successful program, including the three 2014 Division 1 Grand Final Umpires. Mair believes that the Mates Program gives young umpires the self believe to keep improving their performance each time they go out to umpire.
SFNL Umpiring Ambassador, Stephen McBurney, who umpired four AFL Grand Finals, was part of the Mates Program for several years with SFNL Umpires. Other AFL Umpires who have participated in the program with SFNL Umpires include Ray Chamberlain and Martin Ellis.
Interested in becoming involved in the game as an Umpire?
Vacancies exist for females and males to become Field, Boundary or Goal Umpires in season 2015.
