Birthplace: Adelaide
Occupation: Chartered Accountant
First International Appointment? Yeah, it was 1999 and it was a Three Nation Tournament, there were two legs: one in Canberra and the other, the pre-Olympic Test in Sydney.
Other Appointments: Azlan Shah in 2001 and 2005; Commonwealth Games Manchester 2002; Champions Trophy 2003 in Amsterdam; Champions Trophy 2004 in Lahore; Champions Trophy 2006 in Terrassa; Junior World Cup and this Olympic Qualifier.
When did you first start umpiring and why? What attracted you to umpiring instead of playing?
A: I first started umpiring when I was in high school. I played hockey in primary school and my parents were coaching and my brother was playing so I would go and umpire my brother’s matches. As far as I can remember since I was approximately twelve years old, I’ve been umpiring and playing and more recently since 1999, stopped playing at a local level and just focused on my umpiring.
Which teams have you found the hardest to umpire? And why?
A: I think any team can be difficult on its day, it just depend on the circumstances that are around and I think once the player get an understanding of what you’re trying to do, and you get an understanding of what they’re trying to do, any difficulties you have can be overcome. But I think that obviously coming from Australia, Asian teams, I get to see a lot of Asian teams and the Asian Teams appreciate and know me. To a lesser extent the European teams are still learning me as well as some of the teams from other parts of the world. So I don’t think there is necessarily one team that’s “the” most difficult.
Which player(s) do you most admire? And why?
A: Past players, I really enjoy watch Shabaz from Pakistan, Ken Walk from Australia. Current players, obviously, players like De Nooijer, Nathan Eglington and Jamie Dwyer from Australia and here at this Tournament, players like Kwan Browne from Trinidad have been enjoyable too.
It must be pretty hard being an international umpire, travelling in different time zones and not knowing whether it’s day or night so to speak, tell us what a typical umpiring year would be for you?
A: I don’t know if you struggle, its part of the experience. You prepare yourself for things like that. It’s a pleasure for me, it’s a joy. All the discomforts for me are put to one side when you’re in a stadium with lots of people watching an international game of hockey, with players who are at the peak of their skills and you are afforded the opportunity to be on the pitch with them. All the difficulties like, maybe you didn’t have the meal you wanted last night, or you’re used to being at home, or the air conditioning didn’t work at the hotel, when you’re out on the field, all those are put to one side. There are obviously experiences or stories hockey people can tell for example ‘the time I was in this such-and-such city, this happened’, but for me the problems are quite insignificant.
There will be many people wondering how fit umpires need to be to umpire at the top level, please tell us a bit about your fitness regime; and please tell us a bit about your pre-match preparation and post match recovery. Prior to Tournaments such as this, would you change your preparation and fitness regime?
A: I need to work relatively often at my fitness. I’m a member of a gymnasium and I have weights, cycling and running programme. When I’m not preparing for a tournament, I would be at the gym, maybe three times a week, bearing those activities. Then obviously building up the closer I get to a tournament, once I receive an appointment, I’ll plan back my fitness programme so when I want to be as fit as a plan to be, I’ll increase the frequency of those gym sessions. Generally, an hour, hour and a half sessions. But many people are different. Other umpires maybe train two hours, maybe three hours at a time and some train a lot less than I do. But I think it’s more important on top of the physical demands, the real training and preparation is mental preparation and mental fitness, concentration and ability to put aside if something happens, you know if it didn’t go according to plan. Being able to compartmentalise that part of the game and move forward and that’s training, that’s experience.
If you could change one thing about hockey to improve the game, what would it be?
A: I have to think about that – nothing really springs to mind. I tend to let the rule makers, make the rules and I just go out and blow it. There’s nothing I can think of off the top of my head that I would change.
What would be the highlight/lowlight of your international career to date?
A: Highlights been given the opportunity of umpiring Champions Trophy in Lahore. To experience hockey in Pakistan and that part of the world is a fantastic experience. The atmosphere is absolutely sensational! To umpire a game such as India-Pakistan in that environment is a privilege. Being involved in hockey in Holland. It’s more the locations and the people you meet are the real highlights. Hockey in Holland and in Lahore is absolutely sensational!
Do you get nervous before games?
A: You’re not human if you don’t get nervous.
Have you umpired with say Henrik Ehlers (or someone similar) and what did you learn from umpiring with him/this person? Or which umpire would you most like to umpire with? And why?
A: I haven’t umpired with Henrik, I do know Henrik but never umpired with him. But I have umpired with some of the more senior umpires on the World Panel. You look at their preparation; things that work for them, you ask yourself are they going to work for me, because it’s not always the way being an umpire from Australia and an Anglo-Saxon background, if I go out there and try and be like someone from Spain or someone from the United States it just isn’t going to work, necessarily. So you have to be selective in what you decide is going to work for you. But I think the preparation, the calmness, which would be the things I have learned from the more experienced umpires.
What advice would you give to the “next generation” of umpires coming through the age-groups who aspire to be international umpires?
A: I think what you try and do, or for me what I try and do is actually put aside the outcome. Put aside what you think if this result happens, what is the outcome. You’ve got to bring that down concentrating on the whole process, about getting the individual decisions right and the end result take care of itself. I think for me if I focus on that, I will be a lot calmer. Again, its practice and experience. It’s natural for young umpires coming through that are put into different situations that they are going to feel nervous and it’s a real art. You can be quite nervous, but exude an outer peace and calmness and I think the teams, players and the crowd respond to that if you can master that art. That’s when I was a new International and a new senior umpire, that’s what my goal was, and I got some help and advice on the way to get to that. But that was something I really had to work at.
How has the game and umpiring changed over the past five years?
A: Well, obviously we’re looking at new innovations such as the video umpire and we’ve brought in things where there is verbal communication between the umpires. So that’s all aimed at giving some support which doesn’t always happen in local matches or even in some international Tournaments. And I think that at an International level there is a real focus on trying to develop hockey as a “brand” as a package for promotion. The way we ask teams behave and the way we communicate to the players and the way we ask the players to communicate to us, there’s more of an intensive to work together; and I think that more and more from my experience when I first started umpiring and to now is that as umpires we put ourselves in the position of the teams and what are the teams trying to do, how can we help that, and how they can help us. I’d like to think that there is more communication with the players these days.
What are your goals in umpiring?
A: Obviously at this stage, I’ve never been appointed to a World Cup or Olympic Games so that would be some major goals. I’d also like to experience hockey in other parts of the world and parts that I haven’t been to at this stage. Maybe Southern Africa or South America would add to the experience that I have had. I think that would be my goals at this stage.
What do you like most about umpiring and what frustrates you the most?
A: What frustrates me the most is when ever I try on the field to communicate to the teams what I expect, when they don’t comprehend it so no matter what happens you and the teams can’t agree so we’re at loggerheads and that’s very frustrating. Occasionally the language barrier and that’s another thing: when you become an International umpire you become aware of cultures and why players and teams are coming at something from certain angles. So that’s the frustration: no matter what I seem to try is not as good and sometime that causes me to think, ‘what have I done’, ‘how will I make this better’. What I enjoy is the people the most, meeting new friends, seeing new cultures. I enjoy experiencing new Countries; and being on the field when some of the best hockey in the world is being played!
What are your other hockey interests? And interests outside of Hockey?
A: At the moment what I do outside of hockey, is work and that takes a lot of my time. But living in South Australia we have a lot of beautiful wine regions so I enjoy travelling, locally, and going down to the southern beaches and the wine sampling and catching up with friends. Nothing too extraordinary.
You are stuck on an island for five years. Who are the two people you would most like to be with?
A: I’ll have to get back to you on that question……
