More confidence and knowledge of the game were key takeaways for local instructors and referees who participated in the recently concluded EAFF Referees Course held at the Guam Football Association National Training Center earlier this month.

“The EAFF Referee Course was very helpful for myself, James (Oh), and Kyle (Legozzie),” said Shawn Spindel, one of Guam’s local referee instructors. “The course did very well in getting us to engage our participants a lot better, as well as teaching us to manage our time more wisely.

“When we facilitate (upcoming local courses), participants can expect us to be even more knowledgeable, as well as more engaging so everyone stays interested,” Spindel added.

Spindel, Legozzie, and Oh, along with Northern Mariana Islands local instructors Ruselle Zapanta and Cristy Villafor assisted visiting lead instructor Sachiko Yamagishi and assistant instructor Tadashi Hase in facilitating the EAFF course for a couple dozen up-and-coming national referees from both Guam and NMI.

Yamagishi is one of Japan’s most decorated referees, earning the coveted Asian Football Confederation Referee of the Year award five times and officiating at all levels of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, including the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, before retiring in 2016. Yamagishi is now a FIFA and AFC Referee Assessor and instructor.

The EAFF Course featured four days of classroom sessions and three days of training on the pitch. On the pitch, participating referees were given the opportunity to learn about field positioning, identifying varying levels and types of fouls, and referee fitness, among other topics, shadowing Yamagishi and Hase. Participants also took part in understanding the various roles of the Assistant Referee on the pitch.

In addition to providing instruction and support for up-and-coming referees from the region, the EAFF referee course also focused on training local instructors to continue referee education for national referees.

Local Referee Instructors and referees who completed all four days of the EAFF course were presented with EAFF certificates.

The Guam trio of instructors will next facilitate a GFA Introductory Referee Course with novice level referee candidates at the end of the month.

“(Based on what we learned in the EAFF course), our main goal as local instructors is to provide the network and support for young referees who we hope will stay in the program and move up the ranks,” Spindel said. “By providing the proper environment early on with a structured course, we hope to create positive experiences for all participants so they enjoy being out on the pitch officiating matches and take being a referee at a young age more seriously.”

All available slots for the GFA Introductory Referee Course were filled within one week of advertisement.




Participants in the recently concluded EAFF Referee Course held at the Guam Football Association National Training Center earlier this month pose for a group photo. In the photo are, seated, left to right, Northern Mariana Islands local referee instructors Cristy Villaflor and Ruselle Zapanta, EAFF Executive Director Aoi Konishi, GFA Executive Director Cheri Stewart, visiting lead instructor Sachiko Yamagishi (seated in center in white shirt), visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase (seated in center with white and gray shirt), GFA referee instructors Shawn Spindel, James Oh, and Kyle Legozzie, and GFA Director of Referees George Stewart. In the middle row, from left to right, are Ryan Root, Autumn Yatar, Taka Borja, Merrick Toves, Sebastien Manabat, Katherine Magat, Jeralyn Castillo, Angelica Mia Carreon, Davy Laxa, Floyd Muna, Royanne Salas, and Joshua Bamba. In the back row, from left to right, are John Halili, Voltaire Salvador, Don Cabrera, David Drews, Brian Murray, Christopher Harris, Josiah Elwell, and James Lee. Not in the photo is Cason Jackson and Derrick Yen. Yamagishi and visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase conducted the EAFF Referee Course to provide instruction and guidance for intermediate to advanced referees from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as local instructors to continue referee education with national referees.



Visiting lead instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Sachiko Yamagishi, demonstrates proper referee posture during a training session at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.



Visiting lead instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Sachiko Yamagishi, high fives course participant Brian Murray after a training session at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.



Visiting assistant instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Tadashi Hase, manages a training session with referees and the Guam U19 national training squad at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.



Visiting lead instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Sachiko Yamagishi (in white shirt) explains an activity objective to referee James Lee and his group during a training session at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.



Visiting lead instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Sachiko Yamagishi (in all black) explains a match scenario to participating referees during a classroom session at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.



Visiting lead instructor of the 2019 EAFF Referee Course, Sachiko Yamagishi, addresses course participants in the closing ceremony of the course as visiting assistant instructor Tadashi Hase (in background) looks on at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.


The GFA Referees Department will put on the year's first GFA Introductory Referee Course beginning Jan. 30. Registration for the introductory course is online at http://guamfa.com/education/referee/courses/