Name: Darren Meek. Q) So how long have you been umpiring? A) All up, about 16 years. This is my 11th year with the GVFUA, however, I had been umpiring junior footy locally around the Seymour area in the Seymour District Junior Football League for about five years previous to this. Q) Who has been the biggest influence on your umpiring? A) Wayne Hamilton, Chris McCallum and Greg Sidebottom. Q) Favourite food? A) Thai food in Thailand down this little back street in Bangkok. Q) Do you have any superstitions on Saturday before the game? A) No, not really. I am not a pie and coke man before the game! Q) What rule in football would you like to see changed and why? A) The current advantage rule, it is very confusing for umpires, players and spectators. Q) Your favourite ground and why? A) Barooga. The ground surface is fantastic, the rooms and amenities are good, they usually have very good crowds at their games who get right “into” the game and the weather up that way is usually nice and sunny, even in winter, which is very conducive to good footy. Q) What book are you reading at the minute? A) Flying Finish by Dick Francis. Q) If you could invite five people for dinner, who would they be? A) Mick Shannon, Len Hort, Wayne Hamilton, Chris McCallum and Ian McDonald. Q) Football career highlights? A) Five senior premierships as a player (including one as playing coach with Avenel in 1994) and playing more than 300 games (combined over several different clubs in several different leagues). Q) Toughest opponent? A) Neil Muir/Eddie Shiels (both former Nagambie players). Q) Great holiday destinations? A) Thailand/Vietnam (anywhere generally in South-East Asia). Q) Who has inspired you the most in life? A) Graham Meek (Dad). Q) Who has inspired you the most in football? A) Gary Brown (former junior football coach at Seymour), Lindsay Hall (former senior football coach at Avenel) and Barry Rist (former senior football coach at Broadford). There have been a few changes at the umpires since last year. Darren Meek is still the president, Michael Shannon is still the chairman of selectors. Mick comes from a football background playing in the Tungamah and Goulburn Valley leagues, playing in a few premierships. He was also the coach of the umpires a while back and has been around forever. It is good to have a central picking centrals as he is out on the track picking up injuries, laziness and not attending training and meeting nights. He knows what it is like to be tired and sore after a big game on Saturday and how you front Tuesday at training and then go again Thursday. And much extra effort goes into doing Saturday night games and Sunday games and the strain mentally, physically and the extra effort by that member’s family to do that extra game. Something that people who have not done extra games know about. He is helped this year by Warren Sidebottom who I thought should have done a senior grand final a few years ago. Warrens been around a bit helping out on Saturdays, Sundays and with midweek games, goal umpiring and bus driving, theres no limit to the boy. Also once again as a is selector Barry McCrae who picks the juniors, good luck with that Baz as everyone will be too worn out after the number of games our lads have to do to get too Sunday and you know what its like when the missus always wants something fixed or the lawns mowed. I am sure like last year’s crew they will do a great job in a thankless task. New fitness coach is Troy Watts. We also have a brand-new position, a team of goal umpires who will help at training nights and Saturdays to improve our stocks in the goal umpiring with top goalie James McLeod and Johnny Parnell heading up that team. The team will be able to “observe” goal umpires in the afternoons and their intention is to observe everyone at least once for the year and provide each one with written and verbal feedback and report back to Chris McCallum the advisor and Ian Bull assistant advisor. They will be having “skills” sessions on the nights of the monthly meetings starting at 6pm sharp. Please make sure you bring your flags with you on those nights and try not to be late. Also picking up a coaching roll is John Paterson as the Echuca area coach, Andrew Moore is the coach of the Kyabram area, of which he had a couple of outstanding first year umpires last year, and also Brett Hancock who will look after the boundary umpires this year and is already making a great impression. We have a new treasurer this year, David Dickson, who takes over from Leanne Dempster. Winner of the Peter Foote weekly award this week is Tony Hajro, well done Tony. Winner off the Terminus of Shepparton have the chef cook at your place award this week is Johnny Parnell. If you want to come and join us, contact Greg Sidebottom. Anyway, see ya out there. Len Leonard Hort
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 12:52:03 +0000
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