Young referees in Jasper took to the ice on Saturday to refresh their skills ahead of this year鈥檚 hockey season.
Jasper has a strong referee crew, led by referee chief Glen Leitch, and this year鈥檚 clinic had 28 officials, 24 of whom were from town.
鈥淥ur program has been in existence for a long time, and probably never more than now has it been so strong and the strength comes from the class as a group,鈥� said Leitch.
鈥淭o me, giving back is those kids showing up.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not always easy. You hear stories about being an official and it鈥檚 true.鈥�
Leitch tells stories of young referees being shouted at by coaches and parents, but learning to hold their own in stressful situations.
鈥淲e talk about two things: Keep it safe and keep it fair,鈥� said Leitch.
鈥淭here are so many things we have to process and have a split second to do it.
鈥淭here are stressful situations and they need to be comfortable making a commitment the best they can.
鈥淭hey know we are going to protect them.鈥�
Leitch has been a referee for 20 years and said Jasper has about an 80 per cent retention rate on officials and puts the strong involvement down to the culture.
鈥淚 am so proud of it,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e have a lot of returning kids.
鈥淭he mentorship and support we give one another is brilliant.鈥�
Leitch said the young refs learn countless life skills through their experience officiating, including patience, healthy communication and learning how to manage money from a young age thanks to their wages.
The clinic on Saturday with Hockey Alberta, led by clinic coordinator Dean Ziegler, started with a morning in the classroom learning the basics of refereeing, including rule knowledge, presentation, the benefits and negatives and what to expect.
Then in the afternoon, the teenagers hit the ice to put their skills into practise with some basic drills.
Leitch said: 鈥淵et again it was a brilliant clinic, well attended by experienced and new kids.
鈥淚 am excited this year to see how far those kids will go because we have such a strong crew.鈥�
