I had my best training session in weeks, but it was not deliberate. I put my house keys in my shorts pocket during a short break from work. A short run, that is what I wanted. But then I lost the keys … Almost back home, I notice the keys are no longer in my pocket. A short run with some stretching exercises, turned into a bigger round. I run the round in the park for a second time, but without any success. I only saw bycicle keys from someone else, but not mine. It is a great lesson to keep going, even if you don’t want to. I have to get…

My road to become a referee teacher has started today. Yes, I am already teaching and helping new referees via my referee website. But now I am also selected to become referee teacher at KNVB.  This is something I really want to do. My goal is not just to improve as a referee, but also as a teacher. The knowledge I gain will also help me give you better tips on my website. Writing for a referee blog like this is a great way to help others. I really want to improve referees with my stories. When you send me feedback or a thumbs I am probably on the right…

A nice photo series: Feyenoord u16 vs Utrecht u16. I officiated a game between the teams last weekend. The home team scored an early goal, but never came back after two Utrecht goals right before half-time. The final result: 2-5. Photo’s are courtesy of Hans Warnaar, who was so kind to send me the pictures. Check out his photography website. You can also watch and like the photo´s on my Facebook page.

It’s not a foul to be in an offside position. It will be if he’ll become active in play. As assistant referee you need to wait and see. Last week’s blog story was about the Dutch FA willing to get rid of the club assistant referees. My game last week proved that some club assistant referees are quite good. At DSO from Zoetermeer I had one who understood the wait and see principle and the “new” offside rule correctly. That’s what I like to see. The situation There was an attacker in offside position at the moment the ball was passed. No doubt about that. He was about 10 metres…

If you missed it via different social media channels: I earned a promotion as a referee. Can’t describe how excited I am about it. In the rankings in April I was in 4th position, but in the last weekends of the season there are a lot of chances for other referees to get a good mark as well. And how many referees would be promoted to a higher level? In the 2013/2014 season I became fifth in the rankings and only just missed promotion. How did I hear it The last matchday of the season is a big day for Dutch amateur referees. Not only are play-off finals played. All…

Two weeks ago I enjoyed a wonderful holiday and I even got the chance of refereeing in Scotland. The semi-final of the Brambles Cup on Islay was my international debut. A great experience! Only one week before the holiday I tweeted that I was going to Scotland and that fast-forwarded everything toward my first match abroad. The same evening I posted the tweet I got in touch with a Scottish referee, a blogger from island of Islay and finally with Kilchoman Football Club who told me they were happy to have me as their referee. Only 1 tournament as referee during the Easter Weekend before I @VisitScotland. Looking forward to…