In a special ANZAC round post, this week we feature field umpire and field community coach Kyle Coleman. A member of both the Defence Force and our umpiring group, Kyle is the perfect umpire to profile for ANZAC day.

What made you first want to become an umpire?
After numerous injuries from a stint playing Rugby Union, I decided I wanted to get back into AFL and to give back to the game I was brought up on. I decided that I wanted to look at being an umpire and being involved in this way.
 
What do you do outside of umpiring?
I work for The Australian Army. I have been in the Army since I was 17, and have done 25 years service. I enjoy watching movies, reading and having friends for dinner, and a few quite beers.
 
You’ve managed to combine your Defence and footy lives with umpiring Defence games. What’s that like?
It’s hard, as sometimes I can be away for weeks, even months, at a time. This can be both here in Australia, overseas or on an operational deployment. It can be hard on the family, as sometimes you have limited and sporadic communication with them. It’s hard because you can miss so much of life here, and they worry when they don’t hear from me. It can be tough because you can’t always call or email. But Defence footy is passionate! When you have service rivalry, it’s like watching a grudge match every match. The players are all fit and they are all willing to put their body on the line for the name of their service, and this is for both the men and the women.
 
What has been your most memorable moment as an umpire?
Umpiring a Grand Final is always memorable, but umpiring on the Adelaide Oval in a curtain raiser for an AFL game over the ANZAC Day round would have to be one of the most memorable moments in my short umpiring career.
 
You started off as a field umpire and changed to goal umpiring after an injury. How have you found the change? Do you miss field umpiring?
I always thought goal umpires had it easy and that it couldn’t be that hard. I was sadly mistaken. The mental concentration and technical aspect is a lot harder than most people think. I did miss field umpiring, but after a serious ankle injury where I thought I wouldn’t be able to run again, goal umpiring was the way ahead. I worked hard during the season and the off season and I’m now running pain free and back into field umpiring.
 
You’re still involved with field umpiring in a community coaching role. What’s involved with that and how do you juggle this with your field umpiring and work commitments?
A lot of preparation during the week and weekends in my own time, getting feedback and talking to other coaches to ensure that I have a plan for that week’s training session. Work can sometime get in the way and as can trying to ensure that I’m also up to date with what is expected of field umpires - it’s a fine line.
 
What do you do to keep you fit and prepared for the demands of both the Army and umpiring?
I do three compulsory training sessions at work, CrossFit most mornings and runs of an evening. I ensure that I have at least one complete day off a week and I listen to my body. Both Army and umpiring can be demanding on the body, so I have to look after it and keeping fit and eating healthy is the best way.
 
What advice do you have for any younger umpires?
Believe in yourself; listen to your coaches and other senior umpires. Keep yourself fit, motivated and educated with what is going on in AFL. Don’t over analyse an interpretation or situation, as you will second guess yourself.  But above all else have fun; don’t take thing to seriously as it can be all over in a blink of an eye. 

Courtney has always been heavily involved in footy - it runs in the family. She trains with the QAFL/NEAFL group at Coorparoo and is the fastest girl on the track.

What made you first want to become an umpire?
What first got me interested in becoming an umpire was my father, Randall Gibson. He was always umpiring and started a camp at school where some of the AFLQ representatives came out and showed us a bit of what was involved. I joined with a couple of school friends and it was always fun as well as making some extra pocket money on the side.
 
What do you do outside of umpiring?
I am full time student at the Endeavour College of Natural Health studying to become a Naturopath. It’s practical and I love helping people with a focus on being natural. I also work at a local Italian restaurant a few nights a week.
 
Has football always been a part of your life before umpiring?
Football has always been a part of my life purely from having a Victorian family and Randall umpiring professionally before I was born then continuing throughout my childhood.
  
What has been your most memorable moment as an umpire?  
Grand finals and exhibition matches have been my most memorable moments so far. However I got the chance to umpire a QAFL Seniors match last season, which was a goal since the beginning. I also did the QFA North Seniors Grand Final last year on the boundary and the Australia vs the World exhibition match during last season’s U16s competition.

Are there any particular coaches or umpires who have had an impact on you in your time as an Umpire?
Everyone! The training and match day group is so helpful and resourceful that I’m sure everyone has helped me in some way during my time as an umpire. People such as James Waldorff, Lenny Davis, Grant Kent, Jason Baldwin, Brett Bradford, Gareth Hughes, Nick Lipparota, Nick Wade, Brett Kronk, Trevor Donoghue, the academy and all of the girls and many others have made a major impact on my journey so far. I should probably mention Randall as well as he has been my main motivation and inspiration for umpiring throughout the years.

What do you do to keep you fit and prepared for the demands of umpiring?
Two big things that I personally focus on are physical and mental preparation. As I need to train from Monday to Friday including the QAFL training at Coorparoo, it is important that I continually stretch and make use of the resources provided at training such as the physiotherapist, chiropractor and nutritionist just to name a few.
 
You started off as a boundary umpire and this year you’ve decided to tackle field umpiring. What made you decide on the change? 
For the last couple of seasons I’ve felt that I was starting to notice the rules more and learning about the field umpiring role, so for me I knew that I would always try field umpiring however the only hold back was the success and my improvement rate on the boundary. So after last season I was a bit hesitant however this season I just decided to follow my heart with the decision of changing to the field as I feel it’s a new chapter with new challenges ahead.
 
How have you found the change to field umpiring? Are there different things you have to focus on in your training and preparation now, and has it been difficult?
The field umpiring group and coaching staff at training have been very welcoming and helpful with any questions that I’ve had and any match situations that I need to learn. I feel it has been a smooth transition having so many resources around me and that I am learning the game processes more and more each week. In terms of training nothing has changed for me, I am still training with the same load and as mentioned above there is more of a focus for me in mental preparation for field umpiring.

What advice do you have for anyone thinking of becoming an umpire?
My advice would be for a person wanting to start umpiring, is to just have a go and stick with it, because you have nothing to lose and so much to gain. The training group could not be better for welcoming new people especially females and everyone is willing to help you – you just need to ask be willing to take on feedback for improvement. 

Steve has been involved in footy in a number of different roles over the years and this year will be his last as an umpire. In 2016, he blows the whistle on 16 years of umpiring; what an amazing achievement.

What made you first want to become an umpire?
I had done everything in football – played A grade, coached junior rep teams, club teams, and was junior president, as well as being on the BJAFL Board for a while. 16 years ago a Board member suggested I give umpiring a go as they needed people. I wanted to contribute further to our terrific game.
 
You have been involved in footy for a long time, what are some of your other footy achievements outside of umpiring?
I was a Level 2 coach, had done half of Level 3 but my job as a Research Officer in the government at the time got in the way of completing it. I did Level Accredited Sports Trainer course with Dean Warren over 16 weeks. I played A grade at 17 and Captained the U17 State side and had a pre-season with Melbourne AFC.  I have been at 5 footy clubs over the years in all sorts of roles – recruiter, admin, team manager, players advocate at tribunals, assistant coach, interchange steward, general roustabout, to name just a few. I have had a community radio show for 6 years.
 
What do you do outside of footy and umpiring?
I love triathlons; I’ve done 4 this summer with another one to go. My son, a high performance coach with Triathlon Australia wants to send me to the World Titles in Amsterdam next year in my age group category. I am certainly not the quickest, but I am thinking about it. I will have to qualify. I love being a parent and a grandparent. I have volunteered at Greenslopes Hospital, been a member of the local Lions Club and the SES as well as being VP for a Model Plane Flying Club. I was in the local Men’s Shed, but they are too old for me.
 
Tell us more about your radio segment. What’s involved?
It is a half hour show on 1296 4RPH on Fridays at 6.05pm. It takes about a day or 2 to prepare the script. I read as much footy as I can. I have interviewed Lethal Leigh Matthews, Brownie, Simon Black, Michael Voss, plus heaps of others. I intend introducing more local content this season in what amounts to about 30 shows a year.
 
What has been your most memorable moment as an umpire?  
Lots of them but none in particular. Doing Grand Finals, I suppose, along with Schools, Juniors, Women’s, and Masters Carnivals. Seeing Andrew Stephens, Alex Whetton and Cameron Williamson progress their respective careers, having seen them as juniors has been very satisfying.
 
What do you do to keep you fit and prepared for the demands of umpiring?
Triathlon and Gym stuff really – I ride 30 -35kms one day, swim 2.5 – 3 kms the next, run 5 – 10 kms and then the other days go to the gym for aerobic fitness. I like to do 2, sometimes 3 games a weekend. I don’t like sitting at home in front of a TV watching reality TV, pontificating pollies or hearing about the weather.
 
Any advice for younger umpires?
I want to do as much as I can to help. I tell them to stay focused as they will never get it 100% right all the time. Don’t worry about the odd few people that criticise. The players need and want you. You can stay fit and make lifelong friendships in our great game.