Doncaster pupil at special school shoots for his World Cup goals

Connor, a 17-year-old football fanatic from Doncaster, first gained an interest in refereeing through his avid viewing of football matches and decided to explore this passion further after encouragement from a staff member at The Willows School.

The head of PE at The Willows, Lee Knight, who had previously been a referee, was able to advise Connor about how he could pursue this interest and support him to follow his dream of working in football professionally.

In spite of the challenges Connor might face as a young referee, such as making challenging decisions and managing his time, he remained dedicated to achieving his goals.

Determined to succeed, Connor has completed an FA referee training course paid for by The Willows School and with the support of another teacher at the school, Tom Halloway who is an active referee with the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Football Association.

Having completed five online modules which covered the basics of refereeing and the rules of football, he also underwent safeguarding checks, which included paying for a safeguarding course using his own savings, and attended face-to-face training sessions.

These sessions enhanced his expertise further, expanding his knowledge on difficult topics such as dealing with inappropriate behaviour and managing offsides.

The Willows aims to encourage all its students to pursue their passions and achieve their goals regardless of their backgrounds or additional needs.

Connor has already put his new skills into practice, acting as an assistant referee for two Sheffield County Senior League games and one Sheffield and Hallamshire Women’s FA Cup match. He has also refereed for a charity football match which raised funds for an organisation which supports families bereaved by infant loss.

Connor has been thoroughly enjoying his foray into the world of refereeing and has learnt far more than he could have anticipated, including expanding his communication skills, learning new decision-making skills and of course, spending time doing what he loves whilst building relationships in the local sporting community.

Connor dreams of one day refereeing at major competitions on the world stage, from the World Cup to the Euros.

He said: “I am looking forward to starting my referring journey as a level 7 referee, and I am going to work hard to try and achieve my targets.”

Rachael Booth, Head teacher at The Willows, said: “We are so proud of the determination and positive attitude that Connor has demonstrated throughout the process of becoming a referee. Seeing his confidence grow as he learns new skills and overcomes obstacles has been fantastic. At The Willows, we are a ‘Can-Do’ school, and it is great to see Connor exemplifying this value as he pursues his dreams.”

*The Willows take pupils age 7 to 19 with a range of moderate learning difficulties; some with additional needs such as speech and language difficulties, children on the autistic spectrum and children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.