Miryam's 2011 Acheavements
Miryam Jabali at the age of 19 is one of our young female referees, performing admirably and with great confidence. Miryam has been refereeing for 8 years now and is on the road to higher levels
In 2010 Miryam was selected "Referee of the Year" for the District of Scarborough, she was also awarded the 2010 Scholarship award, handed out by the Scarborough Soccer Association.
In 2011Miryam indicated her desire to enter into the Regional program in 2012, she was given the opportunity to develop her skills and was assigned to officiate as a referee and assistant referee in the girls U18 division at the 2011 Robbie International preliminary games, during these games, she worked with Isaac Raymond -Honorary National Referee, David Barrie -National Referee and Yusri Rudolf - Provincial Referee.
An all female referee’s crew was appointed to officiate the girls U18 Robbie Finals. Miryam was the referee in charge of this game and did a great job of it
In 2011 Miryam was recommended and accepted by the C S A / O S A to the U15-16 female national all star championship held in Hamilton. She handled herself well and caught the eyes of CSA/OSA personnel with her performance and as a result was selected to be one of six young referees appointed by CSA to officiate in the 2011 Super Y soccer tournament in Tampa, Florida on December 2nd - 6h this year
The District of Scarborough wishes her continued success in her future endeavours.
Miryam's Super Y Experience:
Receiving an invitation to the Super-Y North American Championships was an extreme delight and very much an honour to be considered for. Coming from other referees that had gone to this competition, i knew I was in for a great learning experience. I was literally shaking the first time I read the actual invitation and didn't think it to be true until I finally settled down and got some advice from a couple referee mentors of mine that reassured me that I was definitely chosen for this and ready to show what i was made of. The best thing about it was that it was in Florida of all places, meaning soccer and beautiful weather all year round (which definitely played a factor). I was excited and pleased to find out that the other female referee wasn't an unfamiliar one, but instead, was actually Amanda from the Nationals All-Stars I'd met over the summer. So that was a relief. Being the only one from Toronto and even Ontario, this meant that I would be travelling with the lovely Amato, who was anything but boring and had told me plenty of "war stories" on our plane ride. We'd met met up with Marko Kalic at our connection in Chicago and finally made our way to Tampa.
After finally arriving, we'd also met up with another fellow ref, Mark Hayward and we drove down to our amazing hotel to plan out a dinner and get to know each other before our competition the next day. Of course, like anything else, we didn't know what to expect, who we'd see, what each other's reffing styles or even what we'd be eating as the days came. As we'd gotten settled in, it was a relief to see that we all shared in the same anticipation and excitement and that we were all in this together.
Our first game day proved to be somewhat of a gauge of our own preparedness. I started out as an AR on a U17 boys which got me going really quick as soon as the match started. I was glad to have been given a U16 girls middle on the same day and it very much helped to see what any of us would be up against the rest if the week. I felt very empowered reffing the girls' games especially only because of how empowered i felt during the game. It was as though I'd discovered a new-found respect and it also showed in the attitude of those girls, which was very positive. I felt like a role-model of some sort to these girls and it made me proud. The first day, without a doubt set the tone for our crew. Although some of us may have been a little anxious at first, we soon regained the confidence and enthusiasm that had gotten us there in the first place. With Amato's later recommendations and tips on what to improve, the week got better and better with the games we all reffed. Waking up early and getting in that serious mindset wasn't exactly fun the next day but once we got in the swing of things, it became a habit. we caught a break for a few days before the consolation games when we started a little later at 11 a.m instead of the usual 9 a.m games that we'd been doing, but it still didn't take away from the fact that yet again we'd be reffing 3 games a day in what seemed to be the hot hot heat of the beautiful Florida sun.
Luckily, I had been given four games in the middle and 7 as an AR. Although the structure of the tournament and the competition seemed to be somewhat less professional than that of the Nutrilite All-Stars championships reffed in the summer, it was still an eye-opening experience for me and I'm sure the other would agree with me on this. The atmosphere, the crowds and the love of the game was invigorating and kept us amped, even as referees. It was quite the pleasure to be able to witness and experience the beauty of the this game we all love.
The little chats we'd have at half-time, in the change-room and even at lunch everyday kept us tight knit even though I'd already met Amanda at Nationals and the guys met at their Nationals, we'd become much more fond of each other and in turn, it boosted our abilities to work as a team and better understand each other. I was extra glad that us Canadians worked the games together as a group of 3 because it was clear we held the same high standards and stuck with the strict technicalities of the laws of the game which gave us an edge and a leg up on our own presentation and professionalism. we ran a tight ship and this made it clear we knew what we were doing.
A big part of all of this was the fact that we'd gotten assessed on each game we refereed. Amato, of course, was the one writing up the assessments and he didn't hold back on anything. Any little thing we'd screwed up on would usually merit some sort of comment, which sometimes followed with a few laughs. These assessments were extremely helpful and Amato could not have done a better job providing feedback and support regarding any sort of situation which had taken place during our games. The discussions we'd had with him strongly improved anything we did wrong and kept us on the right track throughout the week of what seemed to be endless games. Amato kept a great atmosphere among our group and provided encouragement whenever we needed it. His knowledge of the game is impeccable and he could not have been more dead-on about what to expect. he kept us on our feet the entire time we were there and was a great character to be around and to have as a mentor and for that, I am truly grateful.
All in all, I appreciate the faith the CSA has in me to have sent me on this amazing trip. Everything I’ve gone through and the opportunities I’ve been presented with I must also generously thank my DRC, Leslie Wong who saw the potential in me from the very beginning. And I could not thank Isaac Raymond enough for backing me up and advising me every step of the way. They are the guys that ultimately were behind the scenes of most of the important games I’ve done so far and their continued support is inspiring. The things I've learnt and all the new experiences I've gone through were phenomenal and it has been such a big eye opener for me as it showed me how much more potential I have than I give myself credit for. My passion for the game has grown and I cannot wait to continue with all this. It makes me want to push ahead even more and pursue FIFA even more than I did before. I've formed such great friendships with the other referees and I am so thankful to have worked with the likes of each of them. I could not thank the CSA and everyone in the OSA that was in any way involved enough in sending me on this truly extraordinary trip and letting me experience all that I did. I only hope and wish that I could be sent to tournaments far and wide if given the chance at any time. I hold much gratitude and appreciation for this opportunity and I hope to make CSA and OSA very proud and in my future endeavors. And lastly, my most humble of thanks to Amato for helping along the way, it means more than words.
Miryam Jabali
