PROMISING young umpire Sebastian Dalgleish of Horsham has just finished a successful season umpiring with the Ballarat Football Umpires Association.
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The association serves the Ballarat Football Netball League, Central Highlands Football League and the Maryborough-Castlemaine District Football League.
Dalgleish was chosen to officiate the senior grand final for the Maryborough-Castlemaine league, and was an emergency for the Ballarat league’s senior decider.
It was Dalgleish’s second senior grand final and he said it was another good experience.
“It was a bit of a one-sided game but it was good football,” he said. “I did the Wimmera league senior grand final last year.”
Dalgleish said umpiring in the Ballarat region this season had helped his development.
“It’s been good going to the Ballarat area,” he said.
“The professionalism and coaching down there has been really beneficial. I’ve been observed a couple of times during the year by different coaches and getting feedback from them during the week at training has really helped my development.”
Decorated whistleblower Roger Le Grand was the head coach of the Ballarat umpires this season.
“The head coach this year was Roger Le Grand and he does observations for the Victorian Football League but will go on next year to be involved with the AFL,” Dalgleish said. “He is very knowledgeable when it comes to umpiring and has been very helpful for me this year.”
Dalgleish is about to complete year 12 at St Brigid’s College in Horsham and is eyeing off a move to the Victorian Football League next season.
“The last two years I have been on the VFL rookie squad, just going down there training every couple of weeks,” he said. “I’ve been invited to trial over summer to get onto the VFL development squad.
“If I get onto that I would be umpiring TAC Cup and VFL women’s football. I would have to do that until a spot opens up on the VFL senior list and go from there.”
Dalgleish said he had plans to move to Ballarat or Melbourne for university.
“The plan is to go to university in Ballarat or Melbourne and travel for umpiring from there,” he said. “That would help reduce the travel a little bit. If I was on that VFL list I would be training Tuesday and Thursday and umpiring on Saturdays, so to be a bit more centrally located would be good.”
