Hi all, thought I'd share that I've passed my level 1 assessment so can now umpire club level matches in England. My daughter was out umpiring in the pouring rain for the U12 cup matches and just did her first full pitch match too. Without @Keely | FHumpires sharing all her tips I probably wouldn't have felt confident to give it a go, so huge thanks from me. Keely's resources, insights and community approach to understanding the rules really is exceptional and can help you build a really high quality understanding of the application of hockey rules ready to step out on the pitch and give it a go. Looking forward to continuing on the journey with this fantastic community!

So, in all honesty, MCP is not for everyone. If you are happy with the level you are umpiring at, don’t buy MCP. That is ok! You might even be doing most of the principles that this course outlines. I mean heck all the current FIH graded umpires reached that level without MCP. The difference is there is a limit you will reach without the MCP course. Not all of us (myself included) can umpire at the FIH level, so we don’t have access to that mindset of positioning.

MCP allows you to achieve success to a degree you probably will not or cannot achieve on your own. If you watch enough WUW and you are active enough on the discord server, you might pick up on a few principles, but trust me, it is not as enlightening as the course itself. I was educated and trained to listen to what people say and pick up what they don’t say, so I have been following a few principles for a while. But trust me it wasn’t enough to change my umpiring as the completion of MCP has.
The mindset you develop will change how you umpire, and the degree of comfort you have while umpiring will change how you view umpiring. You will enjoy it more, and you will be better at it. At the end of the day, that is why we do it. That is what our sport needs—people who share the love of the sport and want it to prosper.

Also, you never know; upon completion of the MCP course, you might have a perspective regarding a principle that none of us have (no one has your history, no one can add what you can, you are unique), thus adding to the richness of MCP. This is a community thing we should try and develop it. That in itself is time well spent.

Hi Keely, just want to let you know tried the hockey stick running out at the weekend. Holly smokes it’s amazing total control and really see what is going on (thought the goals think I am a bit mad when they kept hearing me mutter “happy place”). Need to finish the rest of the course which will be this week but MCP is so cool. Thank you for coming up with it.

If you are new to being an Umpire (or even just thinking about it) watch these discussions on YouTube, they really really help you with the understanding of the rules and how to interpret them.

Plus Keely has a knack of making the complicated simply (though still not 100% sure about the Handbag rule) and it is interesting to hear the logic of some top notch umpires discussing the same thing.

Plus lots of tips about what to do whilst you are on pitch and how to manage the match.

So thank you Keely for doing this, this is a resource just helps you be better.

Dear Keely,
Thank you for joining Bromsgrove HC tonight for a wonderful evening of lively discussion about “hot” topics for Umpires. It was an absolutely delight to meet you in person. I know we’ve all learnt valuable lessons to use in our officiating this season.
Safe journey on the rest of your UK tour.

I’ve always wanted to constantly improve my umpiring. I’ve found it frustrating the apparent lack of resources or support out there for umpires. So basically I’ve had to figure a lot of things out for myself. But in terms of positioning, I’ve concluded a while back that running a J hook down the line was often not the right approach. But equally I’ve been concerned that I’m not doing the standard thing and had people occasionally ask me what I wasn’t running the line.

So the discovery of FHumpires was an amazing moment for me. Then MCP was one of those moments (I can picture Keely doing “mind blown” hand gesture) - so coming inside is okay. In fact I can do it more than I’ve been doing until now. This is so great.

I just wanted to say thank you for the excellent Mission Critical Positioning course, the lessons of which I put into practice this morning (so much so I was standing on the centre spot at one point, although still closer to my circle than the most advanced attacker!).

Fully recommend the positioning workshop - been putting the lessons into action since we started the season and it really helps!

Just tried MCP for the first time with 2 P2 men's games today.
Initial thoughts.
AMAAAAAAAAAAAZING.
Both games I didn't come closer than 5-7 metres to the sideline. Felt gooooood being in-field and deeper with no attackers behind.
Did a few good flashes off the circle baseline to get angles. Worked well.
Communicated with the other umpire when I needed to hoof it back and when we were transferring control. He said it was the best comms he'd had and thought we were perfectly synced.
More to come once I've had a chance to review.

4th week on MCP.

Number of times over sideline = 0.
Number of times caught out getting into circle to receive the attacking play = 0.

This s**t is good.

I found the course really enjoyable and insightful. First time ever seeing a course implemented through Discord like this. I was sceptical at first, but it actually worked quite nicely. As others mentioned, I would've just liked a way to "track" my progress, but then again, I finished the course in like an hour as I wanted to test it out in my game yesterday.

To my surprise, MCP felt quite familiar. One of my mentors in our league (FIH umpire) suggested end of last year that I should try not do the button hook when going to my happy place so that part I already got sorted. I was using a mixture of old school and MCP without even realising. Inside my 23m, I was doing MCP, but outside I was very old school as I couldn't figure out how to position myself properly inside the field without getting caught. So I naturally drifted outwards the further I went up to support my colleague.

While working through the videos, it was as if a light bulb went on during the section about keeping the furthest attacker within your vision. Suddenly I could stay more infield and confidently read when I had to start running back to my happy place. I felt confident in each overhead that came my way. I never felt as if I had to run hard to get ahead of the play, and I just generally felt more aware of what was happening because I had a view on most of the players most of the time. I think I had to turn my body and look over my shoulder once during the game, and that was after a miss trap during a PC where I was the supporting umpire.

So after only one game I can already attest that MCP is amazing. Granted the game was with an umpire that I had the confidence in to be able to try MCP, and I feel I also didn't have to change too much as I was already sort of using MCP. Only now I actually knew how to set myself up for success. Awesome stuff Keely!

@pdg_at_avidity @fhumpires @CambridgeTA Seconded. Watching FHU and discussing with community and Keely helped me loads as I got started again post paralysis. I’ve seen Millie do a couple of games at @cchcuk and she’s brilliant. So calm and confident. Proud of the CCHC 3rd Team!

@fhumpires @CambridgeTA To All - @fhumpires are amazing at helping players get to know the rules and understand how umpires look at things - our TA group have had great support and really put things learnt into practice!

Big thank you to Keely for all the content she creates and confidence it gave me to get into umpiring.

Without all the great stuff you do I really would not have tried umpiring as it all looked really opaque and too complicated. You make it understandable, accessible and demystify the whole thing.

Had my first big gig(for me) on Monday at the Schools u18s T4 East Regional Finals as the representative umpire for the local school. That was only possible because of Keely, Fhumpires and the Discord community that are always supportive and positive.

Highly recommend the Mission Critical Positioning online course which I did last week. Really helped me to keep ahead of the rather quick 18yo boys.

Next up need to figure out what is required for L2 and whether it is something I could do but I know there is a community around me to help me along.

Big BIG thank you Keely!!!

The support that Keely has given through my umpiring journey to date has been one of the key pillars of my personal development in my umpiring career. A massive part of her credibility comes from having been there and done it as an umpire and a UM and so she gives feedback honestly and objectively to guide you on best practises and away from making killer mistakes. Keely never hesitates to engage with you on a personal level and really cares about your development and the milestones that you reach. Would not hesitate to recommend her and the FHU3T Yellow membership to any aspiring umpires.

Keely and the FHU3Team have been the sole reason I continued umpiring after setbacks. From kit being stolen to particularly bad games, the support from FHU has kept me going and helped me to identify flaws in my game and keep improving.
I can’t thank Keely enough for everything she’s done to support us all, she truly is a godsend!

FHU is amazing not only because of what you learn. Keely has an unparalleled ability to make every member feel like they’re not only allowed, but encouraged to participate in an active way, making everyone feel part of the community.

@fhumpires Great testimonial and a fair one. Mission Critical Positioning from @fhumpires is a must do course for aspiring hockey umpires everywhere. From personal experience as done it twice. 1st for me as umpire & then to help as developer.

#alwayslearning #fhu3t #umpiring #hockey

I recently decided to umpire on an appointed basis after having been a club umpire for the last 15 years. Whilst looking around on the internet I stumbled across FHUmpires and am so thankful I did. The weekly YouTube videos along with the discord server are great for making you think and exploring ideas with other like-minded individuals. I recently signed up for the mission-critical positioning course which really opened my eyes to how I umpire. Using the techniques I learned, my umpiring and game management have taken a huge leap forward. I cannot praise Keely and the community enough and would recommend it to anybody interested in umpiring.

@fhumpires Big thanks Keely. I was just umpiring a couple of games last night and was unsure of what should happen. Thanks for clarifying everything with the video.

Great to see Keely from @fhumpires back chatting to @NPUAhockey for our 2021 conference today. Always learning!

Despite being a fellow Canadian, I first ran into Keely very early in my umpiring career in an online umpiring forum where her clear, straight-forward answers immediately drew me in and gained my trust. Her stewardship over the years has been instrumental in helping me achieve my ever-increasing goals. I continually seek out Keely's universally-praised advice whenever I have a problem, whether it is on technical decision-making, positioning, management styles, career development, or anything in between. And yet somehow–I have no idea how–she always has even more insights to hit me with every step of the way.

Keely has been the Calgary Ladies Field Hockey Association’s primary source for new rules, regulations, interpretations, and our primary clinician for almost two deacdes. She knows her rules and is great with dealing with the challenging situational questions that pop up every season.

I’ve worked with Keely for several years in her role as an Umpire Manager at national championships hosted by FHA. She’s an excellent communicator with vast international experience and gets the best out of every umpire she works with. Keely has been a key player in developing umpires locally and across Canada and thanks to her mentorship, we have access to a strong umpiring community that fuels the development of hockey in our province. She just plain knows her stuff!

Great turnout from our umpires joining others from around the country and all over the world.
One of the best from @fhumpires
Challenging rather than controversial (well maybe a bit controversial)
Great to see so many right answers.

#thirdteam #hockey #umpiring

With a couple of rule adjustments coming into force this week, the following from the peerless @fhumpires is typically informative to show what the changes mean in real terms. This formed the basis for the post I put up on the @irishhockey site earlier

https://t.co/e2R2buDhK5

What a fantastic way of spreading the message and educating fans on the intricacies of officiating a sport... From the international governing body no less! If you're ever unsure of interpretations in hockey - a good place to start is @fhumpires

A lot of this from years of experience but also a big shout out to @keelydunn & her Mission Critical Positioning sessions though @fhumpires
Helped me & now helping others in @SCOfficiating and across the world.

#thirdteam #umpiring #fh3t

I have been officiating multiple college sports including field hockey (other sports are Men's college basketball and Women's College Lacrosse). A couple years back someone (I can't remember who) mentioned your youtube site. Since then I have been following you.

I improve everytime I watch your videos (whether it is through confirmation or seeing something I haven't seen. It is informative. Truly a great learning experience.

I live in Durham, NC, USA but I am jealous of the officials overseas. Because I live in the south (except for D1 college) High School and some D3 games are available.

I would jump at the chance to umpire some games overseas. But understand distance and $ don’t add up. But I would do it anyway.

You and your broadcast have been a blessing to me. Thank You.

A few years ago, I was fortunate to come across Keely's hockey umpiring videos on YouTube. These instructional clips have helped me to develop into a more competent umpire by understanding situational play better and improving my field positioning. Knowing the rules is one thing but effectively applying them and being actively engaged in the game is much better for the players, e.g. using a lot of whistle or letting the game flow.
In addition, Keely has very good interactive sessions that I have occasionally listened to. If you join the forum, it gives you a chance to ask questions about what the better umpiring decision can be for the players as opposed to just applying the rules.

FHumpires has really helped me "up my game" as an umpire. Keely is very good at breaking down the steps to make the key decisions and be a better umpire, whether it be positioning, thought process or general confidence. The courses she provides are easily digestible and relevant.

Being part of the FHumpires community that she has built also allows me to stay sharp and keep hockey on the brain in the off-season. This has been especially helpful as I moved from a country where hockey was a 6-9month sport to a country where it is only 3-4months.

So I’ve been here as part of the discord community for 2 weeks and it’s a complete game changer. Not only have I already taken away and had access to so much content to support my umpiring development but the collective level of experience for brand new umpires to seasons experts has been brilliant.

Umpiring in rural areas can be quite remote and isolating but having 24/7 access to colleagues to use as sound boards or seek advice has been brilliant. I can’t recommend this enough

I recently took the Mission-Critical Positioning course by FHumpires, and I found it to be very specific and informative. The course provided helpful information supported by video content, which made it easier to understand and apply the concepts. Keely, the instructor, offered tools that are practical and can be used effectively. The course is well-organized and thoughtfully executed, making it an invaluable resource. I appreciated the balance between theory and practical application, and I plan to review portions of it again. Overall, I highly recommend this course to others.

So yeah I'm going to be myself and call it how I see it... I honestly thought you were over-exaggerating when you said if i thought WUW and the Discord server was worth my time, I really should consider Yellow and join in the fun.

But truth be told I was mistaken.

I spent the whole day on the server with MCP, and it was so much info that I only got to 3. Strategies and Skills before I decided to take a break and watch a Watch Party and one of Joep's match Debriefs.

The quantity and quality of the material is amazing!!!

Thank you for your time and just everything it is really much appreciated.

I applied MCP during the six indoor matches I umpired in the past two weeks and thought I'd share my experience. In the initial two matches, I occasionally stepped outside the boards and moved up high as I was used to, aiming to gain a better vantage point in that high corner. However, returning to the inside position from there was somewhat uncomfortable (to put it mildly). In the subsequent matches, I made a pact with myself to remain inside and see what would happen. It was a great experience —I was notably better positioned when play approached me. Even when the action was high on the opposite half, I felt firmly in control and prepared for any change in possession. I also felt very well positioned to assist my colleague in their circle. The only exceptions were perhaps two or three instances when play was in the corner high on my side, and players moved between me and the ball. This would pose less of an issue if your colleague positioned themselves inside as well, moving up or down from their backline for a better view. However, if they stay outside the boards, there's a bigger chance of missing something. I hope this clarifies things. There will likely always be a trade-off, but for me, adopting MCP positioning indoors has proven a very effective and enjoyable experience.

FHUmpires is the number 1 resource for being a better hockey umpire. The video and livestream content is not just compelling to watch, but insightful and illuminating. The courses are incredibly informative and full of useful ways to think not just about hockey, but also how we can approach situations with an open, thoughtful mind. The community is a strong and powerful resource, with like-minded, sympathetic and driven people who want the best possible hockey to flourish, and to provide useful support for all its members. Without a doubt, FHUmpires and Keely have changed my life for the better, supporting me in all my endeavours as an outdoor umpire, an indoor umpire, a technical offical and as a person in general. I couldn't wish for a more amazing network of friends than those made here 💙

Want to not run as far but still be in the right place for the important decisions? Then MCP is for you (actually it is also for you if you like running further than you need to...).

Great show last night @keelydunn

Fantastic engagement with umpiring badgers across the world.
Scenarios in the clips discussed in detail. Polls to vote on. Plenty of banter.
Please come and join us.

#thirdteam #hockey #umpiring #fhumpires #fhu3t

Umpired a cracking 2-2 draw between @GBHockey women and @MarlowHC men’s 1s last night, and can confirm:
1. matches like this can be enjoyable and valuable for everyone
2. Positioning advice from my 1:1 with @fhumpires really helped
3. I can just about walk this morning

Good evening Keely, Dean here. Over the past 10 days I umpired in my first National Masters Tournament here in Australia where I was also provided an opportunity to umpire a gold medal game. Whilst this seems like a personal achievement, I sincerely attribute success in this field to absorbing the great content you create, so thank you very much for your passion and dedication. I still have a great deal to learn, and I look forward to having FHU as strong part of my development program. Dean

I 'binge-watched' the MCP course on Thursday -thank you. I really enjoyed it and it clarified and qualified a bunch of things I'm currently doing and trying improve. I already had a chance to put some of the ideas into place and it worked out really well!

I'm a mid level umpire in our state competition, so I can do up to almost the highest level in local comp, but more likely a few steps lower most weekends. I was lucky last year to get involved in a private tournament with overseas clubs and tour groups playing, which got me the invite back this year.

The standard in some of these matches is well above what I usually cover, so a few of your 'tricks' in the D, especially the flashing up from the baseline, worked well and I was quietly chuffed thinking - "hey, that thing works!".

Post-tournament notes:
I worked with an exemplary top-level umpire who commented that my positioning was spot on (for the match level). So ... thank you! I was also able to cover a missing Tier 1 ump and had a really positive experience with the game / teams / and co-ump.

Hi
I was at the Fareham presentation evening. Where can I buy your mission critical course?
Interesting session. Completely with the view on evolution, young players and ethos. I think there are some that need persuading. Wouldn`t checking a couple of questions if poss,
cheers
Simon

Excellent 1 2 1 with Keely on Friday. Very helpful and also she has the ability to mentor and help whatever level of umpire you might be or aspire to be. Thoroughly recommend to all our group! Keely is also really funny but I think we all knew that!

... Also some personal news, the KNHB has seen fit to allow me into the national umpire training course so next season l'lI be appointed to umpire the highest level youth matches and if I finish the course succesfully the (almost) top level adult matches. I just wanted to let you know because I big part of my umpiring knowledge has come from your Instagram channel and Facebook videos helping me get a deeper understanding of the rules beyond just knowing them by heart and develop the skillset to take my umpiring to the next level. So for that I really wanted to thank you.

Hi Keely, I found your YouTube channel a few months ago when I moved back to Perth (Aus) to play hockey for the first time in 10 years! I have lived remotely so have missed playing the sport I love, and wanted to get back into umpiring as well and brush up on the rules.

I didn't know I would end up down such a rabbit hole and realise there is so much I don't understand about applying one set of wording to so many different situations!! I absolutely love the way you run things and the style of education, I value the fact that you strive to use language professionally and make everyone step up to a higher level to get the absolute best out of a match of hockey.

I became ready and inspired to get back into umpiring and work towards a higher level after watching the World Cup and Comm games last year and seeing how umpires like Rachel Williams, Amber Church, and Aleisha Neumann influence the game for the better. I want to be the best umpire I can to allow great hockey to be played, so I thank you enormously for what you do to help everyone get better.

It's so so valuable, and I can't wait until the day I'm able to set an alarm to get up at ridiculous o'clock to join a live session!!

Great event to be involved in as a member of the fantastic @fhumpires team. Providing umpires, match officials and umpire development support for all the matches.
Clearly a successful event from the impact it has made and the people it has reached. Going to grow.

#fhu3t

Sorry I couldn't jump on line for the Wed session on advantage. Loved how you question my life priorities if I'm up all night watching umpiring videos! I also wanted to pass on that I was able to implement the umpiring crowding techniques from the previous video which was awesome...I loved how the "1 person 1 question" phrase showed that players crowding wasn't ok but at the same time showed empathy for their grievance. Cheers.

Fully recommend the positioning workshop - been putting the lessons into action since we started the season and it really helps!

After our chat I put myself forward to umpire our Ladies 1st XI last week, who are a good side and usually get appointed regional umpires...and after the game they asked if I could umpire them every week, you don't get that often!

I just have so much more self-belief since I've been following you. 💪

Another great show from @fhumpires @keelydunn
Great discussions & votes on varied topics. Input from some of the best umpires around and some just starting out.

#thirdteam #WhatUpWednesday #umpiring #hockey

Top banter on the show yesterday.
Interesting discussions on the 3 clips as we all learn together.
Umpire badgers from all parts of the world and some closer to home in @SCOfficiating colleagues.

#thirdteam #hockey #umpiring #fh3t

Early kit check and charge ahead of return to @WestHockeyOfcls action tomorrow with a month since the last match - off over the bridge for @SwanseaHC 2s v @bandwhc in @HockeyWestUK Div 1N

Thank you @fhumpires for your presentation today at the @NPUAhockey conference. Great end to an excellent day, thank you to all the speakers. #npua2021 @EnglandHockey

All ready for a soggy day umpiring for @SouthCentralHo2 but radios should be ok and the cards from @fhumpires should work perfectly in this weather!! Oh and new whistles!!Off we go!! #thirdteam #itswetoutside #hockeylife

Last hockey (for both myself and "The Bag (duffel)" for 2021. On the bus, pre match and at the pub. @fhumpires

As we enter the New Year, we look back to our most popular #podcast episodes of all time. In joint first place, we have the Whistle Blowers #interview with Keely Dunn of FHumpires (@fhumpires).

#hockey #umpire #FieldHockey #PodcastAndChill #sports

https://t.co/ybLWkefhke

I just supported @fhumpires on @buymeacoffee! 🎉

@fhumpires is supporting hockey umpires all over the world!. You can support by buying a rosé! 🍷 here — https://t.co/LYY6Y24pYG

After having not tuned in to #WhatUpWednesday, with @fhumpires, for a while I caught up with the latest on YouTube. I hadn’t realised how much I missed a well produced hockey show, that also has a bit of personality. I might try and watch a live one soon.

https://t.co/7VSbTuLMue

Missed the show live but got it on catch up
Loved the support from Keely and the umpire community for our under fire colleagues. Great to see so many on the show “owning” their own mistakes. We all make them. It is learning from them that makes us stronger and better

#thirdteam