Mentorship Program

The DBOA started the Mentorship Program a number of year’s ago when we noticed the number of applicants applying to be a referee were greatly out numbering the available spots. This allows us to find officials who we feel will progress quicker than just any official.

After a referee gets accepted into our District, they are immediately entered into our Mentorship Program. They are part of this Program for the first 3 years of being an official, as it develops them in waves to move on to be a successful official for as long as this path takes them.

While the below are guidelines, some officials who excel get moved through this process quicker. Here is what to expect in your first three years:

Year 1:

• First 5 games are done with an on-ice buddy following you around to ensure your positioning and procedures are good. This buddy will be a mentor in the program. This buddy will not call anything for you, but just be there as support.
• You will be offered 2-4 on ice sessions ran by DBOA officials working on things such as penalties, positioning, rules, and the famous “Dealing with Douchebags” session where we discuss how to handle players/coaches/parents who don’t see the same thing as you are.
• Up until Christmas all your games will be with 2nd year or higher officials, after that you could be paired with fellow first year officials.
• Expect to do only novice and atom hockey unless you are excelling in the role.
• Quiz program where you must do 4 quizzes a year to work on rules.
• Given your first whistle as a gift from DBOA.

Year 2:

•  Expect 1-3 on ice sessions showing you the in’s and out’s of the 3 official system.
• You will still be working Novice and Atom hockey but start doing more and more 3 official games as a linesman and eventually a referee.
• You will be given your first set of arm bands as a gift from DBOA.
• Quiz program where you must do 4 quizzes a year to work on rules.
• Expect to do about 60% novice and atom and 40% peewee and up.

Year 3:

• Expect to do 1-2 sessions on the 3 referee system.
• Expect to start doing Bantam and higher, including an introduction to competitive hockey.
• You will now be expected to pay back into the program and help first year officials.
• Quiz program where you must do 4 quizzes a year to work on rules.

The Mentorship Program is built on all our officials giving back to our association. The “Mentors” are all senior officials who want to give back and help build the next official to get to where they can be. The program is ever growing, and we will add items as we see needed to help build officials.