Young Queenslander Alex Whetton has dreams of making it to the AFL as a field umpire.

As an Australian Sports Commission (ASC) National Officiating Scholarship holder that dream is fast becoming a reality.

In Melbourne for the AFL Umpires National Talent Camp, Alex is experiencing life as a high performance official, umpiring future stars of the game in the NAB AFL Under 18 Championships.

The National Officiating Scholarship (NOS) program aims to assist the development of emerging high performance officials across numerous sports.

Currently, there are four state-league football umpires from across Australia involved with the NOS program that meet three times a year.

Alex says the scholarship enables him to undertake professional development and training to improve his umpiring skills and potentially officiate within the elite level of football.

“It’s a great program that is really in-depth, we have specialists ranging from sport psychologists to nutritionists, and coaches,” he said.

The 19-year-old has been chosen to represent his state following impressive performances in the NEAFL, the state league football body in Queensland.

In addition to the program, NOS holders have a current AFL umpire as their mentor.

“I’m lucky to have Chambo (Ray Chamberlain) as my mentor this year, we get along really well and have a very similar personality,” he said.

Mentoring is a key component of the scholarship and the ASC has conducted an induction workshop for both Alex and Ray providing ongoing support and monitoring for the duration of the program.

“He’s a great mentor, we can speak about preparation, free kicks or what’s going on in life – Chambo is in finance as well,” he said.

The NEAFL umpire views his nature as what drives him to succeed in umpiring.

“I love the competitive nature, that’s why I gave away playing football at 15 to solely focus on umpiring.

The move worked in his favour with the business finance student rising through the ranks at a fast pace.

“I went straight from umpiring Brisbane junior footy to umpiring in the NEAFL,” he said.

Current AFL umpire Nick Foot is a previous ASC National Officiating Scholarship holder. 

To find out more about the National Officiating Scholarship program, click here.

http://www.ausport.gov.au/participating/officials/high_performance/scholarships