Michael Buttery
A good day for Michael Buttery is one when he goes completely unnoticed.
The 18yearold John McGlashan pupil is used to making calls and, if he’s lucky, nobody on the side of the pitch will disagree with him.
He began refereeing at a young age following two parents who were international grade refs.
‘‘It was either sit on the sidelines or join in.’’
He spends most of his time mediating touch games, a sport he loved growing up.
He used to be a player but when he became a teenager he found he could no longer make the cut for the teams he wanted to play for.
He wanted to continue with touch, so threw himself fully into refereeing.
Many do know not much about the role of referee, but for Michael it is a sport itself.
He could easily run 3km during a touch game and during tournaments would ref up to five games a day.
It was a hard skill to train for, as there was nothing like a live game to hone his skills on.
The first few games were a trial by fire, but now he has received national recognition for his skills and has travelled to Australia for transtasman games.
He also referees contact rugby, including as a assistant ref at the Otago verses Canterbury Farah Palmer cup match last year.
He never regretted putting aside the cleats for a whistle.
‘‘I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life.’’
As a ref he had to establish good relationships quickly, as he could meet two new captains every week.
He loved being out on the pitch making the calls, but not every game went off without a hitch.
Occasionally somebody will disagree with a decision and he has to deescalate the situation and keep things running.
Some times people would not back off, but he knew he had the support of the players and could resolve the situation.
Those relationship building and deescalation skills were applicable to a lot more than just the rugby pitch.
It taught him to be confident and how to deal with conflict in a productive way.
He hoped to delve deeper into the world of sport by studying sports psychology and to one day work with high level players.
Achievements: Otago vs Canterbury Farah Palmer Cup assistant ref (2021); Touch NZ topranked youth ref (20202021); U18 girls touch ref open nationals rank 11 (2020); U18 mixed youth transtasman touch ref (2020); Mixed touch ref open nationals rank 18 (2020); Service and social prefect (2022); School citizenship award (2019); Level 1 excellence (2020); John McGlashan junior service shield (20182019); sporting blue (20202022). Role model: Referee coach Adrian Ruaiti, for staying calm and collected and getting the job done.
Hopes for the future: to study sports psychology.