GIVE it a go. That’s the message NFL Director of Umpiring Martin Ellis has for anybody considering becoming an umpire.
One month into his new role, Ellis is looking to bolster the league’s umpiring numbers and is encouraging both youngsters and former players to join the umpiring ranks.
Ellis lists healthy remuneration, staying fit and the chance to learn life skills as the major attractions of umpiring.
“Get involved, just as I did, from an income point of view and if a career develops you can certainly earn very good dollars on a pathway in umpiring,” Ellis said.
“It also teaches you a lot of skills about yourself in your personal development and handling different situations. You meet lots of friends and it’s a great way to keep healthy and fit while being remunerated as well.”
Ellis said he is keen to speak to any retired senior footballers who are looking to stay involved in the game.
With their intrinsic knowledge of the rules, Ellis believes former players would quickly adapt to life as a whistleblower.
“They’ve got a great football knowledge behind them already,” he said
“You’d find that you would quickly move up the ladder with your knowledge and experience from playing football to umpiring in senior football.”
A former AFL umpire of 244 games experience, including the 2001 AFL Grand Final, Ellis joined the NFL in November after replacing retired umpires boss Kevin Smith.
Ellis’ umpiring career began as a youngster in the Preston District Junior Football League. After winning the Golden Whistle award in his second season, he was invited to train with the AFL’s umpire development squad.
His debut in the big league came in 1996, when he officiated the opening-round clash between Fitzroy and Hawthorn at the Western Oval.
While his recollections of his debut game are a little hazy, there is one day he still has vivid memories of – the 2001 Grand Final between Essendon and Brisbane Lions.
“It was a sell-out crowd and the stakes were much higher obviously, but (as an umpire) you’re pretty much in the zone and you just want to tick the game off because you’re under pressure to perform,” Ellis said.
“You go in with the normal approach that it’s just another game of football, don’t rest on your laurels, do your job properly, get off the ground being unnoticed and let the game be the feature. I think we achieved that in 2001.
“It was after the final siren that I totally felt relief and jubilation and a sense of achievement.”
Ellis pinpointed the 2001 finals series as the highlight of his 13-year career as an AFL umpire.
“I just felt confident umpiring throughout that finals series in 2001.
“Every game that I did or was appointed to throughout the 2001 finals series I just grew with confidence and knew that I was umpiring well, bouncing well and paying the correct free kicks in the right position.
“I just knew that I had the skills to go on and do the Grand Final, it was just a matter of being selected.”
Since retiring from umpiring at the conclusion of the 2008 season, Ellis has stayed heavily involved in football.
He headed the Female Umpire Academy with AFL Victoria Metropolitan Umpire Development Manager Neville Nash. The academy provides a pathway for female field umpires to further their career at VFL level.
Participants in the academy included NFL field umpire Lucinda Lopes who has since been included in the inaugural Female Umpire Pathway Program, with the aim of becoming the first-ever female AFL field umpire.
Ellis has also served as an AFL time keeper – performing the role in five Grand Finals – and has worked with the VFL as an umpire observer.
The chance to now impart his knowledge on emerging umpires at the grass-roots level attracted him to his new role with the NFL.
“The opportunity at the Northern Football League when Kevin Smith retired just felt like it was in my backyard,” he said.
“It also gave me the opportunity to extend my knowledge and my experience to other umpires in the Northern Football League, at both a junior and senior level to help develop their careers and assist them moving forward.”
Anyone interested in joining the NFL as an umpire can email Martin Ellis at 
mellis@nfl.org.au.
