Volleyball offering more opportunities outside of playing

After deciding playing Volleyball wasn’t for him, Jaek Passier found another entry into the sport he loves, picking up the whistle at the age of 12 and now refereeing for more than 20 years. 

For Passier, refereeing provided a great opportunity to remain active in the sport and also have the best seat in the house.

“The ability to officiate at a high level and still be involved in the sport at a high level is what drove me to open that pathway,” Passier said. 

Passier has learnt and developed as a referee over the years but has also put skills and concepts into practice in his everyday life. 

“It is the general life skills you get around organising, and being organised, sorting yourself out and working as part of a team and working with new people and still delivering a positive outcome.

“In the officiating space it is important to work with your fellow officials and sometimes in an international arena you might meet them a couple of hours before you need to work together on a match,” he said. 

Part of his role as an official is to help educate athletes and coaches who are progressing through their own volleyball journey. Through officiating has also been able to learn from more experienced athletes and coaches as well. 

Not only has officiating Volleyball taken Passier around the country multiple times, it has provided him with unique experiences he wouldn’t have got anywhere else. 

“I had an opportunity quite recently to be a line judge involved with the finals for the women’s gold medal match at the Commonwealth Games,” he said. 

“So working out on the sand and helping officials at the highest level the game has seen in Australia in front of a packed stadium with celebrities and all that sort of stuff it was a magical experience

 “That was a really great experience, a really high level game, with really good players and a relaxed environment where they were having fun… My younger brother was playing so I got to officiate him at a high level and being able to participate in that as a first referee was pretty special for me.”

These great experiences come with an added bonus of perspective. 

“It is recognition that you are not bigger than the game, that is where that perspective comes in about recognising where you are in a space and I guess that is a life skill as well,” Passier said.