Summer SIRCuit
In this edition of the SIRCuit, we turn our focus to the development of those who guide the game. Whether it’s a teenage referee calling their first match or a seasoned athlete evolving into a coach with purpose, the stories here show that leadership isn’t just taught—it’s lived, often under pressure, and always with passion.Â
IN THIS ISSUE
What if the boldest leaders in sport aren’t scoring points but making the calls no one wants to make? Thanks to a new SportNL award, teenage officials are stepping into the spotlight proving that authority, under pressure, is its own kind of performance. This isn’t just about rules, it’s about who has the courage to enforce them.Â
Taylor McPherson started as a fierce young wrestler and now, she’s coaching with even more fire. Guided by mentors and shaped by Indigenous pride, her journey from athlete to coach reveals how mentorship can do more than develop skills, it can spark identity, build community, and redefine what success in sport really means.
What happens when you give a whistle to a woman in a male-dominated arena? In New Brunswick, a storytelling series quietly flipped the script. Behind the Whistle isn’t just about officiating—it’s about mentorship, visibility, and a radical kind of leadership: the kind that asks for respect without raising its voice.Â
What if coaching wasn’t just about drills and direction, but about decoding emotion? Emotional intelligence, it turns out, may be the real playbook. In between the tactical “Captain” and the intuitive “Poet,” coaches discover their most powerful tool: themselves. And the game? It quietly changes, too.
What if the true measure of a sport wasn’t the final score but who had the courage to call it fair? In the shadows of the spotlight, officials carry the game’s moral weight. Amid dwindling numbers and rising pressure, their quiet integrity might just be sport’s most endangered asset.