Joseph Vella's decision to pack away the boots and focus on refereeing this year has proven a fruitful one.
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The Tamworth teenager has been recognised as Northern Inland Football's Newcastle Permanent Referee of the Year.
Having played since he was about "five or six", Vella at the start of last year decided to pick up the whistle.
"I liked playing and I thought it would be interesting and another way to get involved," he explained.
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But after juggling playing and refereeing, this season he decided to just concentrate on refereeing.
One of several promising young referees coming through the ranks, Vella officiated from under-12s in the local Tamworth competition right up to Northern Inland Premier Division games.
Between controlling games and running lines it wasn't uncommon for him to officiate seven games of a Saturday.
All up over the course of the season he reckoned he probably would have done 50.
"It's a lot of fun to do," he said, adding that it gives you a different perspective on the game.
One of his biggest moments this year was centering (refereeing) his first men's third grade game.
"It was pretty good, a lot better than I thought it would be," he said.
Recently starting Year 12 at McCarthy, where he is the school captain, Vella said the award was a huge surprise.
"I didn't really expect it all. I haven't won any of the monthly awards," he said.
His efforts over the season also saw him win one of the most prestigious awards for Tamworth Referees - the Rod Hobbs Medal.
He said the acknowledgement has motivated him to keep going with refereering.
"I'm going to keep on going for as long as I can," Vella said.
He is pulling the boots back on for the local summer competition playing with his mates for the Modes of Transport team in the men's division. In homage to their name, each player on the back of their shirts has a different mode of transport.
Vella's is a yacht.
He is also refereeing.
Referees Appointments Officer Les Withers said Vella was an appointments officer's dream.
"[You] need a spot filled and he's there.
"Some days when we've been short he's done four or five games without a break and he never complained, nor have I had a complaint from anyone about his officiating," he said.
"He's a polite young man and becoming a very good official."
Long-time North Companions servant Wayne Clarke was named the Volunteer of the Year and Inverell FC's Bryce Woods the Community Coach of the Year.
Clarke has been involved with North Companions for more than 20 years and has held various roles over that time.
This year due to field restrictions as a result of COVID-19, North Companions hosted the 5-7yrs division games at their Marius Street fields. That required setting fields up, ensuring all the COVID-safe protocols were in place, getting the games started on time, keeping the flow of parents and kids moving before and after games, and then packing up, all of which Clarke assisted with.
On top of that, the club welcomed a lot of new kids this season and he helped find teams for them.
