-= The Tributes of KEN ASTON MBE
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| In the loving Memory & Spirit of the Game |
| Enjoy, your journey here on... KenAston.org |
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-= The Tributes of KEN ASTON MBE
#16 =- |
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Ken Aston --- A Snapshot… By Mark Neudorff |
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-----Original Message----- From: AYSO Soccer List On Behalf Of Mark Neudorff Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2001 11:19 PM To: AYSO-L@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU Subject: [AYSO-L] Ken Aston - A snapshot... List members, I was quite impressed with all the different accolades given to Ken Aston. Unfortunately, I only met him once, in the late 1980's at the Ken Aston camp. At that time I had the pleasure of speaking with him and Hilda for nearly 30 minutes. The following is what I discerned during that time about the man and his character irrespective of refereeing. It is obvious Ken won the admiration of many of you during his time assisting AYSO. Yes, he was a marvelous teacher. And, yes, he did much for the game, the worldwide referee community and AYSO in specific. But, we have many excellent teachers amongst us. What caused so many to think so fondly of Ken? Here are a few of my thoughts: 1) Ken was a great listener. If you ever analyzed Ken's portrait you will note he has rather large ears. If your listening is proportionate to that part of our anatomy than God should bless us all with enormous ears. 2) Ken was humble. At the time of my 30 minute conversation with Ken, I never really contemplated how stupid my questions must have been. Me, A second year referee who just had learned that white shorts were not in vogue. Ken had been there and done that....in retrospect, he must have heard what I had to say 1,000's of times over. But on that day, in those 30 minutes, he left me with the impression that Mark Neudorff was the most important referee to ever cross his path. 3) Ken was a leader. I didn't know this following fact until many years after my attendance at the Ken Aston Camp. Most of the current AYSO members and past attendee's who benefited from his presence don't realize how close AYSO came to never being blessed with his instruction. I don't know all the specifics but Ken was told by his peers in FIFA and USSF not to assist the upstart soccer organization known as AYSO. Having the courage of his convictions and knowing what was right, Ken disregarded the viciousness of his peers and became a great friend and instructor to the AYSO family. So, if we would like to be remembered fondly, take some life lessons from a master innovator and referee. The titles and positions that we hold may give us temporary respect but never unto themselves extract admiration. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Ken Aston Remembrance and I join those who give their condolences to his dear friends Bill Mason and Brian Davies. Mark Neudorff Former RC Region 795. |
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