Retention Rates

[Laggard]

I was asked what percent of new referees actually make it past their first year. Any ideas?

[SA14mars]

I was asked what percent of new referees actually make it past their first year. Any ideas?

might depend on how you measure it. one way would be to look at recert statistics, another might be to look at number of games taken. as to a specific number or percent, though, I honestly don't know.

[refmike]

Good question but a better one is WHY.
The retention rate is terrible. Whenever I run into an ex-referee I ask why and there seem to be 2 dominent answers: "not worth the effort" and "did not get the renewal paperwork".

The second is a cop-out because they did not make any effort to use the many resources to fix the problem (local ref coordinator, local district referee administrator, or if necessary a phone call to the USSF headquarters in Chicago).

The first has seveal solutions - More pay seems obvious. More control of coaches or parents (I hear about that happening in spots but not often enough) or More opportunity for refs to talk to each other and learn how to avoid mistakes or to deal with troublemaking coaches or spectators.

This last is my pet peeve. Soccer clubs should have monthly referee meetings where problems can be discussed and new refs taught the ropes (beyond the Laws). Our habit of training them and throwing them to the dogs is the reason most leave.

Perhaps we need a national rating of the retention in different areas so we can learn what is being done right and how we can fix the problems in the worst areas. Schools do it, why not referee training areas.

[Ref Flunkie]

This last is my pet peeve. Soccer clubs should have monthly referee meetings where problems can be discussed and new refs taught the ropes (beyond the Laws). Our habit of training them and throwing them to the dogs is the reason most leave.



We're lucky if we can get kids to show up to once/YEAR meetings for referees. I do agree more instruction should be given on the club levels, but it will only be valuable to those that get into it and want to keep doing it after they get out of their teen years.

[NHRef]

You get several groups of "new" refs:

1) hey, I'm a soccer player, this would be an easy way to make lots of money
2) I think I will do this to continue being involved in soccer
3) adults who merge into either group.

#1 usually folds when they find out they might get yelled at. I have talked to 14 year old refs who said, it's only $20/game not worth it. Come on now, that's $20 for 1.5 hours of work! Find any other job at 14 where you get $13/hr, under the table!

Then you get a group who just decide they didn't like it.

Then you get the last group, they want to be refs, they fall into two groups:
1) chased out by parents/coaches
2) learn to deal with #1 and stay the course.

How to get everyone to this last group? Can't, some just won't like it, they should stop, some just want the money, they should stop. Its the retention of the ones who want to be there, but get chased out that you need to hold and develop. Need training/mentorship and a way to "ease" them in.

We get certified, pass the test and "poof" you are a grade 8 ref certified to to CR up to U18. Really now? Local clubs can help, assignors can help. Don't throw the kids to the wolfs, ease them in starting with AR slots of 8v8 games if you have them, its about as easy as it gets, then move em to CR on 6v6 (only ref) or CR on 8v8 with older ARs, then slowly move em up through the ages.

It takes experience to deal with a coach who figures he can scare/intimidate a teenage ref. It takes experience and guts to ref kids in your school.

Don't just toss them to the wolves, ease them in with a support chain to help them out. Unfortunately this takes dedication from more senior refs to go help them out and watch and mentor, often times without being paid.

[Claymore]

The question of how to break-in new refs reveals a Catch-22, at least in this area. We typically assign new refs to do the U-little matches. However, we often find that the parents and coaches at that age group are the worst offenders when it comes to referee abuse. Read your local leagues' R&D meeting minutes, if they are on-line; you'll find that many of these hearings involve teams at the U-13 level or below.

[timothy.stadler]

The league I ref in rotates new ref's. one week we do four centers and the next week we do 4 AR rotations. It has helped me see things that I wouldn't otherwise see just doing one or the other. Normally one of the Refs either the center or an AR is very experienced and we have good reviews afterwards.

[vabeacher]

I don't think the money is an issue. Any teenage kid that I've talked to says the money is better than anything else they can make at that age. Most adults will tell you they're not doing it for the money, but they'll admit it's nice to get the extra money.

I agree that we should not throw our new refs into low level rec games, to work games alone. These games are probably the worst ones to start out in. You have no support from more experienced refs, the parents and volunteer coaches are extremely vocal and have limited soccer knowledge.

If the overall retention rates are low, they must be abysmal for females. I'm constantly amazed that coaches feel they intimidate young referees, especially females. I've only refereed for a few years, but because I'm in my 40's I'll get more respect than an 18 year old, who's been refereeing for 5 years.

A good assignor can make all the difference. They need to know which of their experienced refs can work well with new refs and assign them games together.

[intechpc]

I'm 28 and I got into refereeing initially for a completely different reason. My kids' soccer club requires voluteer hours or an extra $50 fee is charged. Well of the options, refereeing was the only one that was at all appealing plus I looked at it as another way to stay active and in shape. So I signed up for it, not even realizing that in addition to filling my "volunteer" hours, I'd actually get paid for doing it.

Now that I've got some game experience I've found I really have a passion for refereeing. It's a terrific experience both from being involved in the sport and being a part of helping kids grow and learn the sport as well.

Probably the biggest surprise I've had thus far in my short career as a referee has been how little I am bothered by the coaches and parents complaining. I'm surprisingly undisturbed by it even this weekend when I was standing right behind the losing coach as he told some parents I didn't know what a "handball" was.

All this leads me to believe I may continue to referee for many years to come.

[Gary V]

I just happened to have my referee association contact list here at the computer. So I did some counting.

First certified in:
2005 - 35
2004 - 28
2003 - 21
2002 - 15
2001 - 8
2000 and earlier - 38

I would presume that cert class sizes are similar from year to year, so you can see the drop off in numbers.

Actually 2003 might have been a larger than normal class - I know my daughter was one of those who didn't keep with it. She didn't really enjoy it, and had so many other things going that she couldn't do enough games to get better.

For male/female ratio, 14 of the 35 from 2005 are girls. Of the 38 that have been around for 6 years or more, 5 are female. (And one of those is the assignor's daughter who now lives in Mel's area, going to grad school.)

[pasoccerdave]

Don't have any numbers to back it up, but in the class I took this summer, we were told that our local area loses 70% of their referees each year.

[Law5]

Our state's experience is that 40% of this year's referees will not re-register for next year. I am told that is very similar to the national average.
Having said that, you need to look at the age distribution of referees. There are very, very few referees in their 30's. The vast majority are youth referees, typically of high school age. They stop refereeing when they reach college, with some exceptions, so there is naturally a big turnover when they reach that age. If, say, 25% of your referees are high school seniors, you are just about guaranteed a 20% turnover at a minimum.
Other people start refereeing and discover that their personality and officiating just don't match. I don't think of it so much as people "yelling at them" as having people tell you that you are wrong, nicely or not so nicely. A lot of people simply can't handle that negative feedback. A good young referee, on the other hand, can get so much encouragement and support from older referees that the commitment expectations can be overwhelming. Every weekend and as many week days as possible, close to year round, while they are trying to get started with a career and family life. My daughter is 26 and is refereeing two to five games a weekend, with some weekday college games in the fall. It's a big commitment and some respond by simply dropping out.

[Laggard]

For male/female ratio, 14 of the 35 from 2005 are girls. Of the 38 that have been around for 6 years or more, 5 are female. (And one of those is the assignor's daughter who now lives in Mel's area, going to grad school.)

I can't remember the last time I worked with a female center ref.