Positioning

[LanarkLiberal]

I recently qualified as a referee and in the 8 matches which I have taken charge of so far I have found that my biggest problem has been with positioning. This obviously results in getting in the way of the ball/players but it also means that sometimes I find myself in a position where it is difficult to judge offsides and to get a good view of simple things like who played the ball last when it crosses the touchline. We did absolutely nothing on positioning at the training course and I'm at a loss as to how I can improve this particular aspect of my game. Does anyone have any advice?

[macheath]

I recently qualified as a referee and in the 8 matches which I have taken charge of so far I have found that my biggest problem has been with positioning. This obviously results in getting in the way of the ball/players but it also means that sometimes I find myself in a position where it is difficult to judge offsides and to get a good view of simple things like who played the ball last when it crosses the touchline. We did absolutely nothing on positioning at the training course and I'm at a loss as to how I can improve this particular aspect of my game. Does anyone have any advice?


Are you working by yourself, or with ARs? Big difference. If you are working with ARs, there's a different set of issue than if you are working solo. If it's solo, or with club ARs where you have to watch for offside in addition to everything else, here's a link to a very long, but very instructive and thoughtful, piece on positioning and working solo, from the socref-l archives. This is the legenday Giovanni Piazza piece on solo positioning.

The short version, when working solo, is stay as wide as necessary to keep the offside position in horizontal view, and pinch to the center as much as possible whenever you can without losing sight of wide players on your side of the pitch. Also, don't get too close to the ball. You'll be able to see most fouls, plays over the touch line, etc. from a wider position, and you won't get caught up in play.

http://pete.uri.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0006C&L=SOCREF-L&P=R13378&I=-3

The Piazza piece is very long, and may seem a little overwhelming at first. But you can take a few simple things from it, and I find it always instructive to go back and read it on a regular basis.

[Gary V]

I recently qualified as a referee and in the 8 matches which I have taken charge of so far I have found that my biggest problem has been with positioning. This obviously results in getting in the way of the ball/players but it also means that sometimes I find myself in a position where it is difficult to judge offsides and to get a good view of simple things like who played the ball last when it crosses the touchline.If you've just recently gotten your badge, you probably aren't getting the highest level of games. Sometimes you just can't figure out what the players want to do with the ball (heck, they can't figure it out!) Even if you figure out where the ball should be going, the players' execution of their moves may leave something to be desired, so the ball doesn't go where it's supposed to. Or maybe those pesky U9 boys just like to drill the ball at the ref - seems to me they see something big and yellow in front of them, and think, "Yup, the ball will go right through that!" Another thing to consider is that some teams in the lower levels of play still bunch up, making it harder to see things.

Getting wide to see offside lines will usually get you out of the middle of play. It will also give you a more global view of the field, which could improve your view of other things. With the lower age groups, you don't have to be right on top of play as much to see the cynical stuff going on inside.

But when 10 little bodies get between you and the ball, you just can't see who kicked it out. So use some other clues. Which side do the players think kicked it out? - they're probably right. (The younger ones don't try to game you too much, to fool you into thinking it's their throw - but some of the coaches and parents will!)

[LanarkLiberal]

Thanks for the advice guys. At the moment I am refereeing without ARs, I have been offered club ARs but I'm reluctant to accept them because it seems like they would be more trouble than they're worth! As for ages so far it's varied from U11 up to U16 (they were way to tough!), and it seems that, particularly with the younger guys, it is impossible to judge where the ball is going because they're is little flow to the play and it seems to be more like pinball than football! Anyway, I'll read through those tips and try it in my next game. Thanks again.

[macheath]

(snip)...But when 10 little bodies get between you and the ball, you just can't see who kicked it out. So use some other clues. Which side do the players think kicked it out? - they're probably right. (The younger ones don't try to game you too much, to fool you into thinking it's their throw - but some of the coaches and parents will!)

Right. 90%-plus of the time, the players, by their body langugage and who moves to the ball, will tell you who kicked it out, especially at younger ages. If they aren't sure, they all tend to mill around, and some look at you. If its a 50-50 ball, its more important to make a quick and decisive call than to worry about fine tuning it--you need to fool them into thinking you know what's going on! Seriously, establishing yourself in that way, although it may seem trivial, is essential, and increasingly important as the players get older.

[Footer Phooter]

Right. 90%-plus of the time, the players, by their body langugage and who moves to the ball, will tell you who kicked it out, especially at younger ages. If they aren't sure, they all tend to mill around, and some look at you. If its a 50-50 ball, its more important to make a quick and decisive call than to worry about fine tuning it--you need to fool them into thinking you know what's going on! Seriously, establishing yourself in that way, although it may seem trivial, is essential, and increasingly important as the players get older.


Absolutely critical at the older age groups (especially boys). You'll figure out positioning some as you go along. I used to be in the way of the ball a ton. There's no way to avoid play 100% of the time, but you'll figure out where players are going eventually.

[BC_Ref]

Absolutely critical at the older age groups (especially boys). You'll figure out positioning some as you go along. I used to be in the way of the ball a ton. There's no way to avoid play 100% of the time, but you'll figure out where players are going eventually.

Agreed. You tend to change your positioning more based on the skill level than age (a top flight U14,15, or 16 team will need a relatively common positioning compared to a bottom division team). For top teams, you can anticipate play. But I find with bottom teams, I see what I think are easy defensive plays that are missed, so I end up chasing the ball like a dog with a shock collar.

Also, if you do girls games, you need (as in must) figure out how to properly position yourself. Do not just plunk yourself in your equivalent boys position - my first girls game I had to play dodge ball way too much :) .

For other tips, on solo corners you will likely want to line up on the goal line - about 6 to 12 yards from the far post, ready to quickly sweep out after the kick. You might want/need to change this, but it isn't a bad "default" positioning for solo refs.

[Wreave]

Somewhat related to the topic of position, I got hit by a ball today for the first time all season. It was a GU14 game that was back and forth the whole time, I was getting my sprints in up and down the field. I had been following a yellow attack up their right side when pink unexpectedly got ahold of the ball and one-touched it right back down the sideline. I was about 15 feet behind the play and about 10 feet off the sideline, jumped quickly but the ball caught my hip and went directly out of play.

This was right in front of the spectators, and a woman cried out, "Ha! What are you going to do now?" To which I replied, "Pink touch, yellow throw-in. The referee is part of the field." And I resolved to give a little more distance on the ball in a game, especially in a game this fast-moving...

[IASocFan]

I did a GU19 rec game yesterday afternoon with parent linesmen. Both teams had some very skilled players. I never did call an offside, because they were both playing close, but the attackers for both sides were pretty aware. They surprised me on several free kicks setting up a defensive line, so I had to stay even with the second to last defender on any free kick in the offensive half. Not a great place for foul recognition, but necessary to judge off/onside.

[Ref Flunkie]

I got hit yesterday too in a men's league match. One of those trailing the play, defending team takes the ball and I am stuck in no-man's land. Got nailed in the ribs which took me down for a moment. I always feel like I'm in the way but can't figure out good places to be in order to be near the action AND be out of the way of the players. Guess I'm just not good at reading the play yet.

[refmike]

For new refs, if you don't get hit at least once, you are not close enough to the play. If you are hit 3 times, you are too close. Start there and learn more from experience.

[PirateJohn]

I didn't realize how hard ten-year-olds could kick a ball until the day I got hit in the crotch... Only thing I could do was blow the whistle and add injury time at the end of the half.

[soccertim]

In my town, they occasionally use parents or assistant coaches as linesmen for lower level games where you wouldn't expect to need one, but it's too hot for the (young) refs to go from sideline to sideline to see if the ball goes over the line. We tell them to signal if the ball is out of play, but not which team gets the throw. The ref makes that determination.

[macheath]

In my town, they occasionally use parents or assistant coaches as linesmen for lower level games where you wouldn't expect to need one, but it's too hot for the (young) refs to go from sideline to sideline to see if the ball goes over the line. We tell them to signal if the ball is out of play, but not which team gets the throw. The ref makes that determination.

This actually is a modified mechanic even for older games, if it seems too hard to cross back and forth with the ball (even then, you'll still miss some). Get wide on one side, have parents or others affiliated with a team on the opposite touch line flag in and out, but you call direction. (Remember to tell them that the whole ball has to be over the line...) Then you stay wide to catch offside, and pinch towards the middle as close as you can without losing sight of the offside line. Again, at younger ages, for who gets the throw-in, watch the players--they rarely try and trick you when they're younger, and their body language and who goes to take the throw usually tell you which way it should go, if you can't see from far away.

[tmaker]

I recently qualified as a referee and in the 8 matches which I have taken charge of so far I have found that my biggest problem has been with positioning. This obviously results in getting in the way of the ball/players but it also means that sometimes I find myself in a position where it is difficult to judge offsides and to get a good view of simple things like who played the ball last when it crosses the touchline. We did absolutely nothing on positioning at the training course and I'm at a loss as to how I can improve this particular aspect of my game. Does anyone have any advice?

Oddly, my State Referee Administrator and also State Director of Instruction have had this conversation. I'm glad to see that the problem is not restricted to this side of the pond.

Why is positioning not taught, anyway? It's surely frustrating to budding Grade 8 referees (the UK equivalent would be Level 7, "park referee", I think) going for their assessment match to go Grade 7 (Level 6?), and get told "Well, your positioning needs work..." (I was AR1 on just such a match last week) when there's no adequate instructional material in my home state on the subject.

LanarkLiberal--when I finish editing the film some more, I'll send you my latest video project on referee positioning and communication for new referees, free. Send me a private message for details. In the meantime, you might start by reading Stanley Lover's "Practical Match Control" or Bob Evans & Ed Bellion's book, whose British title differs from the American release, I believe. Here it's called "For the Good of the Game." I'm afraid, though, both our FAs consider that you are on your own for the first couple hundred matches.

[refmike]

Referee and AR positioning IS taught in USSF grade 8 classes.
It is covered in the booklet "Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials", which is passed out, along with the law books, in every class I teach in Cal North. I can't imagine it is not used throughout the US. It is also covered, to some extent, in a few of the training slides on the USSF website. We are supposed to teach from those slides.

I can't help if students don't listen but don't blame the instructors or instruction program.

[Ref Flunkie]

Referee and AR positioning IS taught in USSF grade 8 classes.
It is covered in the booklet "Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials", which is passed out, along with the law books, in every class I teach in Cal North. I can't imagine it is not used throughout the US. It is also covered, to some extent, in a few of the training slides on the USSF website. We are supposed to teach from those slides.

I can't help if students don't listen but don't blame the instructors or instruction program.


Not in the class I was in. At least not beyond the "diagonal" system. I understand it varies from state to state.

[macheath]

Referee and AR positioning IS taught in USSF grade 8 classes.
It is covered in the booklet "Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials", which is passed out, along with the law books, in every class I teach in Cal North. I can't imagine it is not used throughout the US. It is also covered, to some extent, in a few of the training slides on the USSF website. We are supposed to teach from those slides.

I can't help if students don't listen but don't blame the instructors or instruction program.

God bless you for covering it in your classes. It is almost always absent in the training and recert classes I've seen, in favor of war stories from experienced refs without drawing out the relevant key points, detailed discussions of AR procedures when most young refs won't have ARs for the games they work, etc.

[gosellit]

USSF has a Power Point Presentation on Positioning. It's actually pretty good.
Go to Positoning PPT (http://www.ussoccer.com/referees/content.sps?iType=4169&icustompageid=6691)
Find the link and download.

[Laggard]

Referee and AR positioning IS taught in USSF grade 8 classes.
It is covered in the booklet "Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials",

Not in my class. Not even in my recert.

Our instructer for my grade 8 cert covered things like how the officiating crew should march out onto the field before the game, the best way to bend over and pick up the coin after the toss (I'm serious), what type of whistle to buy, and what to do if a 11 year old shows up with a belly piercing.


Nothing about positioning though.