It's my second season

[pensmom4]

and I still make some bad calls when the ball goes over the touchline. Even when I'm the line ref, sometimes I'm just not seeing who played the ball out. It's like I have a mental block.

Besides the close ones, I seem to be making one SPECTACULARLY wrong call in almost every game. I'm so disgusted with myself. Is it time to give up on this and quit? I enjoy soccer, and I thought I'd like working as a referee, but I'm so frustrated... :( It seems like it should be the easiest job on the field, but I'm not getting it. It's like I'm dyslexic or something. Grrrrrr.

Lee

[Ref Flunkie]

Don't worry, it will get better. I almost find it harder to know who the ball touched last when I am an AR vs. a CR. Thats why referees who use little hand signals on their stomaches to help me out on direction are great. The question is, have you learned from your "spectacularly" wrong calls and avoided doing them again? This is all you can do. Believe me, the fact that you actually care puts you above 50% of the referees out there, just to start. One thing I HAVE learned is not to be scared about doing older games. I have learned so much from doing adult matches when before I would just do youth matches. Both the referees and players at higher levels can teach you so much.

[IASocFan]

It's my fifty-something season (one for spring and fall - not couting winter indoor or outdoor seasons) and I'm still making mistakes. You do the best you can. You have to concentrate on the ball, the 2nd to last defender,l watch for upper body and lower body contact, and a few other things so you can't always be right.

If unsure on throw-ins look to the AR or CR for clues or at the players. If both sides are claiming possesion and your AR appears clueless, you have to pick someone. Failing everything else, you can give it to the team that's behind, the defense, or the team that didn't get it last time. If everyone's waiting on you, just point some direction. :)

Getting throw-ins wrong, while potentially annoying, rarely affects the outcome of the game. In many younger games, they often throw it to the wrong team anyway. :o

[Wreave]

One thing I used to do, and sometimes still do, is constantly talk to myself on who last touched the ball, especially when it's a close battle on the touch line. "Blue blue blue red blue red blue red red blue..." Then, when the ball goes out, I just say it out loud first, "blue touch, red throw", then point. I do this as both the CR and AR. You might try it.

AR is a very hard job. I think it's a lot harder than CR to do well. As a CR, if you can keep up with play, you pretty much only have one thing to look at. As an AR, you've got to keep up with the 2TLD, sprint to the end line on a shot or breakaway, watch for fouls off the ball and/or behind play, and still keep track of the last touch.

[gildarkevin]

Getting throw-ins wrong, while potentially annoying, rarely affects the outcome of the game. In many younger games, they often throw it to the wrong team anyway. :o

Agreed. I've heard and said many a time that if the biggest complaint about your refereeing is the direction of throw-ins, you've gone a good job.

And it's not just immaterial (mainly) in younger games. I think I read somewhere that an study of EPL games over the course of a full seasons revealed that possession was lost by the throwing team over 50 percent of the time. I just can't find anything to back that up.

[pensmom4]

One thing I used to do, and sometimes still do, is constantly talk to myself on who last touched the ball, especially when it's a close battle on the touch line. "Blue blue blue red blue red blue red red blue..." Then, when the ball goes out, I just say it out loud first, "blue touch, red throw", then point. I do this as both the CR and AR. You might try it

Hmmm. Excellent suggestion. Right now I'm saying to myself "oh my...who? Uh-oh, who?" Your self-talk sounds a lot more productive!
Lee

[refontherun]

It seems to have gotten more difficult for me now that the association I normally ref in has gone to "club" jerseys. Reversible blue and white.

When I do three games on a Saturday and all the teams are wearing blue and white, everything seems to run together, and I've been reffing for several years.

Early in my career, I used to chant a mantra. I would repeat the colors of the teams and the direction of the restart if that team touched it out of play (Red, right - white, left). It seemed to work.

[Laggard]

I used to have trouble deciding which way to point for throwins. Even if I knew who touched it last it would still take me a bit of time to work out which way the receiving team was going.

The best thing I then found to do was to say the color of the team who was getting the ball. They (usually) know which way they're going and somehow saying it aloud helps me decide which way to point.

[macheath]

(snip...)
Getting throw-ins wrong, while potentially annoying, rarely affects the outcome of the game. In many younger games, they often throw it to the wrong team anyway. :o

Amen. A decisive call is more important, especially on a ball that is 50/50 or so. Hesitating and dithering on the call contributes to an atmosphere that you aren't really in control of the match, and this can cost you later in more serious situations. If you really get one wrong, and its obvious, and you catch yourself before play restarts, simply blow your whistle and change the call. Saying "sorry, my mistake" can also yield benefits, as long as it doesn't happen very often...:)

[BC_Ref]

Laggard

Your use of saying the colour is a trick I use, especially near the beginning of a half where I can forget which way is which. In some games, you need to do this just to wake up the team ("White, your ball. Yes, someone has to take the throw-in").

If you are AR, one trick I do is switch the flag back and forth in my hands saying the two colours on the field (do this just before kick-off and keep it discreet ). Really helps in making sure your brain and flag are going in the same direction. Nothing makes the CR doubt your sanity or competence than a couple of obviously blown throw-in calls at the start of the game.

[GKbenji]

If I have a sudden occurence of "referee dyslexia", I've found it helps to look at the goalkeepers. I will usually remember which keeper goes with which team, and once you get that it's pretty obvious which way the teams are going. If you do it quickly, players will never even notice the pause.

If I don't have time to look at the keepers or otherwise am struggling with direction, I will occasionally just skip the pointing completely. This works better with being CR than AR, and you don't want to make a steady diet of it--as a coach, nothing peeves me more than a ref who keeps blowing the whistle and not telling making it clear whose restart it is. But just calling a color often gets things going again if you're afraid of screwing up the direction.

[macheath]

Laggard

Your use of saying the colour is a trick I use, especially near the beginning of a half where I can forget which way is which. In some games, you need to do this just to wake up the team ("White, your ball. Yes, someone has to take the throw-in").

If you are AR, one trick I do is switch the flag back and forth in my hands saying the two colours on the field (do this just before kick-off and keep it discreet ). Really helps in making sure your brain and flag are going in the same direction. Nothing makes the CR doubt your sanity or competence than a couple of obviously blown throw-in calls at the start of the game.

This type of "mantra" works for me in tracking players in an offside position when I don't have ARs (most of the time). I have a (I hope) under-the-breath chant of "onside--he's off--he's off--onside..." I use similar reminders when one team keeps a sweeper lying in a very deep position--it's otherwise easy to miss that player if you don't have ARs and are focusing on the ball.

[Gary V]

If I have a sudden occurence of "referee dyslexia"Why do we always get the dyslexia at the most inopportune times? In the U14 game I referenced in the DOGSO thread, Purple (inexperienced team) had the ball headed toward goal. She decides to go through Red, rather than around. Foul on Purple - so why am I pointing toward the goal!?!?! I had to reverse my direction, and then did I ever hear it from the Purple sidelines.

[wwdudley]

I had a major case of dyslexia on an offsides call in a U11 game this weekend. Right after starting the second half White is attacking close to goal, passes ball poorly goes right to Blue defender. My brain was still ingrained that this was Blue's attacking goal from the first half and I whistle offsides. Everyone looks at me funny and the defender that kicked it says "huh"? I realized my mistake, apologized to the players and did a drop ball favoring the defense.

I have grown to really dislike U11-U12 as we have no AR's but offsides is enforced. Trying to track that in addition to play around the ball is a real headache!

[NHRef]

several times a year I will, usually at the start of the second half, point one way and say the other teams color :confused: When the confusion sets in the players, I will go with what I said and change the pointing direction and appologize.