I guess I have to do it now...

[Ref Flunkie]

Christopher,
Upgrade Referee:Christopher
I've chosen the following assessor to work with you to complete the assessment portion of your upgrade to 7:
Assessor:R. B.

You need to communicate soon to try to work out your schedules. MAKE SURE THAT YOU DISCUSS THE MATCH DIFFICULTY WITH THE ASSESSOR. Any competitive U 17 - U 19 boy's or men's match will work for the assessment. If you are planning to attend a State competitive tournament the assessor should try to arrange his schedule. If you cannot seem to get together let me know ASAP so I can consider another assessor. In any case you must go through me.
Please have the attached form completed and bring with you to the State Referee Recertification clinic in December. Give a copy to SRA and one to me. Please get this done early so you can locate a physical fitness test nearby and make plans to attend the Clinic in December.

[Chas (Psyatika)]

Good on ya! If your posts on the forum are any indication, i'm sure you'll be fine.

[Wreave]

Good for you. Keep us posted.

Maybe some others who have gone through the 08 to 07 upgrade/assessment can share some thoughts...

[Ref Flunkie]

Good for you. Keep us posted.

Maybe some others who have gone through the 08 to 07 upgrade/assessment can share some thoughts...

Yeah that's what I'm hoping. It should be interesting, and entertaining at the same time. Refresh my memory though, anytime the ball hits a player's hand, it is a hand ball, right? ;)

I've actually been training for the fitness test for a little while, as I am a HORRIBLE distance runner. Hopefully I can get that over with sooner rather then later.

[ref47]

for the assessment - game control is your main issue. keep on top of play. talk and use cards as needed. call the fouls that make a difference. no one will second guess your calls, but will expect you to be able to explain why you did or did not call a foul, use a card, use advantage, etc.

my move to 7 assessment was on a u19g match. going in i thought it should not be too difficult. right. score was 1-0 after 15minutes. called a pk for the team ahead. assessor though it was iffy. 2-0 and the losing team was not able to effectively and consistently possessthe ball. shortly before half there is a fight between two ladies. decided ycs were enough as no real blows thrown. ended with 3 more ycs.

fitness - running is running. get your times and distance to comport with the needed marks. i have found that running 30 minutes 4-5 times per week and working on leg strength 3 times per week is the only way to stay fit for me. you can not get fit and keep fit by only working games, no matter how many you work. carosi has some good fitness info on his website.

in va, they treat the 7 level as the full performance level for a basic referee. the 8 is the training ground. because of this, almost everyone should be able to make it. it only takes desire. oh yea; do't blow major restarts.

[gildarkevin]

It may seem very basic to reiterate this but: look like you care. That was one thing that was reiterated during all of my assessments (even those this past fall when I was upgrading to 6), that I really seemed enthusiastic about the game and wanting to make sure, first and foremost, the that game was fun, safe and fair, instead of just going through the motions for my personal gain.

I know that's true for every game that we ref, but don't get so caught up in the assessment process that you forget about it here, as it can get you through some of the rough spots.

[tmaker]

for the assessment - game control is your main issue. keep on top of play. talk and use cards as needed. call the fouls that make a difference. no one will second guess your calls, but will expect you to be able to explain why you did or did not call a foul, use a card, use advantage, etc.

my move to 7 assessment was on a u19g match. going in i thought it should not be too difficult. right. score was 1-0 after 15minutes. called a pk for the team ahead. assessor though it was iffy. 2-0 and the losing team was not able to effectively and consistently possessthe ball. shortly before half there is a fight between two ladies. decided ycs were enough as no real blows thrown. ended with 3 more ycs.

fitness - running is running. get your times and distance to comport with the needed marks. i have found that running 30 minutes 4-5 times per week and working on leg strength 3 times per week is the only way to stay fit for me. you can not get fit and keep fit by only working games, no matter how many you work. carosi has some good fitness info on his website.

in va, they treat the 7 level as the full performance level for a basic referee. the 8 is the training ground. because of this, almost everyone should be able to make it. it only takes desire. oh yea; do't blow major restarts.

They let you use a GU19 for assessment? Assessors in these parts won't even dignify a girls' game. Don't ask me why.

I suspect, Ref Flunkie, you will be just fine. An assessment for 7 is not terribly difficult if you know basic positioning, and have the players respect you. Just don't blow a major restart, like the man says, or give an indirect free kick in the penalty area--for any reason, even a valid one ;)

I remember my assessment match "fondly." As soon as I got the assignment, I spent the next two days doing nothing but researching the teams. I took a break to go out of town, then came back and did more research. I re-read Stanley Lover's books. I re-read the Guide to Procedures probably five times, and even the Referee Administrative Handbook. Then I went on to the State Ref Committee website to download all the forms I could to see what assessors look for. After two weeks of this, I could tell you everything in the Laws, the ATR, the Guide to Procedures, and Guide for Assessors, as well as the teams' records, their star players, their history together and their style of play. I gave an hour-long detailed pre-game to my ARs on everything I knew about the teams, and listened to them talk about everything I didn't know as well. I figured I was ready for them.

I forgot, however, to check on the coaches.

That day I learned more about the insidious effects of a high-strung, nasty coach than I ever cared to. Four cautions and one send-off later, I managed to survive the game, and dragged myself over to the touchline to round up the crew and go face the music. One of the first things my assessor said was, "Couldn't you feel the effect the coach was having on the game?"

Oops.

Luckily the players loved me, even the one I sent off, so I passed. My assignment after that match was to spend the next 20 matches concentrating on feeling for the critical points in a game and adjusting to players' reactions at those points. I've never forgotten that.

Yours will undoubtedly go more smoothly than mine :)

[USSF REF]

Try this one on for size...

You've been a referee for a long time.

1. Do a good pregame

2. DO YOU PERSONAL BEST that means don't overreact or get all worked up. Just do what you've been doing to get you to this point.

3. Take the assessors critisism with grace.



Best of luck.

[MidwestRef]

Good for you! Here are a few tips.

1) Make eye contact with your ARs. A missed flag on an offside isn't a good thing.

2) Have a good pre-game. If you don't use notes, now would be a good time to write some up so you know what you want to say.

3) Don't referee to please the assessor. Referee your own game, and the assessment will take care of itself.

4) Late in the game, if the situation presents itself, run hard on one last long ball. Show that you have a little gas in the tank (of course, see point 3) to understand you should be doing this in all games :) ).

Good luck!

[Law5]

I particularly agree with MidwestRef's point #3. Do you own game, don't referee for the assessor. He can't help you improve if you start doing stuff you don't usually do. Besides, if you start doing stuff you don't normally do, you'll blow it anyway.
The physical standards for grade 7 are so low that if you can't do them, you shouldn't be out there for your own protection.

[Ref Flunkie]

I particularly agree with MidwestRef's point #3. Do you own game, don't referee for the assessor. He can't help you improve if you start doing stuff you don't usually do. Besides, if you start doing stuff you don't normally do, you'll blow it anyway.
The physical standards for grade 7 are so low that if you can't do them, you shouldn't be out there for your own protection.


Heh, before I started actually training, there is no way I could do 2200 meters in 12 minutes. I'm almost there now I think though!


Thanks for the tips everyone. I ordered up some books just for fun to read over their man management suggestions. I'll keep you updated.

[USSF REF]

Heh, before I started actually training, there is no way I could do 2200 meters in 12 minutes. I'm almost there now I think though!


Thanks for the tips everyone. I ordered up some books just for fun to read over their man management suggestions. I'll keep you updated.

Don't go crazy changing your game before you do the assessment, unless you have a lot of games to practice new things in before the big day.

[Ref Flunkie]

Don't go crazy changing your game before you do the assessment, unless you have a lot of games to practice new things in before the big day.


Yeah I won't change much, just polish things. I told my men's league assigner that I'm upgrading and would like plenty of "warm-up" games in the early season before trying to setup the assessment for mid to late season. Considering I have done nothing over the winter, I need to remember how to do things again! In general, I am happy with my game, and even if I fail, I look on it more as a learning experience then anything. This isn't my main career, so my attitude is to go out there, do my best, and have fun.