Real how to become a referee thread

[NHRef]

ok so i decided that i wanted to do some referee. i contacted ayso and just answered back, they said they're next training camp for refs is in june is they're anyway to get around this so i can ref quicker or am i screwed till june. by the way im in south california.

Start with the soccer club at the rec level for your town, they should be able to point you at the state USSF affiliated organization which you MIGHT be able to catch a grade 8 or grade 9 instructor class, depends on the schedules.

[elciclon]

Start with the soccer club at the rec level for your town, they should be able to point you at the state USSF affiliated organization which you MIGHT be able to catch a grade 8 or grade 9 instructor class, depends on the schedules.

i contacted ussf, but it doesnt look very good, i cant seem to find any local clubs, except for los angeles soccer club but other than that i came up dry.

thanks for you're help.

[blech]

i contacted ussf, but it doesnt look very good, i cant seem to find any local clubs, except for los angeles soccer club but other than that i came up dry.

thanks for you're help.

re ayso, even if they're starting classes in June, recognize that the season in your area doesn't start until early September. so, your wait may be a little longer if you go that route as even if you get your badge in June you likely won't be able to jump into the occasional ayso weekend tournaments that continue through June.

definitely keep looking for other options, but don't give up on it if you end up having to wait a few more months to get started. good refs are needed everywhere, and you should be able to immerse yourself as much as you want once the season starts, and then having done a season to continue on during the tournaments next winter/spring/summer.

[elciclon]

re ayso, even if they're starting classes in June, recognize that the season in your area doesn't start until early September. so, your wait may be a little longer if you go that route as even if you get your badge in June you likely won't be able to jump into the occasional ayso weekend tournaments that continue through June.

definitely keep looking for other options, but don't give up on it if you end up having to wait a few more months to get started. good refs are needed everywhere, and you should be able to immerse yourself as much as you want once the season starts, and then having done a season to continue on during the tournaments next winter/spring/summer.

yeah im going to keep looking and its not like im desperate for this, but i would like to start referring. i was thinking of contacting other ayso places, i remember when i was a kid at ayso they would hold camps monthly. so im sure ill find something.

[chrisrun]

ok so i decided that i wanted to do some referee. i contacted ayso and just answered back, they said they're next training camp for refs is in june is they're anyway to get around this so i can ref quicker or am i screwed till june. by the way im in south california.

Try looking here, at the entry level courses:
http://www.californiareferee.org/index_files/Page392.htm

I have a list of state referee web sites here, but I haven't check all the links lately. If you see that your state's site is incorrect, PM me and I will update it.

http://referee.riehlplace.com/

[elciclon]

Try looking here, at the entry level courses:
http://www.californiareferee.org/index_files/Page392.htm

I have a list of state referee web sites here, but I haven't check all the links lately. If you see that your state's site is incorrect, PM me and I will update it.

http://referee.riehlplace.com/

yeah i got an email back from ussf, and they sent me the link to california ref. im looking at going to the long beach one at the end of the month, do i study before or is it like a video and a couple of questions about the laws?

[NHRef]

yeah i got an email back from ussf, and they sent me the link to california ref. im looking at going to the long beach one at the end of the month, do i study before or is it like a video and a couple of questions about the laws?

If you are taking the USSF Grade 8 class, its a 16 hour class followed by a 100 question test which you must get a 75% on. They will walk you through all 17 LOTG, for the test, make sure you know restarts inside out, when to do each of the possible restarts when, where and why.

[elciclon]

is there somesort of way to study for the test or is it expected that you will learn everything when you go there. i know pretty much the rules just in an informal matter.

[zeusbrowne]

is there somesort of way to study for the test or is it expected that you will learn everything when you go there. i know pretty much the rules just in an informal matter.

Yes, forget what you think you know about the Laws of the Game.

"I know pretty much the rules just in an informal matter, " will cause you to fail the test.

Go in with a tabula rosa and they will cover everything you need to know to pass the test. As a referee I cannot describe to you the amount of ignorance I have endured from people who were sure they knew the laws.:p

Just go in with the idea that the only transferrable skill you have as a player, coach and fan is foul recognition. That can't be taught out of a book except to say that everything you thought was a foul as a partisan of one sort of another, or even a neutral fan, isn't. Just bear in mind that Penal Fouls (the one skill you have that is mostly transferrable) are only about 1/2 of 1 Law out of 18 (18 is Spirit of the Game).

Sorry, I don't mean to come off as a pendant, but please make sure that you go in with an open mind. :o

Trust me, if you get a lemon of an instructor who misteaches you something, it will get corrected. The instructors are there for a reason have been trained not just on the Laws but also how to teach them, which means they know it better than you. If you go in assuming that the course is just a formality and you already know what you need to know you risk becoming a very bad ref.

[elciclon]

no i know that i will throw out everything that i know as a player, but it would be nice to go in there with some sort of knowledge, although i am sure that not that many people fail the test, anyways my brother ref'd for some time some years ago if anything i will ask him how it went, i just dont want to go and get overwhelmed by all the laws.

[IASocFan]

It never hurts to review the Laws Of The Game.

See fifa.com or LOTG.pdf (http://fifa.com/documents/fifa/laws/LOTG2006_e.pdf)

[zeusbrowne]

no i know that i will throw out everything that i know as a player, but it would be nice to go in there with some sort of knowledge, although i am sure that not that many people fail the test, anyways my brother ref'd for some time some years ago if anything i will ask him how it went, i just dont want to go and get overwhelmed by all the laws.

It never hurts to review the Laws Of The Game.

See fifa.com or LOTG.pdf (http://fifa.com/documents/fifa/laws/LOTG2006_e.pdf)

Your attitude seems good, sorry if I was a little over the top before.

But people do indeed fail the test. I will bet that at least 2 or 3 in your class will. Some because they're morons, some because English isn't their first language, some because they can't put preconceived notions to bed, and some because they overthink some questions (almost my downfall way back when).

But IASocFan's advice is sound. You can never go wrong reviewing the primary text of a course in advance, in the end its all about the Laws of the Game.

Good Luck!

[elciclon]

thanks alot, im going to study a bit and im sure that as long as i can pay attention thru the 16 hours, i should be good, i just dont want to waste 50 bucks.

[NHRef]

How old are you? the reason I ask is that I am a USSF instructor and from the classes I have taught the ones who have trouble on the test fall into two areas:

- very young, like 12.
- people who already knew everything (you can tell these in the class because they question everything you say).

The test is only hard for two reasons:

- Its a written test trying to describe a "visual" situation, and the words used are not what the student is use to hearing (hence in instructor training we had it beat it to use certain words.)

- People who read more into the question than is there and add in "what if". the question is straight forward, don't read more into it.

the grade 8 test is 100% by the book, if you know the LOTG and read through the procedures book you will do fine.

[elciclon]

im 19 so im pretty sure im overthinking it, i just dont want to be the only dumb one to fail it.

[DadOf6]

The test is only hard for two reasons:

- Its a written test trying to describe a "visual" situation, and the words used are not what the student is use to hearing (hence in instructor training we had it beat it to use certain words.)

- People who read more into the question than is there and add in "what if". the question is straight forward, don't read more into it.

the grade 8 test is 100% by the book, if you know the LOTG and read through the procedures book you will do fine.

There are no trick questions, but there are tricky questions. They are covered in the course. They hit the tricky questions a lot because they represent things that really happen on the pitch. In the grade 8 test the questions are T/F or multiple guess.

A funny story on myself: Several years back I went to take the test to recertify. I got there a bit early and sat in on a clinic that the state referee association taught for referees who needed more inservice hours.

They showed some film clips of high-level matches. One was at the start of a match. The referee blew his whistle, started his watch, and after a fairly long delay the ball was kicked off. I thought, "oh, I thought it was the other way around."

Naturally, there was a question about when the clock starts. Lucky me! I just saw it on film so I answered "When the referee blows the whistle." It was the only question I missed that year. :(

[chrisrun]

US Soccer has a document for new referees, which has some good info:

http://images.ussoccer.com/Documents/cms/ussf/Advice%20for%20New%20Referees%20_2.pdf

[ManiacalClown]

I'll (finally) be taking the grade 8 entry level clinic later this month in Houston. About time I got around to it.

[campton]

I'll (finally) be taking the grade 8 entry level clinic later this month in Houston. About time I got around to it.


Have fun. You'll impress the instructor by telling him that a substitute cannot commit a foul, only misconduct :)

[ManiacalClown]

Have fun. You'll impress the instructor by telling him that a substitute cannot commit a foul, only misconduct :)

Ooh, that's a good one. I bet I can come up with a few if I put my mind to it.