[Chetmonkey4000]

i am a new ref, although i am not certified, the rec program allows us to attend a 2 hour class and then lets us ref rec games, i am a very experienced soccer player, but i don't pay much attention to what the refs do in the game, can anyone direct me to a good website with rules, signals, etc. or can people tell me common mistakes or something...thanks for the help

[Greyhnd00]

Mistake #1: Reffing uncertified and untrained.

[Andyrey]

Contact your local or state referee association. Take a certification course (either the 9 hours 09 or 18 hours 08). Become certified.

[Keith]

According to USSF, no clubs may certify their own referees for rec or any USSF/USYSA sanctioned soccer game. All referees must be USSF certified. That's happened here, and in response the state has pushed the Grade 9 "rec referee" for games U14 and under only. I disagree with this move, since it puts too many requirements on "casual" referees wanting to do rec or for that matter, parents, wanting to "help out" and "voluteer" to do their kid's or clubs games. Some clubs have requirements the team has to provide a referee for the next game, and the team/club has to find that referee. Making these "casual" referee jump through the hoops, cost, and requirements of USSF clinics seems a bit much.

[whipple]

Originally posted by Keith
According to USSF, no clubs may certify their own referees for rec or any USSF/USYSA sanctioned soccer game. All referees must be USSF certified. .......<snip>.......... Making these "casual" referee jump through the hoops, cost, and requirements of USSF clinics seems a bit much.

Keith,

As one who started out some 32 years ago as an uncertified referee, and only getting my USSF certification eight years ago, one would think that I would be sympathetic to your position, but I am not. Nor is the statement that "all referees must be USSF certified" true.

Only US Youth Soccer and US-Soccer affiliated leages require officials to be USSF certified. AYSO requires AYSO certification. There are both unaffilated leagues and unaffiliated recreational progams (ie. in-town. rec. community, municipal) , though less in recent years than in the past, such as was the case in the one I started out with.

As to the issue of whether every official should have some form of certificaiton or taining, my feeling is that this is just common sense. Due to the dynamic nature of the game, and the duration of play, soccer referees, to a greater degree than most sports with the possible exception of lacross, hockey, wrestling, are not just there to call the game but to ensure player safety. They have a tremendous responsibility and some form of trainging and certification, though not a guarantee, goes a long way to make sure we have the right people in the job.

Additinally, let's not forget the liability issue. This is a litigious society and a league would be naive to think that they could not be exposed if they did not make sure they have qualified officials.

Sherman

[Greyhnd00]

Originally posted by whipple


Keith,

As one who started out some 32 years ago as an uncertified referee, and only getting my USSF certification eight years ago, one would think that I would be sympathetic to your position, but I am not. Nor is the statement that "all referees must be USSF certified" true.

Only US Youth Soccer and US-Soccer affiliated leages require officials to be USSF certified. AYSO requires AYSO certification. There are both unaffilated leagues and unaffiliated recreational progams (ie. in-town. rec. community, municipal) , though less in recent years than in the past, such as was the case in the one I started out with.

As to the issue of whether every official should have some form of certificaiton or taining, my feeling is that this is just common sense. Due to the dynamic nature of the game, and the duration of play, soccer referees, to a greater degree than most sports with the possible exception of lacross, hockey, wrestling, are not just there to call the game but to ensure player safety. They have a tremendous responsibility and some form of trainging and certification, though not a guarantee, goes a long way to make sure we have the right people in the job.

Additinally, let's not forget the liability issue. This is a litigious society and a league would be naive to think that they could not be exposed if they did not make sure they have qualified officials.

Sherman

Actually lets forget the liability issue until someone can site me a legal case that applies..............

With respect to being untrained, players prove every day that simply playing or watching the game reverently does not a referee make. While I believe that USSF initial certification is too short it is much better then nothing. I do not know what AYSO requires for initial training but in michigan there are no questions about soccer on the rules exam to be a reff!!! My local association requires USSF grade 8 cert for center assignments but I think it is only a begining and a liscence to learn. Less then that and you are just a frustrating hinderance to the players and are probably committing all of those errors that I am going to have to go out and fix in future games when the players say "but the last reff!"

[nsa]

Originally posted by Chetmonkey4000
i am a new ref, although i am not certified, the rec program allows us to attend a 2 hour class and then lets us ref rec games, i am a very experienced soccer player, but i don't pay much attention to what the refs do in the game, can anyone direct me to a good website with rules, signals, etc. or can people tell me common mistakes or something...thanks for the help

What age groups will you be ref'ing?

Common mistakes by new refs:
1. Not blowing the whistle loud enough.
A great point was made recently at a referee meeting. The whistle is an instrument. Practice with it outdoors as you would if you were a band member.

2. Failure to use hand signals.
For a throw-in or free kick after a foul, point in the direction that the ball will be going. For other restarts (corner kick, goal kick, kick off, penalty kick) point where you want the ball. In other words, point to the corner for a corner kick, point to the goal for a goal kick, ... Practice the hand signals in front of a mirror.

3. Failure to protect the players.
There will be times in the game when players, particularly U10 and younger, will simply be falling all over the place. While you may have no idea why this is happening, blow the whistle, stop play, get everybody back on their feet, and then point a direction for somebody to kick the ball. This ain't the world cup. Don't be afraid to protect the players from themselves and each other.

4. Run the entire field.
Goal line to goal line, touch line to touch line. Expect the unexpected. Learn something new at every game. Call someone and ask questions if you have doubts about what you saw or what you did. (But don't ask the coach at the field. )

5. Make sure that you are having fun, too.
Soccer is a game. It should be enjoyed by the players, the spectators, and the referee.

Get certified when you can. It will help your confidence.

Have fun,
-nat

[Chetmonkey4000]

thank you nsa for some help, everyone else seems to be too busy getting off topic, its just a u-9, u-11 rec league and we have taken a class, there is no rule against refereeing rec games if you are not patched...to ref club games you must be....now if the other people could do what i asked

[Andyrey]

See if you can get a hold of a book called 'Fair or Foul' It has excelent advice for a new referees. There are some videotapes that were put out by USSF. One of them is 'Myths of the Game' another one is 'Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials'. There is a new one that came out this year that is really good. I can not remember the title, but it has the words 'gray areas' in it. If you can borrow any of the tapes, they are well worth watching.

[blech]

blow the whistle loudly. (this was noted above and is very, very true - it shows you are in charge of the game and confident in your calls - you'll also be surprised to learn how others on the field may not hear the whistle even though it seems loud to you)

be assertive and confident. make a call. blow the whistle loudly. point the direction of the kick or throw. understand that you'll miss some calls, but hopefully they won't impact the result of the game and in the end all you can do is try your best and keep the game moving.

stay in position. one of the easiest ways to miss calls is to be too far away from the ball. of course, this is easier said than done (and it can be even trickier at the younger levels where your normal inclination to turn back upfield on a slow roller to an unchallenged defender can leave you in trouble when the defender whiffs). if you can get a seasoned ref to watch you handle a game, listen to comments about positioning seriously.

don't just watch the ball. a lot of fouls occur shortly after the ball is kicked. of course, as soon as the ball is played, you have to look down field to where the ball is going for the next play, and maybe check with your A.R. or even scan the defense yourself for an offside call, but try to take a glance back at the kid who just kicked the ball and make sure he/she didn't get taken out by a late tackle.

ignore the coaches and fans yelling at you from the sideline. many of them don't know what they're doing anyway, and unless it gets out of control (and truly warrants a visit to the coach to calm things down) it's usually better to just act like you don't hear it.