YOUNG REFEREE IN NEED OF ADVICE.

Ear plugs.

 

Read the stories on these threads. Find a mentor or mentors you trust who you can bounce ideas off of and can watch you and give pointers. Each and every game think of one thing you can focus on for that match for example positioning, mechanics, eye contact, player management. And every time you have a bad game think about what you could have done differently, but give yourself a time limit to think about it before you move on. Don't dwell on it too long. Good luck!

 

You have got lots of time. Every referee starts out making some mistakes. It is natural
and quite expected. You have to learn your art and craft. Just try to eliminate mistakes as they come
along, and try not to repeat them. Eventually it will all come together at the level you feel comfortable
at and then you can move up a notch or two where it will start all over again.
Just take your time and learn as much as you can by watching, reading, studying, attending seminars
and clinics and going to tournaments whenever possible. As was mentioned earlier, try to find a mentor,
and a colleague at your level and age to talk to and go over incidents. Watch each others' games and help
out as well as commiserate! There are plenty of people willing to help you and work with you if you show
a genuine desire to work hard and improve.

PH

 

Tim gives good advice. Also when you get bothered by spectator's comments, remember that even grade 1 referees get tons of criticism heaped on them, most of it not deserved, and they even occasionally make mistakes. Don't beat yourself up over your games that didn't go as well as you wanted, try to get something out of them to focus on for next time.

 

Not sure how long you've been doing it, but it takes time - you just have to learn from some of your own mistakes. Reading boards like this has helped me to learn from others mistakes as well and perhaps avoid some (and prepare for things I didn't think about ahead of time!) but you're still going to have to make some mistakes and then get better from it.

Personally I didn't start to feel real comfortable until my 3rd year refereeing. that's just me, maybe i'm a slow learner.

keep at it. Very few referees I know take the time to seek out learning opportunities like following this board. The fact that you are here and seeking to make yourself better says a lot. Keep at it, don't let your mistakes get you down (a bad game can be replayed in my mind for weeks sometimes, a terrible habit), and as said, learn early on to tune out parents!

Best of luck.

 

Great advice above. Things I tell new referees:
Having gone through the certification process and passed the written test, understand that you, right now, have studied and know more about the Laws of the Game than 99.9% of the spectators you will encounter, and 95% of the coaches (I might be overly generous to the coaches). So tune out those spectators-- they know nothing, and are biased, to boot! If you are assigned as AR near spectators, ask the referee before the game how s/he would like to deal with rude parents. Don't talk to them yourself-- that just gives them the idea that they can talk to you.

Now, accept the fact that you will make mistakes. Referees make mistakes in every game they work, even at the highest levels. As a player, you practice 2-3 times between games (maybe more!). As a referee, you only get on-field experience during a game. Recognize your mistake. Fix it if you can (before the restart). Vow to never make that mistake again, and MOVE ON.

 

This, so much this.

Dude, I'm in my first year reffing and have coached since before you were born (I feel old now). I'm learning tons of good stuff just from coming here. Some weekends I'll have 12 matches and put on an absolute clinic. Other times I'll have two matches and completely feel terrible about the job I did. You have to let it go. I think that's the hardest part of the job and why a lot of younger refs don't make it past year one or two.

Think of it like learning a new language. You cannot be afraid to sound silly and make mistakes, otherwise you'll never improve.

The day I feel like I stopped learning is the day I step back and think about why I'm wrong about it.

I bring stories here that I KNOW will get criticism, but that's why I share, to learn about what I'm doing wrong and right and to get some "attaboys" and encouragement. let's face it, it's a lonely job.

I'm really, really lucky to have a close friend who's been reffing on and off for 20+ years and often bounce questions off of him in addition to coming here. Find someone experienced if you can and watch them and ask for advice or assessments. Don't take it personally, just learn and accept that their experience and expertise is an asset.

Keep plugging away, kiddo and don't shy away from anything really tough. Challenge yourself once you feel even slightly comfortable.

 

First of all, every referee on this board, and probably every referee in the world, has been told by a player, coach or parent that they're the worst referee in the world.
In other words, discount everything they say.

You will always be your best critic...admitting when you know you've had an off game, and, on the flip side, realizing when you've nailed one.

Find mentors, whether through tournaments or your local associations. Listen to everything they say, even if you don't necessarily agree with them. Get as many formal assessments as you can. And remember to push your comfort level...you only learn to get better by challenging yourself, and making mistakes.

Good luck!

 

You need to put 100% into each assignment you get.

Now, you are enthusiastic. You are young. You care about your performance. Assignors can be charming. Although you aren't in it for money, everyone needs money, and refereeing is one of the more fun ways of getting money.

So what will happen is this. At some point you will take on one or more assignments per day (with two or more per weekend day) for many weeks in a row.

Towards the end of this marathon you will be the referee in a game that you should be able to handle with ease. But you will do a terrible job. You will stop blowing the whistle when you know you should. You have become detached from the game, and will have lost empathy for the players. You will have stopped refereeing the game and started observing the game pass you by. You're in great shape so it's not a matter of physical exhaustion.

This is called "burn out". You can't put in 100% twelve times per week for weeks on end. At this point you'll realize that you need to limit yourself to 3-4 assignments per week, and put 100% into each one of them. If you're any good, the assignors need you more than you need them. And you need to keep yourself available for the really good opportunities that do come up that you can't turn down.

Anyway, even though I've told you this will happen, you'll probably do it anyway. That's OK. I almost think you have to do it once to really convince yourself that you have to put limits.

You might wonder, then, how some of your colleagues can seem to do the 12 games per week for weeks, months, years on end. Easy. They put in a 50% mental commitment. They go along to get along. Why do they not make "state" (or whatever the goal might be?). According to them..."Politics!"

 

I skimmed through some of the advice so if it was already addressed, please ignore it.

Ask questions lots and lots of questions. Whenever you are working with a strong crew or a not so strong, ask them for their honest opinions. You don't have to accept everything they say, heck you will probably disagree half the time, but I guarantee that you will always learn something.

You don't have to be physically fit, but as long as you show that you are working hard you will get a lot of credibility.

Read Advice to Referees - it is an older publication that is somewhat outdated, but there is a lot of valuable info that is still in use.

Come up with a good pregame. Ask others for their pregame info. There is a thread on this forum that discusses pregame.

Watch Play of the week that is posted on the PRO website.

Mentors, Assessor, Assignors, your SDA are all great resources. Ask you fellow referees it there is a mentoring group or referee meetings in your area.

Take things one step at a time, push yourself but don't rush in.

Good luck.

 

Let me join the chorus here -- congrats on getting where you are!

There is no true replacement for experience -- referees get better by refereeing.

But there are ways to augment that experience and improve faster. The most important is mentoring and feedback from others. Every game ask the referee team what they saw and if they saw anything you could have done better -- even if you are better than they are, you can get gems of advice from unlikely sources. The key to all advice is listen, consider it, and decide if it is helpful -- you will get both good advice and bad advice.

When you are an AR on those higher games, constantly ask yourself why the R is doing what he is doing. We all use different tools to manage games. Different tools work for different people. See the tools each referee uses, and see which ones work for you. Go watch some of the star referees in your area do a 15U game -- think about what they are doing and why, and it will help you when you whistle at that level. (Just watching referees is different from watching while you AR -- when you AR, you can absolutely learn, but you have to do your job first.)

Read stuff on here -- you found it, which is step one. There is a lot of good advice in various threads here (with some bad advice mixed in). Reading the different scenarios can make you better prepared when you hit a weird one yourself. Asking questions here about things that happened in your game can give you a variety of perspectives to sort through -- different referees carry different philosophies, and you can again find things that work for you.

If you post your general geographic area, there may be some on here who can point you to potential resources. (Obviously, don't get too specific on a forum like this.)

Depending on where you are, you may find AYSO a potential learning source. Of course, you may not be so interested in doing games as a volunteer, and all AYSO referees are volunteers. But, depending on your area, you may find that your local AYSO Region or Area can be a good source of training and mentoring. There are many experienced referees in AYSO doing it solely for love of the game, and many of them love to help out young referees. And if your goal is growth as a referee, that may be worth doing games for them, too.

And last, beware that thought of game being easy. Many of us on here can tell you the story of the games we went into thinking they were going to be easy, that turned out to be extremely challenging. Approach each game as if it will be a challenge that you are ready for.

Good luck, and keep us posted on how things work out.

 

1 Do more games.
2 Observe good refs.
3 Get feedback.
3a At halftime ask your ARs, "What am I missing?"
3b At the end of the game ask your ARs, "What could I have done better."

 

My hearing is not so good anyway, so I start at an advantage when it comes to parents and coaches. Don't shy away from or dismiss even harsh criticism from colleagues. Take time to think about it and, if you can apply to your games, use it.

This may sound trivial, but only use your whistle when you need it. That will be different in every game. Especially on games that are isolated like select games on Sunday tend to be. I see referees who use a loud whistle for everything from restarts to substitutions, and their games seem to be so much more more volatile. Both from the players and the sidelines. Look at it this way. The more times you use the whistle, the significance of each time you use it is reduced. Also, vary the length and volume according the need.

The comedian Steven Wright had a quote that I find to be quite profound. "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it." In fact, it's the signature on my profile.

 

This is good advice -- but make sure you know when you do need it. (see pp 186-187 of the 2016-17 LOTG.) And, indeed, if you haven't read that back part of the Law book about guidance to refs, it really is a must read.

I watched a new referee a few years ago, who took the "don't-use-the-whistle-unless-you-need-to" concept way too far. He put the whistle in his pocket. He tried to call fouls by asking the players to stop. But definitely don't be the referee who over whistles. Frankly, with young officials, I don't typically see that as a problem. More often young whistles blow the whistle too softly so it can't be heard. This is something to ask a mentor or experienced AR about -- the whistle always sounds louder to the blower than to others. And as refontherun says, as you grow as a ref, learning when to do a gentle tweet, when to blast, and the variations in between is a skill that makes a difference in managing a game.

 

Just posting that shows that you're already on your way there.

I would recommend trying to referee with the best referees you can, and then asking for advice at the half and after the game. Having good ARs can really help, especially if they are helping you with foul recognition and managing the touchlines.

I don't know how your assignor is, but the one in my area will go out of their way to help people get mentored to more challenging games, and the referees are always willing to help. Just let them know that is your goal.

If you have trouble getting games at a certain level, if you have an AYSO region nearby you could also volunteer for them. Sure it's free, but it might help you get more challenging games if you otherwise aren't getting them.

 

A good rule of thumb is that if you see SoCals zombie avatar you should read a memorize the post

 

4. Don't keep your whistle in your mouth.

 

Lots of good advice already so I'll try to keep it brief.

Improving as a referee requires mileage, that is doing lots of games. The experience you get by doing games is key to improving and learning.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, you will learn more from bad games where you screwed up/made mistakes/had problems then you will from a game where everything goes smoothly. Bad games force you to examine what happened and why and you will learn from the experience.

Good luck.

 

That's part of the learning process. You will only get better by continuing to officiate and gradually getting better games. Being a self-critic is a good thing.

Here's my advice, at this stage of your career:

Have someone record one of your games, from a high vantage point. Getting pointers from your crew is great, but you need to be able to see it for yourself.

Some teams at your level will post the entire matches on YouTube immediately after. The video quality won't be great or angles shot won't be ideal, but it's better than nothing.

Once you start doing "better" games, ask clubs if they can share their training videos with you (I've never had anyone decline, and everyone asked has been so cooperative).

Good luck and have fun.

 

I think we all may have forgotten to mention - keep a record of all games you work, you will need it when you apply to upgrade.

 

When I new, senior referee and observer present, I ask to see me and tell me. Tournament have them, then half work done soon. No suppose, I ask organiser who people are assessor and senior. I tell them, Hey Gents (or Madam, yes I learn from anyone) I plan this, how go there? To me, most learn on field. Why? Just like cook (I also), know result fast. Not work, then change.

I know when play, how pain calf hit, now as referee I see, I whistle. I see again, I whistle more loud. Easy Peasy. You play, you know what you do, what other do, yes? Arm grab, jersey pull, leg trip, you do to other, referee not call, you think, I go away, other do to you, referee no call, you get angry. Now you think both side. Even small girl player angry after some while, then what she do? Pull pony tale. Then referee show card. No need, whistle soon.

What ask here, you ask senior at tournament. Bring senior to field. Ok, make nice vichyssoise, everyone happy.