2018 National Referees

Discussion in 'Referee' started by ptref, Dec 20, 2017.

  1. ptref

    ptref Member

    Manchester United
    United States
    Aug 5, 2015
    Bowling Green, KY
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I saw a lot of info about the National Referee camp last weekend in California. One of the things that I thought was interesting was that 7 out of the 94 in attendance failed the fitness test. I can't imagine how that would feel, to put in all that work, and then fail the fitness test on the first day of the cam
     
  2. Law5

    Law5 Member+

    Mar 24, 2005
    Beaverton OR
    I think embarrassed would probably be the best way to describe how they feel.

    The first time that USSF used the interval test at National Camp, they ran it in groups of eight, I believe. (Could have been six.) Apparently, the vast majority of those taking the test that year had not tried the test before arriving at camp. If you missed, you were pulled from the test, i.e. you didn't get to finish the rest of the runs. Out of the first group of eight, only one referee finished. One! Some guys started out doing the 150 M in 22 seconds. Then they couldn't keep doing them at that speed or even the required speed. By contrast, the one guy from our state that year passed, having run it for practice with a FIFA AR about a month earlier. You need to feel the pace of how fast you need to go so you get the time you need and you have something left for the other runs. Your pace for one lap on the track is not the same pace you use if you are running a marathon.

    We had another guy tear a quad on the test at National Camp. Done. Career effectively over, because he didn't warm up properly. Became an assignor. I guess I've moved past amazement into just shaking my head when I see fellow referees who do not stretch and warm up before games, which is the vast majority of them.

    The physical is one thing that Nationals and National Candidates have totally under their control. Some just don't take it seriously and assume that they're fit so it will be a piece of cake, right? It isn't that they aren't fit. It's that they don't know how to take the test.
     
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  3. uws22

    uws22 Member

    Celtic
    Sep 8, 2012
    Wisconsin
    Club:
    Celtic FC
    It's also tough to train in the snow in WI right now and show up to a track that's got an air temp of 81. The two people I knew were fine, but it's a tought adjustment. I get excited about going to Disney for the Showcase every year, but Day 1 is always brutal when it's a 50-70 degree temperature change in a day.
     
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  4. Pierre Head

    Pierre Head Member+

    Dec 24, 2005
    I think that this is probably the lowest percentage of failures in the fitness test at National Camp for many years, if not all-time. If so, well done. Even back in the days before the interval-type test, people failed parts of the test, usually the sprint sections. This was especially the case when one part was the 400 meter run!
    Reasons for failing are not always due to poor fitness or failure to train and practice or unfortunate injury. Sometimes there is a psychological/nervous factor in play as well.

    PH
     
  5. Law5

    Law5 Member+

    Mar 24, 2005
    Beaverton OR
    The "nervous factor" is part of not knowing how to take the test. And, if you've practiced the test often enough, you have the confidence to know that you can do this.

    In my experience of having administered the test a number of times, the people who fail tend to fail about the middle of the test. I don't remember seeing anyone fail on lap nine or ten. And anyone who fails on lap two didn't belong out there in the first place. And I have seen that, albeit not often. Most of the pulled/torn muscles seem to happen on the sprints, as Pierre Head said. The ones who fail the interval test are just out of gas.

    And, if you do fail, don't be a jerk about it. Had that, too, with a white badge who failed on the fourth lap. Not even close to being there, two runs in a row.
     
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  6. tomek75

    tomek75 Member+

    Aug 13, 2012
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    From personal experience running the test with a few guys in my area. I typically last 5-6 laps. The best I have done so far is 8 laps on a national fitness test. We were running it once a week for about 2-3 months prior to holidays and national camp. We will pick it up again in early January. I played GK back in the day and I always hated running long distance. To me a 5K run is long distance. I am over 40 and I don't have any dilutions of becoming a National but it's nice to run with the young guys and try to keep up. Heck I'm usually not the first person that drops out. My goal is to run and finish the test on consistent basis before the beginning of spring season so I am ready for the annual 5K run at the zoo with the family. This year my wife beat me silly on that run. I don't want her to show me up again. :)
     
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  7. jarbitro

    jarbitro Member+

    Mar 13, 2003
    N'Djamena, Tchad
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There have been times when the there were MLS players in the stands, betting on which refs would win their heats, then cheering in light of their bets. That had a way of magnifying the pressure. IDK if they are still invited to watch, or if that ended that experiment :)
     
  8. Pierre Head

    Pierre Head Member+

    Dec 24, 2005
    Delusions, but dilutions gets the message across;).
    There are training routines out there involving interval running over several different intervals and speeds that can get most people ready to pass this test. It is not just running the actual test itself over and over which may or may not be successful. Aside from preparation to pass the test, you also are ready to referee competitive matches, which is the actual goal.
    Furthermore, such training will also get you through that 3K run (and probably beat your wife as well). The great runner Zatopek who won all the distance events at the Olympics in the 50s trained by running repetitive 400 meter runs each at about 65 secs with a short interval between each one. He usually would do 100 reps!
     
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  9. frankieboylampard

    Mar 7, 2016
    USA
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain

    https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/12/17/00/28/20181216-feat-national-referee-camp-2018

    Esse drops that 7 out of 94 failed to pass fitness test. That's not bad considering its only like 7% if my math is correct.
     
    tomek75 repped this.

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