Next week, I will be traveling to San Diego, California to work the San Diego Surf College Cup tournament. As I excited as I am to be going, I can’t help but be a little nervous about the upcoming event, also. Experience has taught me that when it comes to prestigious events like Dallas Cup, Disney, Surf Cup, or even the youth regional tournaments there will very often be obstacles that a referee will need to overcome to give his or her best performance. In my opinion, one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome is working with different or referees who have skills and tendencies that are unfamiliar. When it comes to working with different or unfamiliar referees, I have had some good experiences and I have had some bad experiences. What I believe sets the good experiences apart from the bad is the level of detail that a referee devotes to the pre-game instructions he gives his assistant referees. With that being said, I am trying to develop pre-game instructions that are not only detailed but concise. For a moment, let us pretend that I am your assistant referee for a game. What instructions would you give me?
I've heard the gamut in pre-games, from: "You have a very tough, but simple job! Make me look good!" to a virtual recitation of various Laws - especially 11 and 12. I'd first briefly ask for your grade / experience to ascertain the detail that I may need to go into. I'd suspect your prescence at the event your referred to has a good measure of experience as a pre-requisite. I would NOT waste time telling you how to signal for this or for that - I'd presume you know the required mechancs - and Laws. I'd simply ask that your signals be held long enough for me to see them - or dispensed with if no longer needed. I'd emphasize eye-contact with me - at every stoppage. I'd ask that you look to see what my reaction / indications are before you give an overt signal against defenders in their own PA. I'd let you know that I'm comfortable with a (reasonably) slow, but correct, offside flag (waiting to see which player becomes involved), but NOT comfortable with a lightning-quick flag that is wrong! Take your time to assess the action. If you see misconduct that needs my intervention - make sure you've got the offending player's number(s)! You are an AR - deal with (talk to players near you) if it will help with game / man management; assist me! Be prepared to 'mirror' the other AR's signal if I have missed it and it is critical. I'd tell you whether, and if so, in what sequence (relative to me and the other AR) you write information into your book after goals, cautions, send-offs. At least one of us needs to be watching the players at these emotional times! If I have any covert signals that I may want to send to you, I'll address those. Cover my back! Watch the stuff off the ball behind my sightline. If all hell breaks loose, get to my (physical) assistance and be prepared to observe who does what to whom! Enjoy yourself, relax, be confident - see you at half-time! Go check the nets, then take up your position.
I like to scan down the Laws occasionally to remind myself of all the important elements of a pregame--not to read an AR the Laws themselves (I trust they know them) but on how we will handle certain situations. Law 1: Are there any unusual elements about the field we need to worry about? Faint lines, I may need help with fouls in/out of the PA, or ball out of play even in my quadrant. How are any odd pre-existing conditions to be handled? Law 2: Usually nothing. Law 3: Any details on how to handle subs? I let the AR know how strict I am on subs entering (in unlimited sub leagues, I generally allow players to clear the last opponent, then beckon the subs in). Law 4: Usually nothing. Law 5 & 6: How will we work together? If the AR decides to raise their flag, when should they drop it? For me, three times: 1) I see it and blow the whistle, 2) I see it and wave you down; 3) it's a free kick deep for the defense and they get the ball all the way to the other end of the field--then it no longer makes sense to bring the ball back. Otherwise, the flag stays up until the cows come home. If I miss your flag, I look bad, not you. Mirror your other AR to help out. Lots of eye contact. Law 7: Back me up on time, please. I'll signal you how many minutes of stoppage we'll have a minute or two before full time, so be watching. Law 8 & 9: Usually nothing. Law 10: For less experienced ARs, a reminder to get to the goal line every time. The one time they don't is when the keeper will bobble the ball, and if you're hustling we can at least sell it. Law 11: Who will take offside on a free kick close to goal? Will you ever take offside and let the AR go to the goal line? (I don't--AR always has offside.) Law 12: I say, "Feel free to help me out with fouls in your area. Give me a second to spot it first; if I don't, give me a flag and a direction. That even applies to the PA, but if you call a penalty for me it better be a "Oh crap, this game is going into the toilet if we don't call this one" moment." Trifling things like keeper punting close to the line or a slightly mis-spotted goal kick, don't play gotcha but give them a warning if needed. Back me up on numbers & times for misconduct. Watch my back, don't watch play in the other end--I need you to catch the cheap stuff they think no one sees. Law 13: Do you want the AR to help you enforce 10 yards ever? If they are closer, let's make eye contact and I'll beckon them on to help. Law 14: Make sure they know the new USSF mechanics for goalkeeper movement! Law 15: Don't play gotcha on throw-ins. Call it if needed, but let's get the ball back into play. If it goes out in my quadrant and I give you a blank look, give me a subtle signal for direction, then mirror me after I signal. I'll do the same for you. If you don't know either, give me a blank stare back and I'll make something up. Law 16 & 17: Usually nothing.
From what I've found, the more concise you can be the better. Usually there is just a little time between getting the crew together and game time so brevity is a good thing. Just like you are concerned with how well the ARs will do, they are concerned with how well you will do. I like to find out what their grade is like some others have said. I just go by the badge. There are enough variations throughout the country in what is expected from each level that it is only a guide to what to expect. You will see many 8's that do a better line than 7's, but States are usually better than both of them. Pregame is not the time to be a teacher, but rather to cover the couple of main things you are looking for like eye contact, hand signals, etc. Say the rest is standard USSF and then ask if they have any questions. How that question is answered will tell you what they are thinking and how much experience they have. If they ask very basic questions, they are either concerned that you don't know what you are doing or they are inexperienced. Usually in the first 5 minutes you are watching players to see who is going to the problem. In these tournaments, you have to watch the ARs also. It will give you confidence in them or signal that you'll have to do more work than you thought. Happy reffing.
Hey dlgeier, I'll be there at the Surf College Cup too. I'm flying in from CT (currently in the 30s!). Not sure where you are from. Regarding these tournaments, they are just not "normal" games. Halves are shortened and you may be working with referees that don't usually do high quality matches consistently. Therefore, you might not be on the same page as they are. In such an environment, I don't think of it as having to have a comprehensive pre game. Because frankly, we don't have time to chat at length in between matches. Instead, as someone told me once, go into a game with a plan at least. You might not have time to verbalize it with your ARs, but if you are the center, know exactly what you want to do. If you were my AR and I've never worked with you, I would keep it very simple. Within 5 minutes of a match, I will be able to tell if your fundamentals/mechanics are on par with the level of play and it is up to me to adjust. So before the game, I might say the following: a) Work as a team and communicate as a team. This translates to eye contacts during stoppages and verbal communication when deemed necessary. I'm not a big believer on constant silent signals. Everyone else gets to talk, why can't I and my crew? b) I'm looking for knowledge of the game, fundamentals/mechanics, and EFFORT. At a tournament like this, players are working their asses off and we have to too. Get down to the goal line and pay attention to quick restarts, etc. c) Foul assistance - always a tricky subject dependent on familiarity with ARs. I would simply say that watch how I'm calling the game in the first 10 minutes, be consistent if you are to flag for a foul. But if you call a foul, there is no questions asked. I'll backed you 100%. d) Fouls near penalty area. If I'm calling it and I'm not sure is in or outside of penalty area, I am looking hard at you, you have to give me something - either in or out. Use the USSF signal (flag across waist) or vigorously shake your head. e) Fouls inside penalty area and you call it - be sure and we'll take it from there. f) PKs - you are only the goal judge, I will get all encroachment. See ya next week.
<p> <p> I'll see you both there. Flying in from TN on Tuesday. <p> <p> I judge the AR (rightly or wrongly) on their grade (ask them), their experience (ask them) and how they look. What are they wearing and how are they wearing it. <p> <p> Pre-game will thus be somewhere between what I'd give a club linesman and a Brian Hall-esque two hour affair. <p> <p> Preliminary games are 65 minutes, giving a theoretical 15 mins before the kick in your game, so time is tight to get all the required stuff in. <p> <p> Assuming you never worked together before and you've been blessed with a state or an experienced and locked-on grade 7, I'd again assume they knew what they were doing and I'd limit my pre-game to local conditions (faint lines, particular areas of the field, etc.), what the game means, what I know about the teams, and my personal idiosyncrasies: <p> <p> My silent signals, re-affirm my need for eye contact, delayed (but correct) flags, substitution procedures, my tolerance for coaches behaviour, confirm knowledge of USSF PK signal, talking to the players, keeping eyes on defender/attacker interaction as play transitions up the other end, PK procedures, how long to hold offside flag when I've fallen asleep, recording, timing - I'll indicate how much I'm adding, but at this tournament, it'll likely be very little, PI if I've fallen asleep, making sure we aren't jousting on ball-out signals, if we have misconduct, don't tie my hands with a hand-over-the-badge, but motion me over and have something pithy (#4 red kicked # 5 blue in the back of the legs off the ball). <p> <p> Smile, have fun, DFU and call me if you need me. <p> <p> It is forecast to be below freezing when I blow in Memphis on Saturday. Nice! Then SD, where I hope it is somewhat warmer. Then Sr Boys GIT with thunderstorms and very cold as always. Then Disney. {sigh}. <p> <p> See y'all next Friday.
San Diego has been experiencing unusually high temperatures (last weekend saw high 80s), but this is expected to break before Thanksgiving. Plan on 68 -72. We may even see a little rain. (1/2 inch would be the biggest storm of the season). AndyMoss's suggestions are excellent. All referees meet 45 minutes before the first match to discuss tournament expecations and rules. The pregame can focus on players and the referee's expectations. PS: Referees don't wear hats or sunglasses during Surf Cup matches.
I'm coming from the great state of absolutely nothing; Nebraska. Flying out of Omaha very early on Friday morning, arive in San Diego a couple of hours later, and then I'm headed straight out to the fields. The first day, at the very least, should be interesting. (Yes, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't run into any travel problems... :-S )We'll see how Friday goes... But yeah, I'm doing both Surf College Cup and Disney, If you notice me at anytime over the weekend, come introduce yourself! I'm looking foward to the weekend. See you next weekend!
I'm the compact, handsome, English chap with no hair. Name is pretty apparent! Hope to see you out there.
I think you are too harsh on Nebraska...it does host the college World Series in Omaha which 33 years ago was one of the best weeks I have ever spent anywhere in the world. The nicest people, the best sports atmosphere, the best stadium announcer...the coolest stadium. Rufe
Wow! I never knew you felt that way. Is there a section on the long form for that? Who's coming in this year for GIT, do you know? I heard that the AR who made the gutsiest call in MLS history might be there.
Bumping this thread as we transition into a new season - very good information. I review it at least once a year. Obviously, the amount of time spent on this pregame will vary depending on the level of game, who the crew is, etc. But if I may be so bold, after you gauge your ARs, err on the side of giving them a little more information than they *need* so you are expanding their experience and helping them develop (assuming you have an extra 30 seconds or so). I think we are all powerfully aware of how much help we need in developing officials....
Mine are pretty simple and generic, but I dish them out in two parts when I'm working with two guys who I haven't worked with before. By dividing it up it avoids information overload - they'll generally be delivered about 30-45mins apart so there's time to process mentally. Part 1 takes place when we're on the pitch doing either pitch inspection (ideally) or walking to/from our warm-up. I go through things about fouls in their area, noting that I'll speak further about it in the rooms, but I can demonstrate (discreetly) on the pitch some of the practical positioning elements to the examples. The specific examples I normally use are: - hand-ball on my blind side coming from a cross in front of them (ie. I'm going to be central so this is a perfect case of when I'll be looking for help) - managing hand-ball in the wall from either a free-kick in front of them (for same reason as above) or looking down the line into the other half for a free kick being pumped into the box - holding on the touch-line side of a physical contest going down the left wing - just because it might be in the "other" half of the pitch, I explain that they'll probably have a different (and possibly better) view than me. If something happens and I look at you, I'm looking for help, so don't think that just because it isn't in your half you won't need to be switched on While these are specific examples, what it does is encourages them to think as a team and think almost as a referee - where will the gaps be in what I see based on my general positioning, and what do they need to watch to complement my vision. Part 2 takes place 10mins before we walk out...goes something like this: - eye contact is the underlying feature to everything I'm going to say to you in the next 5mins of pre-game [instructions]; lets work hard for the first 10min to develop that eye contact relationship so that we are on the same page straight away. We don't have comms or buzzers which means I'll be looking at you a lot, but I need you looking at me just as much, if not more, so that when we need to have eyes, we will. - ball in/out is yours...I'll generally stick my hand out discreetly in the direction I think it'll go, if you think I've got it wrong, eye contact and a strong flag in the other direction. Otherwise go with me, especially if I'm strongly indicating a direction. If I'm not signalling low and I'm looking at you for help, go with your gut in a direction and be strong and we'll sell it to the players together. If you have absolutely no idea and neither do I, flag up and I'll pick a direction and sell it, but I'd prefer to use you to sell it together as a team. - offside...wait and see please. Rather a slightly delayed flag that is right than a quick flag that is wrong! I'll be going with you unless I see it played back off a defender in which case I'll wave you down. Only time don't wait and see is a 1v1 thru on the GK, stick it up cos I'll be looking for you straight away trying to avoid a collision between ST and GK. Keep holding your flag up if I somehow miss it, only lower if I wave it down or the defence regain possession under no pressure and are playing it out. - fouls in your area...judge how I'm refereeing the game from the first 10min. Please also be alert to the periods when I'm trying to close the game down cos the teams don't want to play football, I'll be paying more fouls during those periods. Apply the wait and see principle, both so I can either play advantage/call out "no", and also to give yourself a moment to think. If I'm looking at you with a confused look on my face when something happens in 'your area', I want a decision...either a confident flag and direction, or nothing. A small shake of the head may be appropriate, judge it. Eye contact critical again. - specific to penalties, wait wait and see...but if I look at you without saying 'no', I want a decision, because I'm in two minds or didn't have a view. Also, if I (or you) award a foul close to edge of PA and I'm looking for guidance about pen/DFK outside, if it's inside sprint to corner flag and in to PK position to tell me it's inside, if it's outside hold your ground or even take a couple of steps back towards halfway. Eye contact critical through all of this, anything like this WILL be a key match incident and we need to smoothly get the right decision as much as possible. Any avoidable uncertainty and the players will be all over us. - [directed at AR1] technical area...ask, you tell, I tell, remove. Use your personality to manage...be friendly to start with, it makes you being more direct an obvious act of your displeasure as you get to the 'tell' stage. If you hear anything abhorrent from the TA, get me over, identify who and exactly what was said, and I'll toss them. I'll back you 100% on the benches, please know that. Composure in dealing with them is critical, both from you and then also from me. - full match record with times, except AR2 don't worry about recording subs. At substitutions AR2 with eyes up around the field for any silliness. With all other recording, R and furthest away AR records first, closest AR records once my eyes are back up; I absolutely WILL wait for you. Only exception to this is if I book someone for delaying the restart or similar in the last 5mins and you can see there's an urgency to keep the game moving; if I make the decision not to record right there and then for game management reasons, leave your books in your pocket and either get it at the next extended break in play, or don't worry. I promise that I know it's not his/her 2YC if I'm doing this!! - talk to players, use your personality if you think they'll be receptive, but if they're being petulant about everything just shut that down and be direct and to the point. Place the thrower for throw-ins if the ball goes a distance from the point of exiting FOP so that we can manage it proactively rather than me managing it reactively. - [in summary:] first 10mins is key, lets work hard and focus on our eye contact and being alert and selling everything well. The first 10 is about obtaining match control as a team...from there it's maintain for the next 85, and if we lose it, work hard to regain it as a team. Switch on a minute before KO, not a minute after. Let's go out there and smash it. It's very detailed, and looks like a lot on paper, but by giving these instructions I have really good teamwork standards with my AR's. I am frequently strongly complimented both by assessors and also the AR's I work with for how things go off without a hitch most of the times and how we work well as a team to sell decisions. Eye contact becomes a habit as a R and I demand high levels of it out of my AR's to work as a team in the absence of comms. Hopefully this might be useful to someone!!
God if I were to try and remember all of that in the middle of a match....forget it, won't happen. I have gotten to the point were my only pre-game is two things. 1. If it looks like we are going to have trouble or need a fast exit, this is where we should meet... 2. What can I do for you AR's to make your jobs easier? As a CR, I know my role, I am confident in what needs to be done, I don't need to give 1000 instructions. People often forget that AR's are generally a very rigid, formulated, no variation in style. CR's can be the complete opposite, different whistles, different movement patterns, different foul recognition. If as a CR you aren't used to working with all different AR's at a high level, forget it. If adjustments have to made, it can be done during the match or at half time.
This is a topic I like to think about a lot: how do you find a way to provide a useful, concise, memorable message. I like a lot of these notes: just a few things I've done that seem to help. Obviously the level of detail that an AR is going to be able to hear and process is largely based on the amount of time we have, level of exhaustion, and willingness to discuss. If I'm working with AR's who I don't recognize and I think are likely newer or less experienced, instead of asking the "how long have you been doing this/how much have you reffed" question - which puts everyone on the defensive and doesn't seem to tell me much that's useful about actual skill level - I start with "we're all working on improving some part of our game. I'm working on X. What are you working on?" That gives me a very good read on level and I know what to expect in the game ahead. It also makes it seem like I care about them, which means they might put in more effort. (I also watch for these things during the game.) This exercise seems to be more important than anything I have to say. Behind my game card for that particular game is a "permanent" index card with my notes on what I want to cover in any pregame. I always have it, it can't be too much because it's just one card, I pick and choose based on what I'm learning so far, and I update it regularly with the key phrases I like to use. I try to limit to a few topics and I try to make sure it's something that's not the same as they hear every game - i.e. what they should expect from my special snowflakeness. I also call back to it at halftime, where I try to start with a mistake that I made, small or not small.
You don't think your question puts your ARs on the defensive? How long have you been doing this is simple and anxiety free. No one should mind that question. Ask what I am working on improving and you are asking me where I think I am weak. State that everyone is working on something and you imply that I have to have a good answer. My answer would be "I am working on developing a better pre-game", said with a big grin.
99% of pre-games are massive wastes of everyone's time, because most are exactly the same. USSF needs to write out a standard pre-game that everyone is taught. Pre-games could then go like this: CR, "Standard pre-game, but watch A, B and C that are unique to this game/field." Save tons of time. Obviously I'm talking about youth/amateur here...I'm sure PRO level refs have much more to discuss.
Well, they sort of did -- the Guide to Procedures. What I find is that most referes don't really *think* about who they are talking to and what might be relevant. Reminding a newbie to stay with the 2LD may not be a waste of time, but telling it to an established referee is down right condescending. The pregame by the R needs to be tailored to the audience and type of game.
I always tune mine slightly with something like "you know I have to say this, because you'd say it to me, and I know that you already know, but..." I'll also sometimes say something like "you've almost certainly heard most of this before, but some of this is to remind my brain too, so if I say something obvious or repeat myself, just assume that I'm making sure that I'm listening to myself." Works as a bit of a tension breaker sometimes too.
If I'm somewhere that I trust the referees that I'm with, my pregame is about my style. "When the ball goes out for a throw, I put my hand on my stomach pointing the direction that I think the throw is going. If you're sure I'm wrong, point your way and brush yourself to tell me I missed something. For goal kicks I point the same way back toward the goal, for corner kicks, I point straight down. (Stand at attention with my fingers extended at my sides)" My current high level of instruction is, "On hard fouls, keep track of the miscreant. I have a bad habit of losing the fouler when I attend to the fouled player."