What would you talk about if...

Why don't you ask them what they want to talk about?

 

professionalism, advancement, enjoyment, commitment.
there are many choices in life. is refing one of those choices for you? if you enjoy the game; want to see it played by as many as possible; enjoy making the critical decisions on how a game is played; want to work higher level games; then, consider advancing through the ranks of refs. there are about 240 national level refs - out of some 135,000 refs in the country. about 5% of the 135,000 advance beyond grade 8.
explain benefits - fitness, satisfaction, more training, higher fees, etc.
but, be sure encourage continued participation at any grade level. the game needs them. and, like most things in life, stress commitment to do their best and it will carry over to their jobs and life in general.
give sources of info for them to keep up to date: law, atr, guide, q&a's, ask a ref ( http://www.drix.net/jim/ ), soccer boards.
make/keep it fun on the field. if it ain't fun, then why do it.

 

One thing young refs have to deal with sooner or later is loud parents or coaches, dealing with comments from the sidelines etc.

Talk about tactics to deal with this, reminding them its nothign personal, especially as an AR, most of the comments I hear aren't even directed at me, just out in the open.

Also, a topic that should always come up: keeping it fun!

 

would it be overboard to show up properly attired as a ref? ask them what lectures/presentations they find more important/vaild - ones delivered by a guy in a t and jeans, or ones delivered by a guy in a suit. like it or not, the gut dressed appropriate to the occasion will garner the greater attention/respect. if you want to counted as a ref - look the part first, then be the part with proper calls/knowledge of the game.

 

HEY, I resemble that remark!

 

sorry guys. need to proofread better. my qwerty keyboard has the t and y next to each other.

 

I always approach it: "you know what guys? we all cant be national level referees the day we start officiating but we sure can look like one when we show up to the field with our shirt tucked in, socks pulled up and uniform looking good!" "Do what you CAN do well and work on the things you cant do well yet."

 

A couple of thoughts that may or may not be helpful (okay maybe more than a couple).

You could start out a discussion by giving a couple of examples of the funniest or strangest things that you saw take place over the last season (don't be a stickler for timing if it was three years ago no one will care as long as its a good story). Ask if anyone had any similar experiences. If no one jumps to the bait have your co-presenters ready with a story of their own (or stolen from someone else). Along a similar line you could ask them to think about what their worst mistake was during the season. Again, prime the pump with a couple of your and your co-presenter's examples so that they know that you guys made mistakes this season too. Pick an example or two that demonstrates that you can learn from your mistakes. I wouldn't ask for volunteers to tell about their mistakes but your co-presenters can chime in. You can then ask them to think about what was their best call or non-call. There you can call on two or three for their stories. If you know some names in your audience that can be helpful.

You should anticipate that teenagers will be very reluctant to tell a story in front of people they do not know well unless the ball is already rolling and even then it will be problem. You will get more discussion going if you are walking around the room Oprah style while you are talking. Walking around makes you look less like their teacher -- there is a reason why Oprah does that. Along that same line, avoid a lecture hall room if you can - shoot for a classroom type set up or better yet a cafeteria so the atmosphere is less formal.

If you have access to game reports that could be a helpful source of real life scenarios for discussion, but be careful not to embarrase anyone. Asking "raise your hand questions" can also be a good idea to get your audience involved. "Who showed a red card"? "Who showed a yellow". "Who had a parent question an off-side call because they did not know the rule". Ask a couple of the hand raisers what happened and what reaction they got from the player, coach, fans. Again, the idea is get them interested and involved, and maybe you will get lucky and find a good learning opportunity to talk about.

I think your topics are good. I would suggest trying hard to to keep the talk light and humorous. One common way that is done is to frame the discussion as an actual conversation between yourself and your co-presenters. For example, you could ask one of your co-presenters if they ever thought they would be reffing at their age. Answer-- No, I got into because I liked the game and could make some money -- it beat pumping gas or working at McDonalds." Let them then go on about how back when they started they made a $1.00 a game, the ball was made from a goat's bladder, and how they ran uphill the whole time wearing knickers or whatever, and then work up to the point about how they were able to make beer and pizza money through college. The same conversation style could also work for the AR communication discussion. Talk about when you were an AR and screwed up on communication. Ask your co-presenters a "did you ever . . . " question to open the topic and go from there.

One other suggestion -- if permitted by the facility -- spring for some cans of soda so that everyone can grab a can as they come in the door. Again, the idea is to change the atmosphere to a more informal environment. They don't get to have a soda in class (at least not until college), and they already owe you one, because hey -- you bought them a soda so the least they can do is fake paying attention. You have to go with cans though because cups and pouring is too much hassle.

Good luck

 

RF, you can call it pop.

Another question might be, "Who ever wanted to terminate a game, but didn't do it?" Then explore the problems youth refs have with adult interference: reversal of authority roles, was it really that bad, mom's not picking me up for another 40 minutes so where would I hide if I terminated, etc. You might even venture into the topic of how youths perceive any adult reactions as criticism and "yelling at me" - although at the risk that now you are yelling at them.