First referring game
- Thread starter molly
- Start date
Plan your route to the ground. Know where it is, and any contact numbers you might need on the day. Aim to arrive in plenty of time - how long this is will depend on the game, but go for at least half hour early.
Pack your kit Saturday night, for peace of mind. Jersey, shorts, socks, boots, flags, cards, notebook, coin, whistle, pens, watches, warm-up top/joggers. Anything else you can blag or borrow.
Read the competition rules - how many minutes each way, how many subs, do they use sin bins.
Arrive, introduce yourself as the referee and ask where your changing room is.
Sit down, relax. Unpack.
Relax some more.
Warm up, get a feel of the pitch, make yourself known to both managers.
ENJOY IT.
Just be honest to yourself, to others, and congratulations on your first game.
(Edit: Nervousness is a great feeling - it shows you care. All of us here get it. From the local U10s match, to 4th official in the top flight.)
Pack your kit Saturday night, for peace of mind. Jersey, shorts, socks, boots, flags, cards, notebook, coin, whistle, pens, watches, warm-up top/joggers. Anything else you can blag or borrow.
Read the competition rules - how many minutes each way, how many subs, do they use sin bins.
Arrive, introduce yourself as the referee and ask where your changing room is.
Sit down, relax. Unpack.
Relax some more.
Warm up, get a feel of the pitch, make yourself known to both managers.
ENJOY IT.
Just be honest to yourself, to others, and congratulations on your first game.
(Edit: Nervousness is a great feeling - it shows you care. All of us here get it. From the local U10s match, to 4th official in the top flight.)
one
RefChat Addict
Congrats. Nerves mean you care. I'd worry if you were not nervous. I have two tips.
One of the most common things for first gamers to watch out for is how you blow you whistle. Remember the whistle is not just for you and those close to you to hear. It's for everyone including the spectators. Don't be shy blowing that whistle loud.
Make your decisions with confidence. Even the ones you are not sure of. If you don't feel confidant, fake it.
One of the most common things for first gamers to watch out for is how you blow you whistle. Remember the whistle is not just for you and those close to you to hear. It's for everyone including the spectators. Don't be shy blowing that whistle loud.
Make your decisions with confidence. Even the ones you are not sure of. If you don't feel confidant, fake it.
zarathustra
RefChat Addict
Congrats, absolutely nothing wrong with nerves all completely normal.
Not much to add to what others have said other than go out there and enjoy it.
Not much to add to what others have said other than go out there and enjoy it.
Further to this good advice, try not to let the whistle give away how confident you are in your decisions. A big blast on the whistle is for a serious foul, a softer/shorter blast can be used when it's only a minor infringement, NOT for when you're unsure.
There will be decisions you're not sure about, that's unavoidable. Don't let a soft whistle give that away as that's the kind of thing players will pick up on.
socal lurker
RefChat Addict
Good advice here. You want to exude confidence, whether you feel that way or not. And one way to do that is a crisp whistle—like most things, that takes a bit of practice, but is well worth it.
LothianRef
Member
Hopefully it won’t go awfully but if it does get a second game arranged as soon as you can.
I’ve only done two games so far, and my first one was challenging, but my second game was much more pleasant (it made me realise refereeing can be very enjoyable). I know if I hadn’t had that game though I’d still be sitting here today dreading my next game.
As others have said as well, check rules such as the length of halfs as at u13 my local school games are 2x30mins, but the club games are 2x35mins.
I’ve only done two games so far, and my first one was challenging, but my second game was much more pleasant (it made me realise refereeing can be very enjoyable). I know if I hadn’t had that game though I’d still be sitting here today dreading my next game.
As others have said as well, check rules such as the length of halfs as at u13 my local school games are 2x30mins, but the club games are 2x35mins.
Do report back with how the game goes!
thanks to ur advice guys the game went really smoothly, i had to make very few important decisions which was a relief because I was ill.
The game was 8-3 to the home side and it was played very sportingly by both sides.
Three queries after the first game
1. How I get closer to play without interfering, I felt as if I was a little further away than I would have liked
2. The manager said he had to call ref several times before I acknowledged him for a substitution, how can I improve in this and make sure I’m wary of when the team wants a sub?
3. Foul throws- I blew them up on this a couple of times because of feet being off the ground and the hands not fully behind their head. But sometimes a player would throw the ball and the throw in would just seem like instinctively wrong to me. Are there any other rules surrounding foul throws that I haven’t mentioned? And what do you do when a throw in doesn’t seem right but there’s nothing obvious about it such as the feet or the hands not properly back?
Thank uuu
The game was 8-3 to the home side and it was played very sportingly by both sides.
Three queries after the first game
1. How I get closer to play without interfering, I felt as if I was a little further away than I would have liked
2. The manager said he had to call ref several times before I acknowledged him for a substitution, how can I improve in this and make sure I’m wary of when the team wants a sub?
3. Foul throws- I blew them up on this a couple of times because of feet being off the ground and the hands not fully behind their head. But sometimes a player would throw the ball and the throw in would just seem like instinctively wrong to me. Are there any other rules surrounding foul throws that I haven’t mentioned? And what do you do when a throw in doesn’t seem right but there’s nothing obvious about it such as the feet or the hands not properly back?
Thank uuu
zarathustra
RefChat Addict
Good job on your first game.
1) this comes with practice, theres no hard and fast rule and the more games you do the better you will get at this. I.e. you'll be better able to tell when you need to get a bit closer to player, and when you can give the players a bit more room etc.
2) this will get a bit easier, as you get more comfortable during games you'll find that you get less tunnel vision (hearing?) So you can pick up things from the side lines. However, I've been reffing for a few years and I still sometimes miss people shouting for a sub.
3) for foul throws just look for what the laws want you to look for. An ugly throw isn't necessarily an illegal throw.
1) this comes with practice, theres no hard and fast rule and the more games you do the better you will get at this. I.e. you'll be better able to tell when you need to get a bit closer to player, and when you can give the players a bit more room etc.
2) this will get a bit easier, as you get more comfortable during games you'll find that you get less tunnel vision (hearing?) So you can pick up things from the side lines. However, I've been reffing for a few years and I still sometimes miss people shouting for a sub.
3) for foul throws just look for what the laws want you to look for. An ugly throw isn't necessarily an illegal throw.
Good job and congratulations!
1) This will come with practise and experience. Watch other refs too if you can to see their positioning (not on tv - they have Neutral assistants and VAR to help them). See if you can get to a fixture at similar level to you.
2) When the ball goes out of play just be aware that there may be a call.
3) Does the throw start with the ball behind the head and is it a 'throw' - ie not dropped. Tbh an awful lot of throw ins can look terrible but actually be legal. You will invariably get a lot of 'foul throw ref' calls even if the throw was great so don't let player reaction sway you.
1) This will come with practise and experience. Watch other refs too if you can to see their positioning (not on tv - they have Neutral assistants and VAR to help them). See if you can get to a fixture at similar level to you.
2) When the ball goes out of play just be aware that there may be a call.
3) Does the throw start with the ball behind the head and is it a 'throw' - ie not dropped. Tbh an awful lot of throw ins can look terrible but actually be legal. You will invariably get a lot of 'foul throw ref' calls even if the throw was great so don't let player reaction sway you.
Re foul throws, as has been said, a lot are legal but because the players on TV generally take them in a certain way, anything that looks 'off' from that gets cries of "foul throw".
Watch what you need to watch on them, feet, hands, reiterate to players before the game if possible to play to the whistle, especially on throws, and if you really want to, do what I do.
Ask (if you can and feel you need to) the shouty player(s) what was wrong with the throw.
If they mention the release at any point, ask them where in the laws of the game it mentions the release point of the ball.
As long as it starts behind the head, comes over the head with both hands and is released above or just in front of the head, not in front of the face, I generally keep the play going.
Sorry if that's long winded, it's a lot quicker on the pitch.
*Edit - just wait till you have to call a retake because the ball touched the ground before entering the pitch. That's a fun one.
Only happened once to me thankfully.
Watch what you need to watch on them, feet, hands, reiterate to players before the game if possible to play to the whistle, especially on throws, and if you really want to, do what I do.
Ask (if you can and feel you need to) the shouty player(s) what was wrong with the throw.
If they mention the release at any point, ask them where in the laws of the game it mentions the release point of the ball.
As long as it starts behind the head, comes over the head with both hands and is released above or just in front of the head, not in front of the face, I generally keep the play going.
Sorry if that's long winded, it's a lot quicker on the pitch.
*Edit - just wait till you have to call a retake because the ball touched the ground before entering the pitch. That's a fun one.
Only happened once to me thankfully.
WiisardNic
Active Member
As long as you aren't calling my players out for having toes over the line haha (with the rest of the foot on and behind the line)
santa sangria
RefChat Addict
2. In the second half, presume “someone wants a sub” in your head at every dead ball. Always glance at the benches. Make eye contact if possible.
It's very rare, in fact I don't think I've ever called a player out for feet yet, as I'm too busy watching the hands, that's what the players generally watch.