A&H

Refereeing is starting to make my brain hurt .

wazztie16

wazztie16

Level 4 Referee
Level 4 Referee
Bring brutally honest, I'm not looking forward to the new season.

It'll be my first full season, the new laws, the discussions I'm reading on this forum, it's making my brain hurt.

I just hope my thoughts change later this month.

I've asked to start with a few lines anyway to hopefully observe how more experienced refs handle things like sin bins, so I'm hoping that'll help.

Anyone else in the same boat as me?
 
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wazztie16 said:
Bring brutally honest, I'm not looking forward to the new season.

It'll be my first full season, the new laws, the discussions I'm reading on this forum, it's making my brain hurt.

I just hope my thoughts change later this month.

I've asked to start with a few lines anyway to hopefully observe how more experienced refs handle things like sin bins, so I'm hoping that'll help.

Anyone else in the same boat as me?
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Reading some of the discussions on here would be enough to make anyone's brain hurt! :eek:
The new laws shouldn't be too much to worry about
Re:sin bins, we issue a lot less C2's than you might think (10 in 62 games for me last season), so most of the scenarios discussed on here are quite unlikely to happen
Re:HB, I've judged Handball in every game I've refereed according to the 'new' wording, so nothing drastic has changed imo
Re: Dropped Ball; just think for a moment before you stop play to assess the timing of your whistle
YCs & RCs for team officials can only help
The GK/FK stuff inside the box should iron itself out quickly once the season gets going

So what's up? What's making you feel apprehensive? Would it be beneficial to ref some youth games? There's a level for everyone to enjoy imo
 
wazztie16 said:
It'll be my first full season, the new laws, the discussions I'm reading on this forum, it's making my brain hurt.
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Sometimes tuning out from this forum can be a good thing. Get talking to your RDO and the more reliable, experienced peers who can guide you on the right track. They should have their own training sessions etc, which you'll want to prioritise over things that crop up on here imo.

I'm not criticising this forum btw, it's a great place for healthy debate, but I do imagine it can muddy the waters a bit if you're approaching the newer topics. My RDO likes to say that we referees overcomplicate things too much!
 
I'm also very new, last season was my first full season. I completely recognise what you are saying, some days it can seem too daunting. I've always been able to pull myself back up in time for the next match, and can honestly say I enjoy and look forward to them.

In respect to this forum you have to approach it in the same way you would any other online forum, just because we are referees does not change that. There are strong opinions, there will be arguments, ad hominem attacks, trolling, spamming, you name it. You can spot the all of the usual online character types. However, it is also a great resource for help, advice and support from a whole range of referees with lots of varied experience. To survive you need to view the discussions through whatever filter suits you.

Another source of support can be your local RA. I don't attend often, but it is very useful for making local contacts.

One thing that I did was kept in touch with a number of the adults from my referee course. We have a WhatsApp group, and because we know each other it is great for a bit of support or to have a moan or even a laugh about something that many other people would not understand.
 
Don't panic! Done 2 games so far (Under 18 academy friendlies) and no issues at all with new laws.

Teams seem aware of the goal kick change and the only other relevant incident was when I flagged for a totally accidental handball by attacker that resulted in ball landing at his feet in penalty area. He did query with the referee but accepted the explanation.
 
I think the issue with me is, i learn much better seeing things happen rather than reading.

For example, seeing a video incorporating how a new law works rather than reading up, for some reason, I can't seem to get my head around the laws written in word.

Seeing examples of handballs that are ok, and one's that aren't, are much more beneficial to me, rather than reading about making the body bigger. A video with some text is probably a better way to put it.

Does anyone know of any sites that have that sort of thing?

Re - the local RA, the issue I have with attending those sessions is my work shifts, I've been to a couple of meetings, but can't usually make them due to work.

I'm sure once I get stuck in, I'll be fine, I always am, and I'll be watching matches on TV when the season starts so that may help to a degree, seeing what happens and thinking back to the LOTG and recognising the new situations.

All in all, I've got nothing to lose, and I really want to progress through the levels, only thing inhibiting me regarding that again is work, so I'll see how that goes.

Thanks all for the comments and advice, any more, more than welcome.
 
wazztie16 said:
I think the issue with me is, i learn much better seeing things happen rather than reading.

For example, seeing a video incorporating how a new law works rather than reading up, for some reason, I can't seem to get my head around the laws written in word.

Seeing examples of handballs that are ok, and one's that aren't, are much more beneficial to me, rather than reading about making the body bigger. A video with some text is probably a better way to put it.

Does anyone know of any sites that have that sort of thing?

Re - the local RA, the issue I have with attending those sessions is my work shifts, I've been to a couple of meetings, but can't usually make them due to work.

I'm sure once I get stuck in, I'll be fine, I always am, and I'll be watching matches on TV when the season starts so that may help to a degree, seeing what happens and thinking back to the LOTG and recognising the new situations.

All in all, I've got nothing to lose, and I really want to progress through the levels, only thing inhibiting me regarding that again is work, so I'll see how that goes.

Thanks all for the comments and advice, any more, more than welcome.
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Remember that sometimes people post on here with way out scenarios that realistically will never happen, and certainly won't happen on a regular basis. That then often escalates into responses with even more out there scenarios that will just never happen, there was after all a long debate about the coin toss law change which is about as simple as it comes.

Most of the law changes are simple when you think about them logically, the one that is more complicated is the FA's sin bin approach but even that if you sit down and work through the scenarios it should become clear.
 
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