A&H

Assistant referee pregame

BrumRef

Regular Contributor
Level 7 Referee
Hi everyone,
I have only ever linesmanned at school before so haven’t had a proper scheduled game. On Saturday I am am NAR for an u13 ESFA u13 fixture, what should I do before the game.
E.g when to turn up, what to say to the ref etc..
Appreciate all advice👍
 
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Turn up no later than 30 mins before KO, I aim for about 45mins usually.

A decent ref should give both his AR’s a briefing before the game. I.e what to do in x/y/z situation, when he wants you to flag/when he doesn’t want you to flag. If you have any questions after his briefing, then I’d definitely ask then, not after a sh*t-show! 😉 I find a lot of the focus is on looking professional whilst giving decisions.

If he doesn’t give a good pre-match brief I’d ask:

•How he wants you to stand if you’re unsure of which way to flag ball in/out? Best advice I got was to hold the flag in the centre of my body with both hands and look in (eye contact). That way you’re letting him know you don’t have a clue which way to flag. He should give you an indication after that.

•How he wants you to signal for borderline pen/FK. Some refs will tell you to crab towards the goal line for a pen or the opposite direction for a FK.

•Mass confrontations. Where does he want you? Does he want you to monitor for offenders on a specific team?

•What does he want you to note, if anything?

•Does he want you to look at feet or ball for potential foul throws?

•Pre-match ceremony. Usually enter pitch, break for nets, back in for coin toss. Does he want you to check for jewellery?

•Pen shootout. Where does he want you?

That’s all I can think of for now, plenty of experience on here to fill in the gaps!
 
Turn up no later than 30 mins before KO, I aim for about 45mins usually.

A decent ref should give both his AR’s a briefing before the game. I.e what to do in x/y/z situation, when he wants you to flag/when he doesn’t want you to flag. If you have any questions after his briefing, then I’d definitely ask then, not after a sh*t-show! 😉 I find a lot of the focus is on looking professional whilst giving decisions.

If he doesn’t give a good pre-match brief I’d ask:

•How he wants you to stand if you’re unsure of which way to flag ball in/out? Best advice I got was to hold the flag in the centre of my body with both hands and look in (eye contact). That way you’re letting him know you don’t have a clue which way to flag. He should give you an indication after that.

•How he wants you to signal for borderline pen/FK. Some refs will tell you to crab towards the goal line for a pen or the opposite direction for a FK.

•Mass confrontations. Where does he want you? Does he want you to monitor for offenders on a specific team?

•What does he want you to note, if anything?

•Does he want you to look at feet or ball for potential foul throws?

•Pre-match ceremony. Usually enter pitch, break for nets, back in for coin toss. Does he want you to check for jewellery?

•Pen shootout. Where does he want you?

That’s all I can think of for now, plenty of experience on here to fill in the gaps!
That’s brilliant thank you👍
 
Turn up no later than 30 mins before KO, I aim for about 45mins usually.

A decent ref should give both his AR’s a briefing before the game. I.e what to do in x/y/z situation, when he wants you to flag/when he doesn’t want you to flag. If you have any questions after his briefing, then I’d definitely ask then, not after a sh*t-show! 😉 I find a lot of the focus is on looking professional whilst giving decisions.

If he doesn’t give a good pre-match brief I’d ask:

•How he wants you to stand if you’re unsure of which way to flag ball in/out? Best advice I got was to hold the flag in the centre of my body with both hands and look in (eye contact). That way you’re letting him know you don’t have a clue which way to flag. He should give you an indication after that.

•How he wants you to signal for borderline pen/FK. Some refs will tell you to crab towards the goal line for a pen or the opposite direction for a FK.

•Mass confrontations. Where does he want you? Does he want you to monitor for offenders on a specific team?

•What does he want you to note, if anything?

•Does he want you to look at feet or ball for potential foul throws?

•Pre-match ceremony. Usually enter pitch, break for nets, back in for coin toss. Does he want you to check for jewellery?

•Pen shootout. Where does he want you?

That’s all I can think of for now, plenty of experience on here to fill in the gaps!

The ref should contact you before the game to advise what time they want you to arrive and How they want you dressed (tracksuit vs smart).

If they are in the middle, they will be more experienced than you, so take your lead from them.

Most of all enjoy it! I find going out as a 3 is much more fun than being out all by yourself!
 
Be smart and presentable - clean boots are a must.
Listen and take on board what he wants you to do.
 
•Pre-match ceremony. Usually enter pitch, break for nets,

...and if you are really bored, check with the other AR if the run from the net with flag open or wrapped, and when you check the net, look across at the other AR and finish by leaving the near post at the same time. For the cameras! Always for the cameras!
 
...and if you are really bored, check with the other AR if the run from the net with flag open or wrapped, and when you check the net, look across at the other AR and finish by leaving the near post at the same time. For the cameras! Always for the cameras!

Yeah I have done the ‘synchronised return’ following the net check, thought it was a bit OTT as it wasn’t much of an occasion! It seems looking good is half the battle 😂
 
Yeah I have done the ‘synchronised return’ following the net check, thought it was a bit OTT as it wasn’t much of an occasion! It seems looking good is half the battle 😂
It’s standard good practice. Might not be that important in the game you did, however becomes more important as you go up through the levels, so getting into good habits early is not a bad thing to do!
 
I did my first NAR last night and after checking nets the other NAR was already back in the centre circle. I did actually think it would have been a nice touch if fairly minor ;-)
 
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