Having just watched the recent RefSix vlog, I was wondering how the higher level referees among us find refereeing in front of big crowds. Near me Macclesfield are in the Step 5 league (NWCFL), and have had crowds over 4000 on a number of occasions. How hard is it for a Level 4 to go from crowds of 150-200 to a crowd of 4500 etc?
Big Crowds
- Thread starter James P
- Start date
Dunno, but I went from <100 to >500 in one hit
I was canny nervous the night before... woke up at 4am planning on how I was gonna dismiss the home managers
I was OK on the day and I didn't really notice the spectators once the game kicked off. And I didn't dismiss anyone, so I needn't have schemed it
Anyway, I got Man of the Match (at least in my mind I did
)Seriously though, I've had a few big crowds (for me) like that and I was OK with it (next time? who knows?)
But we won't know where our comfort zone is until we encounter its limits
Last edited:
Having now broken the 600+ barrier, once as ref and once as AR and possibly higher on Saturday I really relish it.
For some reason it sharpens the mind and focus for me.
But then things have gone well in those games and I expect the feeling could be different if the game was not going as well.
I mean 4500 plus is a bit of a jump albeit at a similar level. Would have had Macclesfield on my rounds as well back "home"
For some reason it sharpens the mind and focus for me.
But then things have gone well in those games and I expect the feeling could be different if the game was not going as well.
I mean 4500 plus is a bit of a jump albeit at a similar level. Would have had Macclesfield on my rounds as well back "home"
santa sangria
RefChat Addict
Visualise - it’s the proxy - next best thing to experiencing it. It’s never gonna be the same or remotely the same feeling, but it’s good for the brain and spirit.
I’ve only been in front of one bigger footy crowd of 1000, but i’ve been on stage in front of 20,000. I think after a few hundred it’s not that different, because it’s a sea and not individuals. But it is daunting and potentially a shock or trauma - so visualising, thinking/dreaming through your steps is really good preparation.
I’ve only been in front of one bigger footy crowd of 1000, but i’ve been on stage in front of 20,000. I think after a few hundred it’s not that different, because it’s a sea and not individuals. But it is daunting and potentially a shock or trauma - so visualising, thinking/dreaming through your steps is really good preparation.
Yeh exactly, I'll let you know when one of those games goes tits up
Still got time to return to the holy land for Bury's return next year, who will probably have similar crowds
When you get to L3, especially 3E, you can go from being on a game with less than 100 spectators on a Saturday to one with 6,000+ the following Tuesday, so it can be a bit weird.
I refereed a contrib game on a Saturday that had less than 100 spectators present and one of the managers caught me in the car park after as he was unhappy with my decisions. It was fairly pleasant in fairness, but he ended it with the snide comment of "well at least you will be back at your level tomorrow", clearly implying I was a Sunday league referee. So I replied "yes I'm refereeing tomorrow, its live on BT Sport if you want to tune in and watch it". I was actually 4th official on the Sunday game, but it shut him up and had the desired effect
I refereed a contrib game on a Saturday that had less than 100 spectators present and one of the managers caught me in the car park after as he was unhappy with my decisions. It was fairly pleasant in fairness, but he ended it with the snide comment of "well at least you will be back at your level tomorrow", clearly implying I was a Sunday league referee. So I replied "yes I'm refereeing tomorrow, its live on BT Sport if you want to tune in and watch it". I was actually 4th official on the Sunday game, but it shut him up and had the desired effect
