The Ref Stop

Open Age First Game and Feeling Nervous

Chris Sneap

Chris Sneap

New Member
Level 9 Referee
Hey

I passed my course a few weeks ago and due to the poor weather i wasn't able to do my first match last Saturday, but with the weather holding off its looking likely im going to have my first game this weekend.

Really nervous, but only nervous about petty things like, who i talk to when i arrive, how will i know what pitch it is on as its on a field with a few pitches.
oh and does the referee get its own changing room, just curious...

Looking forward to it :) any tips ?
 
The Ref Stop
Sounds exactly like my first game! Others might have different ideas, but a few things I would do:
  • Research: Even though it might seem like an unimportant detail, knowing what to expect when you get to the ground can really help boost your confidence. So find someone who has refereed at that ground, and ask them about it. If you have been given a pitch number, try and find out which one it is before you get there.
  • If the ground is nearby, it could even be worth visiting it before your game. That way you know exactly where to go, all about parking or public transport, and you might even find the "Referee" changing room.
  • Always be prepared to not have a changing room - I have even referee at grounds where there was a nice big clearly marked referee changing room, but the local council staff who came round unlocking things that morning left it closed.
  • When you arrive, find the nearest person who looks like they belong there and introduce yourself. "Hi, I'm Rainer Macalister and I'm the referee for Karori vs Wellington United today." The worst that can happen is they're just a spectator and they will point you in the direction of the person to talk to.
  • If you haven't found it, ask "Is there a referee room, or a spare changing room I can use?"
  • Once you have identified the home coach, you can ask about the pitch - "Which is pitch 3?" or if you weren't given a number, "Which pitch will we be using today?"
A couple of other things that helped with my confidence when I got them sorted out:
  • Preparation - pack your bag the night before. I have vivid memories of arriving at a game late and already stressed because I couldn't find a sock on Saturday morning.
  • Make sure the people around you know that it's an important day for you and you need to focus on Saturday morning. When I started I was living at home, and had a few "Well you have a lawn to mow and a bedroom to tidy before you can go to your game this morning" situations.
Most importantly, when you've done all the preparation you can, relax and enjoy the game!
 
Make sure you call the coach/manager/secretary before the match to confirm it (3 days before in hull), then is the time to ask them which pitch it's on and they will normally say something like "the one to the left of the changing rooms opposite the main road" for example.

If it just a low league game you won't get a changing room very often, or certainly not around me you won't, you'll be lucky to get things like corner flags and nets, never mind changing rooms.

When you get there like Rainer said just go the most official looking person and they will point you in the right direction. Make sure you have a smile on your face and a nice firm handshake, don't be too formal but make sure you look in control. If you get chance to have a bit of banter with the players/coaches before the game then do. It don't be afraid of speaking because it will show you are confident and have a personality. Don't worry if you seem rubbish at the banter/come backs you'll soon learn a few after a while and it will make players sympathise with you more during the game.

Keep up this talking during the game, you will soon realise the ones who are cheerful enough with you. Make sure you build a good rapport with the captains because they will help you control their team. I had a match once and the captain was an idiot so instead of using him, I picked a player who I got on quite well with and spoke to him instead. I said to him "I'm going to speak to you now (john) because I don't like your captain." To which he replied "I know he's a kn*b isn't he."

Have fun, enjoy it, it will seem a bit scary at first but you will get the hang of it. Do you know the little details like, what time to get there, when you are going to check the FOP and the nets etc?

Don't forget you are not there to make friends or enemies, you are there to referee a football match but making friends makes it a hell of a lot easier than making enemies.

Good luck :D
 
Being anxious is a normal reaction and is almost exactly the same physiological reaction as excitement! All depends on how you think about it.

Just do your thing and enjoy it.

Good luck matey.
 
HullRef said:
Make sure you call the coach/manager/secretary before the match to confirm it (3 days before in hull), then is the time to ask them which pitch it's on and they will normally say something like "the one to the left of the changing rooms opposite the main road" for example.

If it just a low league game you won't get a changing room very often, or certainly not around me you won't, you'll be lucky to get things like corner flags and nets, never mind changing rooms.

Keep up this talking during the game, you will soon realise the ones who are cheerful enough with you. Make sure you build a good rapport with the captains because they will help you control their team. I had a match once and the captain was an idiot so instead of using him, I picked a player who I got on quite well with and spoke to him instead. I said to him "I'm going to speak to you now (john) because I don't like your captain." To which he replied "I know he's a kn*b isn't he."

Good luck :D
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lots of good advice, there, hull

but...

'call the coach/manager/secretary' - i can now relate to jertzee's status thingy - clubs have to contact ref's in sussex

just out of curiousity do you put stuff like no corner flags or nets ... even no changing room on your match reports, (depending on league rules, of course)....or was that just exaggeration for effect

telling a player that you don't like his captain might not be the wisest thing to do - tho' at least we now have a precedent set thanks to mr lallana

by the way, my brother practises criminal law in hull, as a solicitor that is, rather than as a criminal, so if ever you need a good brief.... :)
 
here in south wales, clubs are also supposed to call refs to confirm the game. saying that, i can't remember the last time my game didn't get switched during the week or even on a saturday morning!
 
@haywain I know it's different all over the country but in hull we have to call the coach not the other way round but I know it's the other way round for most counties, I was just using that as an example.

I don't have to do a match report for each match ( I don't know if anyone else does) but like I said I wouldn't bother mentioning the changing room thing because it is a given that you don't get changing rooms and so it is a very very extreme rarity if you do.

I once had to play a match without corner flags, we used cones instead (yes, I know very wrong in law but one team travelled for about 45 mins to egg there and both teams including myself were happy to play) never had a game without nets though, that was an exaggeration.

I'll keep your brother in mind but hopefully I would never have to use him apart from the 27 murders I had to commit because of some over excited, abusive parents ;)
 
Did the game, ten minutes in I thought I should of done youth football to start of with, haha!

As soon as I started I had compeletly forgotten everything about football, first half was tough, second half was better, gave out 2 yellows for wreck less tackles, and two more for unsporting behaviour.

My mentor said I had a good game but it's my first game and I struggled but I enjoyed it overall!

Oh and by the way I did have a referee changing room ;) apparently it's compulsory in my league.

I know ref's got stick but god!
Looking forward to my next game :D
 
Great match report :)

don't forget to do the proper one if you haven't already done it
 
Chris Sneap said:
I know ref's got stick but god!
Looking forward to my next game :D
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Really? I referee to satisfy my innate need for approval from others :)

But seriously, sounds good, well done. Feeling like you've forgotten everything you know in the first few games isn't surprising. When it happened to me, at half time my mentor just said "If you forget everything else, just ask 'Is it fair?' and if not, blow your whistle."
 
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Welcome to the wonderful world of being a referee!

Best thing I've found still being very new to it, is to be critical of your performance and focus on 1 or 2 things to focus on for the next game, then make a conscious effort to focus on those, as you build up your experience. And if you get a decision wrong, then reflect on why you did and what you could do differently next time.
 
A little advice about feeling as though you've forgotten everything, if you need to, give yourself a couple of seconds before blowing the whistle and then you can always sell it as trying to let the game flow but there was no advantage. I've done in on numerous occasions and nobody has batted an eyelid
 
Remembering and applying the laws of the game whilst keeping a beady eye on everyone on the pitch and those off it and running around at pace. It's much easier refereeing from the touch line (or sofa!) :)

Good start mate. With experience it will all slots together like Lego and starts to make perfect sense! There is a lot of talk on a football pitch that I certainly didn't notice when I was playing (because it is at the ref I guess). You soon learn to filter most of it although developing the colina stare probably doesn't hurt either!
 
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