The View From The Grassroots: #2 How Do I Know If I Had A Good Game?

[SM]

How do I know if I had a good game?

Imagine the scene: 90 minutes of football, a fast and intense game, the time flies by and you have worked hard all game to be in the positions you need to be in. It's a well contested game of football and you have had to be on your toes to watch all 22 players as they are all either a) up to something or b) telling you an opponent is up to something.

The final whistle is blown and after the protocol dictated handshakes you arrive back in your lonely little changing room and sit down to take stock of the match. Your notebook contains scribbles of information relating to bookings, substitutions and goals scored but the whole thing is like a blur. You believe it was a good game of football. There were no major issues. However, the question pops into your head: did I have a good game? And the honest answer is you have no idea.

So let's revisit the title of this slightly rambling outpouring of words: How does a referee know if he has had a good game?

Firstly, sometimes you just know. You come off the pitch, everybody is happy, lots of hand shakes and "thanks ref" and there is no doubt in your mind as to how it went. Alternatively, sometimes you come off the pitch and you know you have made a big mistake or made some bad decisions. It's a stinker, you know it, everybody knows it and only a heroic lack of self awareness could possibly hide that fact from your conscious mind. However, on some occasions you come off the pitch and trudge back into your changing area sanctuary and you scratch your head - you simply do not know. You think back over the game, no obvious, worth noting, mistakes were made. You know you have run around a lot during the game, you think you have been where you needed to be and seen what you needed to see. The teams moaned, but hey, teams always seem to moan don't they? It was just the usual moaning, nothing special or specific. You blow the final whistle and the game ends - handshakes as you would expect, but no real feedback from the teams to give you a clue how the game went.

Let's apply this to my weekend cup game as an example - checklist time! Hell yes – nothing conveys emphasis like a checklist! I know I worked really hard, check. I dealt with what needed dealing with - another check. The match felt under control, check. There were no controversies during the game, check. No real issues or mistakes that I am aware of (aside from a pre-match boner which I will neglect to mention in this article, maybe some other time!), check. I return to my changing room after the event and the nagging thought occurred to me, I have no idea if I even enjoyed that or not? I should have, it was a big game! A plum fixture! I check my pocket and I have a notebook filled with game information; goals, cautions and substitutes written in my inimitable scrawl. So I don't know if I enjoyed the game and I also don't know if I have had a good game or a bad game?

The next day, being a thoughtful kind of fellow I have sat down with a pen and paper as I usually do, and tried to reflect on the game the day prior. Sadly, it's all still one big blur. Fast paced, high quality football and I didn't feel like I stopped running all game. I remember that the first time I looked at my watch during the game to check how much time had gone, it read 35 minutes played - I had to double check my other watch as I thought this couldn't possibly be correct! Lots of niggles on the pitch to be on top of. Handful of cards shown. 90 minutes may as well have been 5 minutes, it flew by so quickly. Not a lot of "incidents" of note, lots of the ball being passed around with accuracy and pace.

So I am none the wiser.

The conclusion I have come to, after giving this phenomenon some thought is this; I must have enjoyed the game. I was in the moment, it was instinctive, it was a challenge and using the old saying "doesn't time fly when you’re having fun?" And as for whether I had a good game or not, at the end of the day, what does it really matter? The game was played. I didn't notice any problems or mistakes. Surely if there were boners in there, I would have noticed? One team or other would have made their feelings known? So why worry? And there are lots more games to come this season. This one game is an experience and even though I am not certain if it is a good experience or not, it is still an experience. Chalk it up, put it in the record books, next game, move on.

The joys of refereeing eh?

If you have been affected by this article or if it in some way spurts into life the development of tiny buds of thought in you, please feel free to share your brain children below. Go on, make me feel like I am not just rambling to myself

 

[lincs22]

All matches should be treated referees as though you have had a good game. It is either "Good - enjoyable (and you nailed it)", "Good - enjoyable (and nothing happened)" or "Good for development".

One and three are easy to see, two is more difficult.

Two become more likely the more competent and experienced you become. The palyers recognise you and your style, you know what are fouls and what are not, your positioning is effective, etc, etc, etc. However, you have given the players a good game and they enjoyed it but you sometimes don't see your efforts rewarded.

There is always next week.