Further observations from refereeing

Three years ago I decided to get a Grade 8 USSF referee badge. I did it partly because my short playing career came to crashing halt when on November 2, 2002 I jumped to head a ball in a men’s weekly pickup game and landed wrong. Really wrong. I completely tore the ACL and MCL in my left leg, partially tore the PCL, detached a hamstring, detached the muscles that connect to the top of the fibula and damaged the nerve to my left foot. Surgery required installing two cadaver ligaments, severing then reconnecting my quad and unavoidably cutting a nerve on the left side of my knee, leaving a permanently numb spot about the size of my hand. The excruciating rehab lasted seven months.

I miss playing tremendously; not just for the exercise and camaraderie but also for the insights I gained as a coach from being on the field under the pressure of facing live opponents. My solution was to turn to refereeing.

Being a referee gives me a different perspective because I can see the game from the player’s perspective while hearing their coach’s instructions and parent’s exhortations. It has been enlightening. Most of my games are recreational matches played in the town where I live and cover the whole spectrum from Division 4 U10 6v6 to high Division 2 U18 11v11. I have also officiated in MAPLE, MASC and District Select games.

Looking back over the three years several consistent themes stand out.

1. Parents think it is automatically a “hand ball” any time the ball touches the hand of a player. They don’t realize that the call is handling and involves deliberate intent.
2. Parents seem to be more intense at the younger ages, like U10. I hear much more (and louder) yelling at U10 games than, say, U14 or older.
3. Parents (and some coaches) ooh and aah when a player boots a long, lofted ball. It’s almost as though they’re admiring a long passing play in American football. The problem is: in the games I’ve seen these long kicks go to no one in particular so that players from both teams sprint to retrieve the ball. It becomes a 50-50 ball, the opposing goalkeeper picks up the ball to boom it the other way or the ball rolls harmlessly over the end line, giving the opposing team a goal kick.
4. “Send it!” is the most common instruction from parents and coaches. What they’re really saying is to boot the ball to no on in particular. I say this because when I hear “Send it!” no one is in the target area. So, as I said in point #3 above, the “send” becomes a 50-50 ball, a goalkeeper punt or a goal kick.
5. Parents appear to believe that the most vocal coaches are the best. I say this partly because of feedback I’ve received from parents on my club team who feel I need to yell more during the game. My approach is to give isolated, well-targeted advice especially to the players who are on the side closest to me as opposed to micro-managing the game by telling players where they should be all over the field.