Every year Mass State Referee Committee holds recertification classes in various cities throughout the state. As a referee you log in to your account to register for the class that is closest and is at a convenient time. They're held on the weekends and typically run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Once you register for a course a link becomes available online where you log in to take a 50 question test. To pass you need to get 75% correct or 38 questions. If you fail you can take the test again as many times as you want. (Last year it took me two tries. This year I got 92% on the first try.) When you pass the test the referee web site then lets you print a letter proving that you passed. This letter is presented to the instructor at the end of the class.
The classes are taught by referees who have officiated for many years. This year the instructor for my class had been involved for 20 years and refereed high level matches. In years past the first thing the instructors would do is hand out another test consisting of the questions that were missed the most often. After taking the shorter version of the test again the instructor picks participants to give their answer and their explanation for their choice, after which the instructor gives the right answer. This year was different in that we skipped this step.
We did cover offside, a call that many parents, players and coaches do not understand. We watched about a dozen videos of simulated match conditions then voted if we thought the attacking player was offside. The instructor then showed the clip again in super slow-mo. We got many of the calls right but also missed a bunch too. The point being made: our brains deal with motion of objects by skipping ahead in anticipation. Sometimes our brains get it wrong.
We then discussed the process of completing game reports. After every game referees are supposed to fill one out, usually online. In 99% of the games it's just a matter of recording the scores at half time and at the end, the field conditions and the weather. However, if there was a serious situation involving disciplinary action such as a red card the game report calls for a detailed description of what happened without getting polemical. It's "just the facts, ma'am." Game reports can become important if the offenders need to be sanctioned or if they challenge the referee's decision. In extreme cases the game report can become a legal document if the courts get involved. Therefore the referee needs to be factual and accurate!
I won't go into all of the rest of our agenda other than an exercise in which we reviewed an actual game video of a youth soccer game in which two players got tangled up and fell down. The first player to get up stepped onto the thigh of the opposing player who was still down. We discussed what decision the referee should have made. (In this case it was a red card which means the player is ejected from the match and can't be substituted, causing her team to play one player down.)
I hope this description shows what is involved in being a referee! If only coaches had to go through the same kind of certification! Naturally this is unrealistic because coaches at the youth soccer level are parent volunteers. I know referees can take a lot of heat while working. I know there might be lazy referees out there but in my experience the ones I've dealt with all want to do aa good job and not influence the outcome of games with bad calls. So, anyone out there who reads this and has a kid playing soccer, I hope you now have a better idea of what those nameless officials running with the kids have to go through in order to be out there.
