How do we grow new referees?

[forthoffical]

Opinion:

Without a steady supply of enthusiastic young people (and a few old geezers) volunteering to become referees our soccer clubs would die a painful death sooner or later.

However, it is not enough for the young referees just to be enthusiastic. We also need new referees that demonstrate they are totally squared away in their personal lives. It doesn’t matter who you are, when one looks at the pitch they expect to see professionalism in the referees no matter what level of skill the players in the game possess.

While it is policy to start new referees out doing games for the younger player the parents of 11 year olds want to see a squared away AR just as much as a director of coaching wants to see squared away ARs working his U18 premier games.

Every referee had to start somewhere to gain experience and it is a given they will make some bad calls as they learn, but from the beginning they are expected to be squared away in dress, form, alertness and show an understanding of punctuality during their apprenticeship.

How do we find young people that show these qualities and are willing to work for peanuts and face angry parents who haven’t got a clue what the laws of that game are?

Pay can’t be the only reason a young person would want to get involved?

How do we grow a referee?

[ronaldo11]

Encouragement!!

Put them in selected games...have experienced refs watching the younger ones in their games, and then analysing what could have gone better and why later on.

Scope out the games where there will be the least amount of pressure and then build them up to bigger games and faster paced games.

This is a question that has been asked by every state since time began. This is a continuing topic at USSF workshops. There is another part as well.

Retention is a bigger problem than recruiting. The pool of refs in La stays at the same number every year depsite the fact that new referees are trained every year. If we could cut our lost referes in half, then recruiting becomes a much smaller problem.

So one asks, why do they leave? Lots of reason.
1. They dont like it once they're into it.
2. Most are young players and they cant find the time to juggle play and ref
3. New referees may not get assignments, frustration sets in and they quit. Usually related to number 2.
4. Cant handle the abuse and yelling from coaches, players, spectators
5. Refs who start young usually end up quitting when they enter college years. Other things become more important.

These are the most common.

We cant fix #1.
The state has taken actions this year to attempt to remedy #3. Working to make sure new referees who want to work are getting phone calls.
We cant totally fix #4 but we can try. Yes, this game is emotional. And yes, referees do miss calls. No referee anywhere is perfect. FIFA refs miss calls. But all involved in this game need to also understand who they are yelling at. Yell at a 16 yr old and the odds are good they have had it. They get enough of that at home.

Recruiting? The best place to make this happen is at the club level. They have access to a large number of people that the referee community does not have acces to. They can be a great source of help.

[ronaldo11]

Certain leagues and competitions within Louisiana should dedicate 1 or 2 games every round to a newer referee. This way they are guaranteed to be involved. Teams in these leagues should be alerted at the beginning of their season to this rule, so that they are aware. Any team that doesnt like this rule - tough. Its their decision whether they want to play or not. In some of the amateur leagues in the BR area, im sure 99% of teams wouldnt mind at all.

[timaeus]

Add water, expose to sunlight, and give it time.

[lakeview]

I have seen this work, if the Assignor is a true leader.

Most of the players taking the ref class were premier players. The association then decided to play the premier games on Sunday, and let the new refs work on Saturday at the rec games.

Every new ref had a mentor for at least one game on Saturday. If a new ref was struggling, the mentor stayed on for the next game. POSITIVE FEEDback at the half and post game. 90 % retention after the fall season. Better than 75 % for the year.

[forthoffical]

Lakeview,

Thats sounds like a great system. Thanks for sharing.

[ref]

That sounds great Lakeview. I've never seen it done but would sure like to.

[lakeview]

Another thing. The coaches were told at the start of the season about the problem of universal attrition. They were told the new refs were green as goats and were going to be making mistakes. Coaches could attend the ref classes for free and some did.

The coaches were asked to go thank the refs after every game. And be sincere. If they had a problem, address it with the mentor at the field or the Assignor.

When the new refs went home on Saturday, they felt good about what they had done.

(After awhile, we had to limit their games on Saturday to three, b/c the premier coaches said they could hardly run for their Sunday games.)

[furriner]

a possibility would be to have a couple of experienced and patient ARs who would help the young inexperienced center with calls. Also, judicious use of hand signals by the ARs (a tightened fist for get a grip of things for e.g.) and lots of eye contact are a great help. Often the "mentors" are more concerned about cleats not being black, or hair untidy than about the actual refereeing that the youngsters are doing. As for "positive" feedback...

[misltek]

A couple of reasons I got started:
-Pay. Not going to find anything better as a 15-17 yr old.
-Leadership/Responsibility. I wanted a position that meant something.
-Learn more about the game. Can't tell you how many times I've used this to my advantage.
-Love of the game. I must love it alot to do this.
-New faces. I had crappy refs growing up and wanted to give the next generation something better.

Things that turned my friends away after they joined:
-Parents. Abuse from the ignorant.
-Lack of games....however, they never pursued the opportunities like I did.
-Coaches. Fear of adults paying them back.
-Priorities. Saturday mornings were for sleeping in late, not making money.

Some things I've learned over the past decade+:
-Never be afraid to ask for feedback from another referee.
-Hard work is usually rewarded with more calls from assignors, which = more money.
-Never....never....allow what an idiot says to stick in your head.
-Opportunities exist, all the time, everywhere. You might have to leave your town, parish, or state in order to get better quality games, but you'll probably meet new people with new ideas.
-Make a name for yourself. There's not a game I won't get because I have built a solid reputation over the past 11 years.