Game management for referees is so important. It’s very important to remain confident and that you’re not going to hide when players react negatively to your whistling. That’s one of the key learnings I’ve taken with me from the keynote Howard Webb gave during the Ontario Soccer Summit.

Howard Webb stresses that you need to raise your profile as a referee these days. “To gain control of the game. You have to step up when you have to be seen and heard when the game needs you to be seen and heard.”

Adapting is part of game management for referees

“Not everyone can do that”, says Webb. And it’s not easy to adapt constantly. “But they are the best referees, the ones that are able to do that. They step out and step back in again. And they allow the players to play, but they’re there when they need to be there.”

World Cup refereeing

During his speech Webb talks about his game management in the World Cup final as well. After 22 minutes and two more yellow cards Webb realises this game was not going to plan. “The yellow card did not have the effect it should have”, he says. “It’s quite a scary feeling for a ref.”

During that game he shows eight yellow cards to the Dutch team, resulting in Heitinga being send-off with his second. The Spanish players also receive five yellows. During the 2018 World Cup Webb sees a similar game with referee Mark Geiger. “That was a really, really tough game. That’s probably the hardest game I’ve seen after this one.”

How to stop awful behaviour

Because of that game between Colombia and England I asked myself the following. What do players think when they approach the referee while shouting, protesting and making crazy gestures? To answer it I wrote a blog post that this awful behaviour has to stop.

(below the image you’ll get some advice on game management)

How to manage difficult situations

Howard Webb says that every referee will try to find a good way to deal with it, but it’s always uncertain how players will react. “Because you fear that if you pull out the wrong thing, you end up losing control.”

Don’t hide yourself

“The games I’ve lost control of in my life, are the games I lost self-belief”, Webb admits. His advice is: despite all reactions you get from players, keep making your calls. “The worst thing you can do is stop blowing your whistle, going to hide. So whenever you have a tough game, don’t lose that self-confidence. It might not come out perfectly, but much better then when you hide away.”

To keep confident, you need to focus. How do you do that? Check out these tips to stay focused for 90 minutes.

Check out Howard Webb’s keynote

Check out the keynote speech from Howard Webb at the Ontario Socccer Summit.

Self-awareness for referees: it’s something you need to work on from the start of your refereeing career. We sometimes underestimate the importance of  it or we think it’s something you get when you’re a top level referee.

No it is not!

Recently I read an interview with Arjen Robben in newspaper De Volkskrant. He talks about talents in football, but what he says applies also to referees. He says talents need to work on their self-awareness and self-criticism. “Invest in yourself. Football can bring you so many good things, but don’t be satisfied too soon. I always wanted to prove myself. Always.”

With this blog I want to start the new series about referee development, making a self scan to know your qualities and setting goals for the future.

Think about the next step

One of his tips is that you need to be grateful for what you are allowed to do. Think about officiating a very nice cup game or a match between the numbers one and two  in the league. Because that is what you work hard for. Call it the cherry on the cake, but it doesn’t end there. Robben continues. “But football is not just fun, because there is always a next step. And another one.”

Mentality of referees

Because there is a next step, you always need to give the full 100%. Not just during games, also during your training sessions. “Mentality means everything in top sports”, Robben says. “You can have talent, and one has more than the other person, but without the right mentality you will never make it.”

Climbing up the ladder is not all about winning, but also about your self-awareness. Be your own critic. Go on and never stop. See space for improvement and look forward. “If you reflect on the new generation, these things play in important part. How is your environment? How do they experience it? Are you willing to invest to reach the top?

Self-awareness for referees and the pitfalls

Some youngsters don’t see their own potential, “because they think it’s good what they do now”. That’s the pitfall for everyone, also for referee talents. Robben realises there are lots of things outside football that distract kids. “You can’t blame them for that”, he says. “But they can do much better, and they have to.”

Last week you read on the blog about the bigger picture of your refereeing career. The series will continue with an explanation on how to make a self scan of yourself as referee and how to set goals for the future. Keep an eye on this blog!

Referee positioning at counter-attacks, that’s difficult as you have to change a pace fast and your response needs to be quickly. Leicester City has shown some great counter-attacks before. They get the ball and pass forward fast and their strikers are very effective. Are you able as referee to anticipate to that? Check out these lessons below.

The screenshots of the Leicester counter-attack are still there and give you a great impression. To have an idea of how fast a counter-attack can go, I’ve found another example, from Belgium – Japan, to give you an impression. Please take a good look at the referees. How do they react to the change of play?

Please let me know what you’ve seen.

You probably have noticed play goes fast and it’s not always possible to the referee to keep up with that. Not to say the referees are doing wrong, but it shows you that it’s very difficult to keep up with play. Below I’ll give some tips on how you can minimise that and anticipate better on counter attacks.

5 things that symbolize a counter attack

The Laws of the Game mention the counter attack: “In counter-attack situations, the AR should be able to give information such as whether or not a foul has been committed and whether a foul was committed inside or outside the penalty area, and what disciplinary action should be taken. The AR should make a clear movement along the touchline towards the halfway line to indicate when the offence took place outside the penalty area.”

Yes, I believe it is very important that your assistant referee can help you. But as referee you want to be able to follow play as well. You want to be in the right position. A Concacaf presentation I’ve seen describes it very accurate. “Mobility = being able to get ‘somewhere’ (fitness). Positioning = knowing where that ‘somewhere’ is.” Football teams have to anticipate to only one other team, as referee you need to anticipate on both.

First it’s good to see what happens in a counter attack. There are 5 things in the video that symbolize the steps in a counter attack for players.

1. Recognize the developing play. Is it on?
2. Regain possession
3. The early decision
4. Support the attack
5. The end positioning

Counter attacks for referees

As referee you’ll have such steps well. I’ve distilled the 5 steps for referees based on the one’s for players – and yes, they’re quite similar.

1. Recognize the developing play
2. Regain position
3. The early reaction (anticipation)
4. Follow the attack
5. The end positioning

1. Recognize the developing play

As referee you need to be aware of your surroundings. What happens on the pitch? What can be the next situation you have to focus on? You need to be able to read the game, recognize what players might do.

I’ll show in a picture below (that I took from the video) what the referee has to notice:

There is a player who wants to prevent the goalie from releasing the ball. And if you have a broader look, you’ll see five attackers that are even with the goalie or closer to Leicester’s goal-line. There must be plenty of space for a counter-attack because there are less defenders from Manchester United.

2. Regain position

The goalie gets the chance to throw the ball forward a teammate, so regain position. In the clip you’ll see the referee turn his head to the player who was jumping in front of the goalie. Keep that short, focus on how play develops. As you can seen the referee has changed his direction already with his back to the Leicester goal.

3. The early reaction (anticipation)

The early reaction has a lot to do with regaining position. They might have been under the same subheading, but I’d like to follow the 5 steps as mentioned in the video. What is the first thing you’d do when you expect a counter-attack? Yes, RUN!

In the picture below you’ll see the referee is looking back to the Manchester United player. My advice: don’t focus too much on something that happened earlier on, especially when there is no opponent near it, so you don’t have to expect any problems.

The good thing you see from image is that you see that  the referee is running forward. And fast. He anticipates on the possibility of a counter-attack.

4. Follow the attack

Once you’ve made that decision to go forward, you need to keep following the attack. The number 28 has stopped to see where he can pass the ball. That gave the referee some time to covere all the distance and he is shortly behind the ball.  But keep in mind, a ball goes faster than you can run, so keep moving forward and follow the attack. If the right midfield player passes the ball forward, you have a lot of metres to run to be close to the situation again.

5. The end positioning

In the end, all you want to do is making the right decision. So your (end) position when something happens needs to be good. The referee would ideally have been a bit closer to the situation compared to the picture below. He has a clear view, but could have been closer. In this situation Vardy scores for Leicester, but what if the defender tackled him? Or did he play the ball?

Below I summarized some tips for positioning at a counter attack.

Tips for referee positioning at counter-attacks

Being in the right position is more than being able to run fast. You need to be able to anticipate on the situation and choose your position smartly. The Concacaf experts give you three simple tips for anticipating counter attacks as referees:

• Do not immediately go wide and deep. Keep behind play, not in front of the ball. That gives you space, so it will be easier to adapt to situations.
• Create the best angle of vision. It must be easy for you to make the right calls by moving to the left or right.
• Think ahead. Consider the player’s passing options. If you have an idea where the ball might go,  you can anticipate on that and move already towards the position where the next challenge will be. So be aware of players and open spaces
• Always be alert and focused. Not just important for anticipating on counter-attacks. But if there’s a counter-attack, focus on that and ignore previous situations that are not relevant anymore. (Check out some 7 tips to stay focused for 90 minutes)
• Keep moving. Don’t start running around like crazy, even walking is fine. But when you’re on the move it’s easier to change direction or accelerate than when you’re standing still. It makes you more flexible in your movements.

How do you keep fit enough to be able to anticipate on counter-attacks? How often do you train?

“You won’t make it on the pitch with only the knowledge of the Laws of the Game”, says Willem Schuitemaker at a workshop I visited in Leiden this year. “You need passion, talent and motivation. That combination will bring you to your personal best and passion is the most important here.”

Schuitemaker has been invited in Leiden for a workshop about “soft skills” to educate the referees. He was active in professional football as an assistant referee from January 2010 until the 2012/2013 season. Now he’s giving workshops for his REFEREE Factory at referee organisations, sports clubs and companies.

You can read the article in Dutch in De Scheidsrechter.

Willem Schuitemaker at referee association COVS Leiden

The passion for refereeing had to grow for Schuitemaker himself. At his 12th he was a linesman at the games his father played. Sunday League football level. At the age of 16 he forcedly became a referee himself. The local derby between Quickboys and Katwijk. “After that game I thought: ‘never again’ . You must be crazy if you’re a whistler. I am happy I picked up the whistle myself later on.”

After his career in professional football Schuitemaker has replaced his flag for the whistle again. He wants to share his knowledge with colleagues. In this story he will share 7 tips that will help you become a better referee.

1. Get motivation after a setback

“I was unable to run the referee fitness tests. That’s something mentally and had nothing to do with my physical condition. I’ve visited a sports psychologist for that. When I saw a running track it all went wrong. Because I failed the fitness test, I had to quit. After my professional career I was about to quit. For 6 months I had a very difficult time, but found back the drive to continue.”

2. Be well-prepared

“I’ve got always the same routine. The same sandwiches on my way to the game and I’ll pack my back in the same way each time. At one game I recognized I was badly prepared. And in that game the sole of my shoe went loose. It was that day I forgot my extra pair of shoes. I ran on socks and did that for half an our. That was a good signal for myself: leave home on time and be weel-prepared. Always!”

3. Get the best out of yourself

Be aware that whatever you do, you need to do your very best. So go to referee training sessions. If the players put some extra effort in right before the end of the game, your battery need to be full as well. That’s why physical preparation is so important for referees.

4. Together you’re stronger

TEAM. Together Everyone Achieves More. You need to make arrangements with your team and keep them. That’s important on the pitch, but doing things together is also important off the pitch. Listen to colleagues at the referee meetings. Sometimes you’ll hear things you can ignore or that don’t suit you, but often it’s very useful to exchange experience with each other.

5. Expect the unexpected

“Also try to concentrate on situations where’s no challenge for the ball. Some defenders will try to foul the opponent behind your back. At a higher level you can also prepare for those things due to watching video’s. If you officiate at a certain level for a longer period, after a while you know the player’s to keep an eye one.

6. Don’t give up

At my first game at the talent group for upcoming professional referees, the start of the route toward professional football, the assessor entered the dressing room. He asked why I was on the list of talented assistant referees. There was no room for me there is what he told. If you hear that, it’s a bitter disapppointment. Everyone knows the referee world is a hard one. My advice is to not give up, then you’ll be able to reach your personal top level. You need to be able to deal with a setback, that makes you stronger. I am happy I’ve been active at a higher level for years.

7. Choose your style

Schuitemaker tells about different styles to be a leader. He compares it with behaviour of monkey’s. “Gorilla’s want to show they’re powerful, want to be in the picture. The baboon is smarter and is looking for cooperation and adapts better towards the circumstances. Every referee has to pick his own style. That’s different for everybody. The most important thing is not to imitate others. Then it will become an act.”

Check the image aboven on this blog post. Would you flag for offside? There’s been a lot of offside discussions recently. Is a player making attempt to play the ball? Is it a deliberate play or a save? Offside is the main task of the assistant referee, but it’s also quite difficult. Not just the rare situations, but also situations where both defenders and attackers are moving. Want to practise yourself? Here are offside exercises for assistant referees.

Get pencil and paper ready and write down numbers 1 to 25. The video below will show you 25 clips in quick succession and you have to decide wether the player is onside or offside. After all the clips you’ll get the answers.

Useful information about offside:

• New interpretation of off-side rule
• Case study about new interpretation of offside rule

The new season has started. Have you ever thought about how you want to grow as referee? It’s good to have a mentor who helps you. Actually you need more than one. Read more about the 4 types of mentors you need as referee.

Kim Kaupe brought me on Inc.com on the idea for writing this post. She focussed on mentors young entrepreneurs need. I’ve used her 4 types and projected them on the career of a referee.

Because yes, you really need people that help you when you’re stuck in your refereeing career. Some can give tips on refereeing, others can help you with personal struggles. Check out the 4 types of mentors you need as a referee.

Knows you personally and as referee

It’s not just refereeing problems you’ll face as a referee. A mentor who knows you personally and knows your refereeing career is important. You can discuss personal issues with him or her. That’s because that mentor knows how much effort you put into refereeing.

A great example that I could think of is Howard Webb’s dad. If you’ve seen the movie Kill the referee, you can see Webb’s dad visit him during the World Cup.

Knows you only personally

You need someone who knows you as a person, but doesn’t know much about your refereeing. Kaupe describes it as “someone who will slap you in the face”. A peson who is “a good sounding board for your weaknesses”.

Think about someone who knows you tend to cancel your work-outs, because you’re a bit lazy. That kind of mentor will tell you that you should go out running if you want to reach your goals. He is not afraid to say you’ve been week if he hears you sat on the bench watching tv series instead of training.

Doesn’t know you or has seen you officiating

You need someone who can ask you about your goals and then tell you what you need to do for that. They care about building the bigger picture. They’re seeing the possibilities and helping them come to pass through someone else’s life.

A mentor who’s looking at the bigger picture doesn’t say what you did wrong on the pitch for example. He’s looking for the WHY. There needs to be a reason why you make wrong calls or why you don’t get that promotion. If you together find out the WHY, then you can work on solving the problem.

Only knows you as a referee

A person who only knows you as a referee is not worried about hurting your feelings. Sometimes you need a fresh look at your performance as a referee. This mentor will give you an honest opinion.

And whatever mentor you work with, one of the most important things is that you are willing to be mentored. You must be open for tips and sometimes for some criticism. That will make you a better referee.

Do you have a mentor? Write down the names of people who could be good mentors for you and get in touch with them.