Coaching can be a very emotional experience as you watch your team develop and watch them try so hard to succeed only to see “Iffy” free kicks (in their opinion) awarded or infractions against their team that go unnoticed or ignored. As a coach, you may be tempted to comment out loud about the referee’s performance during the game. This does not improve the referee’s performance, but simply takes his mind off his job as a coach and distracts his players’ attention to the referee instead of playing his role on the team.
It is not your job to referee the game. Your job is to train.
A coach will become a better coach when the coach learns to play refereed games. Then the coach will realize how quickly decisions must be made and how easy it is to miss infractions. Refereeing will show the coach not only the physical stress of refereeing, but also the mental stress inherent in this activity. He / she will gain an appreciation for the referee’s role by allowing him / her to observe the performance of his / her team and not be distracted by the referee’s performance. The coach will also be able to teach his players how to better play within the rules of the game, as well as how the referee is interpreting the rules of the game.
Below are ideas that a coach, new or experienced, should consider in an effort to improve their coaching performance and their understanding of the task of officiating. You must work towards a good working relationship with the referees.
This is what I would suggest to a coach.
• Take a level 1 refereeing course.
• Conduct accredited training courses that contain referee data, as well as discussions about the rules of the game and, of course, ideas about soccer training.
• If you haven’t played the game yourself, join a team at your club and really see the rules at work, first-hand.
• Watch the games on television from the referee’s point of view; Listen to commenters’ comments on arbitration decisions to better understand how the rules are interpreted.
• Observe the positioning of the field officials.
• Obtain and read the rule book, particularly where rule interpretations are explained.
• Referee practice games with their players. Explain why the free throws are taken. Use the signals the umpires use and talk to the players about what they can do within the rules.
• Practice basic refereeing plays with your team, eg explain the rules regarding ruck work, throw-ins; fullback kicks, leaving the mark, when the game is declared; and when it is called advantage.
• Wear white as a referee in your practice games at intra-club games or social games against local clubs.
• Refereeing gives the coach an on-site view of what is happening. You can train on the go, offering advice to both teams. You can make changes of position, etc. in the race.
• Use a two-umpire system with the coach of the other team, both adopting a coaching mode.
• Use an appropriate referee’s whistle.
• Remember that referees should not penalize what they cannot see even if they suspect a rule has been violated.
Regarding the players and the referee:
• Teach your players to be goal and limit referees. With larger groups, allow players to referee parts of practice games. This will help them understand that refereeing is not easy, but it requires great concentration and aptitude.
• The rule book will explain how goal and limit officials are to do their job.
• Acknowledge to your players that referees will often make “Play In” calls when the team against which the offense was committed already had the advantage and would lose that advantage if they were awarded a free throw. (The “Carry On” call often acknowledges that the rules were broken). Therefore, teach the players to blow the whistle and not to referee the game themselves, but simply to play the game.
• Teach your players to accept the referee’s decision even if they think it is wrong. Remind them that the game will not take place if there are no referees.
Some final comments:
• As a coach, it is your job to coach, not referee the game. If you openly criticize the referees in front of the players, they will lose respect for the referee and for you as a coach.
• Finally, if you are asked to comment on the performance of a young referee, look for ways to encourage that person and point out areas that need improvement along with advice on how it can happen. Don’t just write or report on referees whose performance you thought caused the loss of your team.