How a grassroots coach can help a young referee

As a grassroots coach, it is your duty to help young referees develop a passion for officiating.

Sadly, many referees do not last past the first few years on the job.  All it takes is one comment from one bozo to make it a bad experience.  This is in all sports.

All three of my sons officiated at one point or another.  It was not uncommon for them to show up, drop their stuff on the side, be ignored, get the game sheets and start the game.

Young people are not small adults, they're young people.  They don't all have the social graces to break the ice and jump into conversation.

"Ensure that a young referee leaves the park wanting to officiate another game. "

Put yourself in their shoes.  There are two teams, probably 4-6 coaches in tracksuits that don't fit properly and an army of lawn chairs on the other side of the field... and the referee is all alone.

How can you help them?

• Educate your parents on the importance of encouraging young referees and to not berate them for a missed call in a U9 game.
• As an adult, you have some coercive power over a young adult.  Don't abuse that power.
• When the referee arrives, welcome them, introduce yourself and your assistants.  Shake their hand, focus on them for a few minutes.
• The referee should review everything with you.  If they don't have the confidence to address you, why don't you call the other coach over and help get that started for them.
• PAY THEM, don't make them ask. 
• If you know them personally, do not address them by name but as "Referee".  
• If they don't bring it up, ask the referee if they would like volunteers to put a flag up if the ball goes over the touch line.
• Confirm game parameters with the referee.  Ask, don't dictate, they're the ref.  Length of half, substitution rules, retreat line, etc.
• Give them friendly reminders worded in a way that doesn't attack them .  "Referee, if you don't mind, can you remember to blow your whistle a little louder and state the call clearly.  My kids don't always pay attention and it helps me see who is learning and who needs extra reminders.  I really appreciate it."  If you don't have the skills to reword sentences, maybe it's best you just smiled and leave the official alone :)     
• Keep calm during games.  If you yell at the referee once, you've given permission to your team parents for all of your parents to do it. 
• At half, ask if they need a drink.  They're kids and kids forget to pack things.
• Remind the referee to stay on the field after the game so the kids can shake their hand.  Some will quickly retreat to their bag on the side.
• Ensure ALL of your players shake the referee's hand after a match.
• If you have treats after your games, offer one to the referee. 
• Before they leave, smile and politely ask if they have their pay envelope.  If you've coached enough then you have found the occasional envelope floating around with money in it.
• The referee will walk through a gauntlet of adults on their way out.  It doesn't hurt for the occasional adult to say "Good job Ref!".  I would even suggest that you quietly appoint several parents to get that started.  It's contagious.
• Ensure that a young referee leaves the park wanting to officiate another game.
• If your club has a head referee, give them some constructive feedback on that official if you feel some is warranted.  Do not address that with the official yourself, it's not your place and not the time.

With each passing game, if coaches are helpful, the referee will take on more of the tasks themselves.
 
If our young officials do not stay in the game, the game will pay a dear price in the future.  Think about that before you decide to say something silly about a missed call in a game that will mean nothing to anybody in an hour's time.

If they stay in the game and develop, as does a player, they will learn to deal with the heat and stress of competition and be better equipped to handle it.

At the Welland Soccer Club we are fortunate.  Our head referee is always working with our young officials and provides periodic educational sessions and feedback.  He has taken the job beyond scheduling.

A referee who is passionate can explore the soccer world (updated link) the same way a player or coach can.  Help them along that path.

Getting soccer into your school

For your back-to-school list in September.

A nice addition to my soccer life has been involvement in festivals for elementary schools.  I've had the pleasure of delivering three and helping out a bit with a fourth.

Too many of our young athletes only play their desired sport when the formal session are organized.  Sometimes when I get a pickup game going at a school I hear questions like "throw-in or kick-ins?" "Where is the box?" "What's out of bounds?" "They have one extra player!".  We want them to realize that you don't need a board of directors and a formal schedule for a sport to happen.

Simple rules of pick-up sports:

• All you need for a game is a friend and a ball
• There is always enough room for a game
• There is always enough room for another player
• Call your own fouls
• The game ends when the sun goes down (if you have no street lights)

Back to school ....

Grassroots Soccer Festival at Gordon School in Welland

What a great day!

• Gordon School, Welland, Ontario.
• 146 players from Grades 3,4 and 5.
• 48 Group and Station leaders from Grade 8 (and some grade 7s)
• Equipment from 4 supporting organizations
• Unexpected hot weather
• Lots of soccer

Last September, with the help of my good friend and teacher, Rino Berardi, we organized a grassroots festival at St Christopher School in St Catharines.  You can read my reflections from that festival.

Today, I was joined by my good friends Carl Horton and Ramin Mohammadi, Grassroots Advisors from the Ontario Soccer Association.  We all attended the FIFA Grassroots Workshop together last year.  They had not been to a festival of this structure and I was only too happy to have a "3 heads are better than one" scenario.

Intertwining summer and winter sports. When do you stop?

I couldn't resist :)

I spent May 17 watching my nephews' Peewee hockey tryouts.  Seriously.  They are also both travel level soccer players.

If you're reading from outside North America, it's that time of year in Canada.  Soccer season is starting and ice hockey tryouts started for next fall.

This fall, some soccer tryouts will happen while hockey is getting rolling.  In the spring more soccer tryouts will happen while hockey is in playoff mode.

In today's soccer environment, where heavy recruiting is rampant, some coaches feel they need to jump the gun and get started early or risk losing players.  That is an understandable attitude considering the environment

Running with the ball at pace ... show your players they can do it

Be honest, coach.

How many of your players can run with the ball, for 30-40yds, at pace and keep the ball under control?  I ask this when I deliver coaching courses, and it's an uncomfortable question for some, but it does make them think.

We've all seen it.  A young player has open space in front of them, takes off and is chasing the ball in a different direction with every touch.  Or touches too far into the keepers waiting arms or wide and over the goal line.  Or too close and they overrun the ball.

As a fan, it's very exciting to see a player make a penetrating run and awesome when that player has the pace and control to brush off anybody looking to spoil the moment.

For young players we have a few problems.  The first being their ability to execute.  The second is there are many teams where all the child hears when they get the ball is "PASS!!!!!!!!!!"

Get your kids in on the action.   1v0 is just as valid a session or drill topic at 1v1, 2v2, 3v2 etc.

Keep it simple.  Give your player a ball, tell them to run with it and see if they can do it.  If they don't try/do it at training at full pace, they'll struggle to do it properly in a game.