Referee Resources

Upcoming referee clinics

10:45 Jan 9, 2012

LAYSL is sponsoring a Grade 9 clinic in Los Alamos. The course will be held Jan 21, 2012 at the Chamber of Commerce conference room. The clinic starts at 8:00am promptly and runs until about 5:30pm. In order to get paid for officiating games in Los ALamos, all referees must possess at least a Grade 9 license. The minimum age to attend the clinic is 12 years old. If the student is under the age of 16, they must be accompanied by a responsible adult and both need to pay the registration fee of $70.

LAYSL will reimburse the fee for anyone taking the course, after they officiate 3 games in Los Alamos. We will also purchase a referee jersey in the size and color of your choosing. Please contact referee@laysl.org in you are interested in attending.

If you cannot make these dates, There are other referee clinics being offered by the state. These clinics will require you to pay for yourself, but we will still purchase a referee jersey after you officiate 3 games in Los Alamos.

There is also are recertification class (not reimbursed by LAYSL). The recertification clinic is Sat., January 28, from 11:00-4:00, at the Mesa Public Library, 2nd floor. Additional information will follow.

Updated Rules

When refereeing matches, please follow the age-group-specific (local) LAYSL adaptations to the US Youth Soccer League rules.

Referee Scheduling

For info on referee assignments, please contact the referee coordinator. In the near future, we hope to develop an interface that will allow the registered referees to pick their games on a first come first serve basis. It will require that we collect the names of all the referees and assign a username/password. Check back soon for more information.

» How refs can master most important rule

By Randy Vogt

Law 12 on Fouls and Misconduct is the most important rule in soccer. Referees who have played soccer have an initial advantage in spotting fouls over those refs who never played the game. After all, the official who played knows what a foul feels like and might even know what a cautionable or sending-off foul feels like as well.

But the referee who never played the game certainly can learn how to recognize fouls as well.

In order to increase fouls and misconduct recognition, officials should watch soccer games, whether on television, video or live, and "referee" the game along with the officials. I cannot overemphasize how much watching games actually helps officials.

Let me also stress that it is extremely important that the referee call the first foul so that it does not lead to a second. For example, red No. 5 pushes blue No. 9 but nothing is called. You can expect red No. 5 to be fouled later, most likely by blue No. 9. Call the first foul and you will most likely not have a retaliation foul.

Goals
Play becomes more physical and fouls often occur after goals. The team that scored is energized and perhaps the team that gave up the goal is frustrated. Especially be on your toes after a goal.

Player Fatigue
It takes stamina to play (and referee!) a sport like soccer, which is a wonderful cardiovascular exercise. You will soon recognize signs of players growing tired -- players huffing and puffing on the field or asking you how many minutes are left in the half when there is a great deal of time left.

As players fatigue, the game tends to become easier to officiate as there can often be fewer challenges on the ball and the fouls that are committed tend to be obvious. All because of tired players.

Consistency and What to Watch Out For
To establish game control during the first 15 minutes of a game, the referee should whistle relatively minor offenses so that the slight push does not become a bigger push a few minutes later.

Officials acting decisively and correctly for an important call, such as a penalty kick, disallowed goal or caution, have done a terrific job and made the game much easier to officiate than if this important call was missed. Referees often talk about the moment of truth in the match when the control of the game was hanging in the balance. The truth regarding this "moment of truth" is that some games have them and some do not.

Particularly in tough games, be a rhino -- take charge, be unafraid and have a thick skin.

Red-card offenses are send-offs, whether they occur in the third minute or the 90th minute. The 10 penal fouls, when committed by the defense inside the penalty area, are penalty kicks whether they occur at the beginning of the game or the end.

Referees who lack courage and give cautions for what should be send-offs and move the ball outside the penalty area for fouls that occur just inside it will have a tough time for the rest of the match. Do not be surprised if the players, realizing that no penalty kicks are going to be called that day, turn the penalty area into a war zone.

Think of attending a speech. The decisive speaker who speaks looking directly at the audience in enthusiastic tones can command the room. The speaker who looks down and stumbles over words or speaks in a monotone or a whisper will make the audience bored very quickly. Which type of speaker would you like to be?

And which type of referee would you like to be?

(Randy Vogt has officiated over 7,000 games during the past three decades, from professional matches in front of thousands to 6-year-olds being cheered on by very enthusiastic parents. In \"Preventive Officiating,\" he shares his wisdom gleaned from thousands of games and hundreds of clinics to help referees not only survive but thrive on the soccer field. You can visit the book's website at http://www.preventiveofficiating.com/)