Why are you yelling at the ref?

Every league from little kids to the Pros, has arguments and debates on referees..and this probably applies to just about all sports as well.

1) Arguing calls during a match = bad results, every single time. If you  waste your time arguing with the ref, your players will distracted and believe they are being short changed, with your players only having 90 minutes to score and prevent a score..distract them with your tirades, odds are you will lose because you distracted the team’s focus from the game and now onto the ref. Players playing at game speed only need to be off a little for game momentum to change. Referees never change their minds even if you were right and they know you  were right, it will upend the game. Also berating a referee never brings him to your view, odds are if you coach enough you will draw them again…. You can do a few things to be manipulative; I will direct a team captain to inform a referee at break to watch for a particular foul that is re-occurring or generally shout directions to my players which I know is in earshot of referee, e.g. ” keep your shoulder down, your opponent is tackling you to high and off the ball”, choose your words carefully..bottom line, you get what you get and you only have 90 minutes to win, don’t distract your players, I have never seen a match overturn because a call..it is all about keep your players focused and pray you are up 4-0 when you get those simply unforgivable calls occur.

2) The above does not mean you can never question a referee, before a game to get rules clear especially substitutions, after a game if you want an explanation. If a game is particularly bad; you can send a letter to referee administrator detailing a complaint, needs to be very specific (nice if a parent has video taped the game). This will not change your game, but the administrator may observe the referee in question over time then handle it if it a particular problem comes up; this allows the referee to improve as well.

3) Things that limit any argument that you can make; you don’t fully know the laws or how they apply in a situation that just occurred. Ref, take classes, read up, watch film, take into subjectiveness and perspective. Coaching is different than playing, ref point of view is far different, they are on the ball. Refs generally just want a fair played match played, but it won’t be called exactly perfect so don;t expect it to be; ideally you are looking for consistency

4) What calls should you be concerned about…in my book it is about the game changers; the penalty kick….my feelings are that I want that this call to be crystal clear for everyone if the ref is going to change the course of the match, if I do argue during a game it will be at this moment usually…the other calls involve the display of cards, yellow and red; the consequence of cards carry beyond the game nowadays, unfairly I might add. The cards were designed as tool strictly to control the temperament and unfair play during a match, as quoted by Ken Aston who invented the things, he taught 1 of my classes so I have clue here. Most leagues have moved to giving great weights to these things; I understand why because of the emphasis on fair play and good sportsmanship. You can sometimes have rescinded, rarely and if you make a compelling a argument and if you have not alienated said ref…very rarely…Even more rarely, some leagues will allow a DARB hearing over a red card, even more rarely is getting a red card overturned here as simply this point it has to be a clear misapplication of a law. There are very little you can do about penalty kick calls, but with cards it is a different story; 1 of the coaches primarily responsibilities is to manage players during a match; you should be monitoring the match up, the frustration level, the temperament of your players. During the week of practices; my players know my expectations about their behavior, players have 1 opportunity to play and their job is to score or defend not question refs…if they are worried about the referee, their opportunity to play is over and the can sit at the coaching bench..players play, coaches coach no in between here.

5) Lastly prepare yourself for poorly called matches; I coach between 30 to 100 matches a year…some will be called well, some decently enough, some not so good, and a few will just be bordering on criminal…your only defense is find a strategy that ends in success for you in the long term you have only 90 minutes to score and defend no reviews will ever give you the match back..I prefer to steel my players on the reality and focus on the game, I personally I pray I am up 4-0 on those badly called match.

~ by Jim Schilling on June 24, 2009.