i know it is a little early, but i am thinking about taking up soccer. how hard is it to officiate? I officiate bb,sb, and vb right now, but i am going to slow down on the sb games and i wanted to take up another sport.



Doug


-Keep your eye on the prize

I have been officiating H.S./college basketball for 31 years,and H.S. baseball, softball, and soccer for nine years. If one can officiate basketball, then one can officiate soccer.

Suggest you be familiar with the game first. NO other sport is like soccer. Officials have to use much more judgement. Advantag is part of no other sport.

Do you only officiate soccer or do you officiate other sports? I officiate four sports (including soccer) that I posted above. Soccer does have the advantage clause codified in its rules, but basketbal has its advantage/disadvantage philosophy. Aside from the advantage clause in soccer there is nothing in soccer that requires more judgement than other sports. Even though I do not officiate football, field hockey, ice hockey or lacrosse, I know officials that officiate football or ice hockey and the judgement process is much the same as in basketball and soccer.

I gave up the other sports years ago to concentrate on soccer. I have never seen a basket ball referee signal play on and then return a ball for a free....pass??. The game is nothing like football, basketball and baseball(as you know)you have no stoppages and the flow of the game doesnt exist in the other sports. The fact that there are so many differnt styles in world play makes it more difficult. The size of the playing field with relationship to # of reffs. etc etc.Need I go on?

You have not convinced me that soccer is more difficult to officiate that basketball. Basketball does have flow like soccer and soccer has stoppages just like in basketball. I find basketball easy to officiate because I have been officiating the sport for 31 years, but high school soccer is no more difficult to officiate than basketball. If fact I could probably make a case that basketball is more difficult because while there are only ten players in basketball compared to the 22 in soccer, the basketball court (which is far smaller than a soccer pitch) means that a basketball official must make hundreds of yes/no decisions in a game of basketball, which if studies were ever done would be far more than the number of decisions that a soccer official makes in a game.

But in the final analysis, I found the soccer is really no more difficult that basketball to officiate, other than it took me almost two years to apply the advantage clause in soccer without having to "think" about the play.

thanks guys,

I changed my handle due to unforseen technical difficulties, and now I am Hartwig 2. I am a bb,sb, and vb official and am looking for a new challenge. I don't know much about the sport of soccer, but was considering learning. I agree w/ mark, i am not convinced that soccer is more difficult than bb, that is what I would like to know, thanks, and how do players "gain an advantage" in soccer?

"A Referee shall allow play to continue when the team against which an offence has been committed will benefit from such an advantage."

Example :If your tripped while moving the ball up the field and you remain/regain your balance with control of the ball and the referee sees that it is in your best interest to let play continue.. because he/she thinks you will benefit from the situation (i.e better attacking opportunity) he/she will yell "advantage" and let play continue...
But....if within a few seconds an advantage does not materialize the referee will stop play and award the free kick.
There are many theories on applying this rule so I think this is one of the last things in soccer a new referee needs to worry about.

I am not really trying to say that soccer is necessarily "harder" to referee then basketball. I am trying to say that it is completely different. The philosophy is different. One of the most frustrating things for a soccer literate audience (be it players fans or coaches) is when an official tries to run the game like a pointyball match. Night and day. Just because you are good at basketball doesnt mean you can walk to a soccer field and expect the same results.

referee soccer
 

Re: referee soccer
 

Soccer is by far the easiest to officiate based on rules & mechanics. It is most difficult because the culture & philosopy of officiating has been transposed from other countries. Americans trying to latch on are challenged. Regretably, soccer-specific referees are defensive when officials from another sport jopin up. Don't ever tell them you officiate another sport or you'll be ostracised. Good luck, Pat O'Reilly

Please elaborate on your unteresting comparison.... basketball vs soccer. What does "run the game like a pointyball match" mean? Basketball officials excel at communication. Does the cultural hang-up of MAIN MAN IN THE MIDDLE cause the generally poor communications among soccer officials? Working for good position is another quality of basketball Os. Soccer Os could learn from watching them. Thanks for getting started on an ionteresting discourse. Pat O'Reilly

Pat, you said:

"Soccer is by far the easiest to officiate based on rules & mechanics. It is most difficult because the culture & philosopy of officiating has been transposed from other countries. Americans trying to latch on are challenged. Regretably, soccer-specific referees are defensive when officials from another sport jopin up. Don't ever tell them you officiate another sport or you'll be ostracised."

Right on brother, you it the nail right on the head.

Great input gentlemen. I agree that soccer is "easier" than BB, in general, to officiate and learn the rules/laws. In my state (MA) the high school BB course is about 12 sessions compared to 2 or 3 for soccer. It is different with the "advantage" type of calls, continuious flow of the game... Also, it's different from most of our American sports with the line being "in play", and the ball iin the air can be out of play... And wait until you discuss off-sides! It's a "very simple" law our instructor told us. BUt there are many situations that players & coaches don't even know (i.e. "over & back")

I would add that signals are basic and simple, but when the call made it is not always clear by the signal used. This causes confusion with players, coaches and FANS! In BB, we have several siginals to indicate the infraction, which can quickly convey the foul. NFHS & USSF have diffences that can be confusing at times for those of us doing high school and other youth games.

How tough is "positioning" on a basketball court 1/4 the size of a soccer field? You have little area to cover and two reffs to do it.
Anyone that says that officiating soccer is easy HAS NEVER PLAYED IN THE USA. The reason I was so inspired to become a referee was by watching the continuous stream of incompetant referees stream through my view as I played. Soccer is the least black and white of all big team sports. Soccer reffs have much more discretion to call or not call based upon style, advantage etc. This alone means that soccer reffs are more then mere automatrons in vertical striped shirts.