Questions

[mississippiump]

Hello all,

I'm new to this forum and wanted to introduce myself and ask a few questions. I am currently a HS/Legion Baseball Umpire and I'm looking to add another sport to officiate. I'm not a big fan of football, so I really have no interest in doing that, although that is a popular choice in the south. I got to watch a few of the World Cup matches this past summer and kind of caught the bug to maybe officiate soccer. The problem is, I know practically nothing about soccer and don't have any idea where to start as to become an official. Any information any of you can provide will be very beneficial in pointing me in any kind of direction.

Thank you,

Jerry

[ref47]

there are 2 types of soccer in your state - hs and ussf. starting as a hs soccer official normally provides minimal training as most states that i am familiar with only have a yearly rules class (changes since last year) and a test of knowledge of the written rules. the better way to start is through ussf training. your state branch of ussf will have training sessions throughout the year. classes for beginning grade 8 will normally last about 16hours. you will also need to pass a test. this training will help you learn the laws of soccer (hs=rules) and give you opportunity to ask questions on what you need further information about. being a trained sports official will benefit you in applying knowledge and practical experience to managing a match.

the mississippi state director of instruction is kevin mcclure; [email protected]. he can probably give you the contact for hs soccer.

see your state website at www.mysams.org. you will find referee contacts and a list of upcoing training clinics, etc.

[refnrev]

Soccer is not be the easiest sport to officate and I would caution you to be very careful about trying to be a referee for a sport that you do not understand. If you are not very familiar with the game, and you say that you are not, I would highy recommend that you spend a lot of time watching a lot of youth games, rec league games, MS, HS games and start to get a feel for it. There are a lot of nuances to soccer that the average fan as no clue about. You might even try to be an assistant coach or heper for a younger rec league team first. It's a great game and I love it.
What other sports are you familar with? You might consider one that you know well first, and add soccer later.

[CecilOne]

Better yet, find a mentor and watch games or tapes with the mentor explaining things. For HS, get 2 or 3 old tests and after you study the rules, use the tests as a review guide.

[Dutch Alex]

Originally Posted by refnrev

Soccer is not be the easiest sport to officate and I would caution you to be very careful about trying to be a referee for a sport that you do not understand.

At last years world championships in Germany there was a ref. from GB who gave one player three yellow cards in one game before he even pulled his red card. That's the highest level to work as a referee, even those guys don't see everything and make big mistakes.
And don't forget referee Ivanov who needed 16 yellow cards and 4 reds in the game between the Netherlands and Portugal. He didn't feel/read the game...
Officiating (in general) is already a difficult job to perform well, don't do it if you don't understand the game. You make yourself look like a fool and worse can take out the love for their game by the (young) athletes...
Here in the Neth.'s it's unthinkable that a base- or softball umpire at national level work as a referee at the same level in soccer. We better do one thing good than two things half...

[mississippiump]

Thanks for all the encouragement, no wonder you guys have such an elitist reputation. I would hope that if any of you would want to officiate other sports that you would get more encouragement than I have received here.

[ref47]

on behalf of my fellow refs, pls accept our appology for sounding like you are unwelcome. more refs are needed in almost all areas of the country. i believe that what was being expressed was a desire for you to immerse yourself in the game of soccer, its rules/laws, and its traditions to become the best ref you can be. being unfamiliar with a sport requires greater study to learn the appropriate determinations for play. i never played soccer. i attended youth matches and hs matches for about 14 years before picking up the whistle. but, i came with a background in applying a set of laws to situations, a desire to learn, and the time to devote to it.

your previous experience as a sports official will help you. you have been observing play, applying a set of rules, making judgement calls, handling adverse situations. these all will help. if you easily remember rules/laws and have the desire to learn about the sport you will succeed.

we wish you well in your endeavor.

[Texas Aggie]

Thanks for all the encouragement, no wonder you guys have such an elitist reputation. I would hope that if any of you would want to officiate other sports that you would get more encouragement than I have received here.

Its hardly elitist. Its more common sense. I don't understand soccer much (and don't work it; I do hoops and football), and I played it for probably 8 or so years as a kid. Hell, I don't even umpire baseball (because if I did the batter would have to have a boat paddle to hit everything I'd call a strike), and I played more of that than anything. I would never recommend someone officiate a sport they haven't played at least some form of. You don't have to have been an all-american or even have played on your high school varsity team. But you better know the game pretty well, because almost everyone else on the field will. I understand the games of basketball and football very well and while officiating them isn't easy by any stretch, I have a very good idea of how to judge contact, for example, in basketball, and pass interference (or holding), for example, in football.

It isn't enough to just learn the rules and go out there. Officiating, in most sports, is about creating a balance of play and penalizing a team for committing a rules infractions that gives them an unfair advantage. To know what an unfair advantage is, you have to know the sport reasonably well. Soccer may or may not fit under that guideline, but to know whether it does, you need to know the game.

[refnrev]

Originally Posted by mississippiump

Thanks for all the encouragement, no wonder you guys have such an elitist reputation. I would hope that if any of you would want to officiate other sports that you would get more encouragement than I have received here.

_______________________________________

Sorry you didn't like the responses, but there was no intent to "put you down." There was a strong desire to let you know that officiaitng a sport in which you have little knowledge just doesn't make sense. I do three sports because I know those three sports. When my son wrestled, I loved to watch the matches and the officials, but would never have considered officiating because I didn't know the ins and outs well enough. I know that we need all the refs we can get. So I hope you take the time needed to be around the game and learn the game well so that if and when you do decide to officiate you will be ready and can take the pitch as a knowledgabe and official and make a great contribution to the kids and the game!