Referee Responsibilities

1) Be familiar with the Rules of the Game, including the yearly changes, learned at the Recertification Courses.
2) Your chief role is to manage a game in a way that provides a safe and fun experience for the players involved. This means that you are not only managing the players, but also the coaches and spectators. Your success depends upon communication. Successful communication is made through appearance, words and actions

Appearance

Your appearance communicates with everyone that you are a knowledgable and serious referee. If you dress casually, people will interpret that your attitude towards the game is casual. Players, coaches and spectators will question your observations and decisions and this will make your job of managing the game more difficult. Therefore you must look like a referee, wearing only the official referee uniform including your current certifaction badge.Be on time - a late referee does not command the respect deserved.

Words

Successful verbal communication has several components.Any communication needs to use correct terminology to minimize confusion. A common weakness among new referees is the failure to make themselves heard either verbally or with the whistle. If players, coaches and spectators cannot hear your words and / or whistle they will not understand your decision and become confused. You will have not communicated well with them. When this happens it makes your role in managing a game much more difficult. To avoid this problem, speak clearly and blow your whistle assertively. If you do these things with confidence, people will believe in your decision.

Anyone you communicate with needs to be treated with repect, but your only verbal communication is with players, coaching staff and other referees assigned to your game. Referees should not talk to spectators. If you have a problem with a spectator which may include: harassment, questioning of calls, encroachment on the field of play or bothering players or other spectators, you can control them through the coach. If the problem is severe enough, you can stop the game, speaking to both coaches, if you do not know which team the spectator belongs to. Tell the coach / coaches about the undesirable behavior and that you need their help in speaking to the spectator. You have the authority to go so far as to suspend the game until the behavior is corrected or until the person involved has left the field.

When dealing with players, remember their age and level of experience and understanding of the game. Younger players, especially in the House League, often have a minimal understanding of the rules, including referee hand signals and are also hampered by a lack of technical ability. That means that fouls are often unintentional, so it is important to make the player understand what they did wrong. This makes them better players and ultimately makes your job easier. You should keep in mind how you feel as a player when dealing with a referee and how you like to be treated.

Coaches often have a limited understanding of the game and its rules. Many coaches, especially in the House League, have never been players, making it more difficult for them to see the game the same way as you. Focus on communicating with them clearly and confidently, but always with respect. Although you are not required to explain your decisions, it is often helpful to do so when it does not interfere with your management of the game. Travel coaches tend to be more knowledgable and are more likely to have been players and are often very competitive. Be careful not to be confrontational when communicating with them and bear in mind that at travel games you also have players, coaches and spectators from outside Stamford and you are representing Stamford.