Some of the Details come from the excellent booklet 'Fitness for Referees', produced by the Football Association of England, appear here on this web site for your benefit. Other INFO come from various other sources which are identified. The details will be of great interest to all levels of Referees, and includes excellent advice, along with measurements you can take to quantify exactly how fit you really are, and what levels of fitness you need to attain for promotion to the higher echelons of the Refereeing world. Cheers & Good Health!!!

TRAINING GUIDELINES

1. Don't work too hard too soon. Improvements in fitness take time to come.
      ~~~ If you rush your progression you will injure yourself. ~~~
2. The primary objective is that you stay injury free so don't over train.
3. Try to vary your training so that you alternate hard and easy days
4. It is imperative that you work on your abdominal and lower back conditioning, as well as general flexibility work on
       a regular basis.
5. All sessions should start and finish with a 10 min. warm up/down followed by... s t r e t c h i n g.
6. Do not train if you are... ill.
7. If your injured try and substitute training for activities such as cycling/swimming to help you to maintain fitness.
8. Invest in some decent clothing and footwear.

Source of information: 'A Guide to Fitness for Referees' April 2001, produced by the Football Association England. Acknowledgement to the National Coordinator for Fitness Training, Vernon Crew; along with expert advice from John Brewer, Director of the Lilleshall Sports Injury and Human Performance Center; Alan Hodson, Director of the Football Association Medical Education Center; and Rob Hartley, Head of the Sports Science Department, University of Brighton. Los Angeles Times Newspaper.

THE OFFICIAL

“WHY I CAN NOT BE A... REFEREE”

To save you the trouble of being redundantly creative, we have condensed here most of the common excuses for non-participation in the most critical function in the AYSO, USSF, any other Referee associated program. When they come around and ask you to sign up... 'to be a Referee? For your convenience, put an X alongside the excuse or excuses which best apply to you, sign your name and hand it in with your child’s application; OR, fill out an application to be a Referee and learn how much fun soccer can be, not just for your... child, but for... YOU as well!  

I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING (ENOUGH) ABOUT THE GAME!

Most of us knew little, or less than you, about soccer when we became referees. Not to worry … for the investment of one or two evenings or weekend, we will train you and you will know more about the Laws of the Game than (almost) anyone.

I DON”T HAVE TIME!

Being a Referee is the perfect slot for those parents & friends who have crowded schedules. Your commitment consists of a couple hours of class and, when the season begins, games are scheduled around your child’s games (when you would be down at the fields anyway).

I’M NOT THE RIGHT KIND OF PERSON!

Yes you are. You obviously care about your child. This is a youth program run by volunteers. Would you want your child involved with someone who is not as good as you? Who would be better than a concerned parent like you?

I’M IN TOO HIGH A TAX BRACKET TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE EXTRA INCOME!!!

Not to worry. When we last heard satisfaction and enjoyment were not yet taxable. Since that will be your only compensation (AYSO is a volunteer organization) we suggest you collect as much as you can. Besides, you will not have to declare as income what you did not pay for all the exercise, which you did not have to go to an expensive gym to get. You can also advance to a Professional Paid Referee... USSF, maybe even FIFA, you just won't know until you try it out... Just do it. The only thing you  got going is that great physical core you got going now... LOL

I’D LOOK SILLY IN THAT UNIFORM!

Good heavens . . .you obviously haven’t seen the Referee Administrator!

I’D BE EMBARRASSED!

Everyone makes mistakes (even those of us who have been Refereeing for years). The important thing is to approach the job with enthusiasm and enjoyment, because that will be passed on to the players and coaches (and we can team you up with an experienced referee & mentor to help you through the initial games you do).

I’M A WOMAN – I NEVER SEE THEM REFEREE!

Wrong! We have quite a few woman qualified as Referees – AND THEY ARE GREAT! We could use more! What other time in your life will you ever – with just one breath (or TWEET) – be able to make 22 kids stop what they are doing, actually listen to you, and then do what they are told?!?

I DON’T CARE!!!

Well here it is – if in fact you are signed up your child to play AYSO or some other association soccer and you honestly don’t care about the quality, safety, or enjoyment involved in this program . . . Then you have come up with the correct excuse and we no longer have to ask why, because YOU CAN’T BE A REFEREE, and that is that.

HOWEVER, if this last excuse does not apply to you (and we hope it doesn’t), then we need you badly. IN RETURN, we promise you – ENJOYMENT – EXERCISE – COMMITMENT – A FREE UNIFORM – AND you’ll never be able to watch any major sport quite the same way again. AND ON TOP OF ALL THAT . . . the kids will be darn glad that you were there.

ONE FINAL NOTE . . .

If you still don’t think you are the right kind of person for this job . . .

You took the time to read this whole page . . . Right?

That means you care . . . That means you are exactly the right kind of person!