Simple Tips that will Significantly Impact Games

As I approach my one-hundredth post, I have learned the following:

• Gore sells. Besides the home page, my most popular post was the one about Aaron Ramsey’s broken leg.
• Initially, I thought I only had ideas for 25 or 30 posts. I now know I have what seems like an endless supply of material to write about.
• My content must be OK as Soccer America has reprinted five articles to date and Potomac Soccer Wire reprints one of my posts weekly.
• I have learned that most soccer blogs cover professional games, leagues, and players. Very few blogs are dedicated to improving youth soccer for an audience of youth coaches, players, and parents.

The other day I was looking at the page hits and noticed that a set of very valuable articles I wrote early on has not gotten the love or attention I feel they deserve. I have written 20 articles that start with the title, “2-3 Goal Difference per Game”. These were written primarily for coaches who tend to over-coach, place too much importance on the X’s and O’s, and don’t let their players go out and have fun and make mistakes.

Soccer, especially at the youth level, should be about free play and only a few coaches’ instructions during games. These articles include simple coaching tips that should be easy for players to understand and learn quickly. These tips will dramatically affect the outcome of a game. While player development, and not winning, should be a youth coach’s ultimate goal, increasing a team’s chances of winning without compromising development and fun is not a bad thing either.

You will find the subject matter and respective links to the 20 articles below. Enjoy!

• Indirect Free Kicks
• Goal Kicks
• Corner Kicks
• Throw-Ins
• Quick Kicks
• Dribble On Goal
• Penalty Kicks
• Role of the Goalie
• No Offside Traps
• Bombs Away
• Good Sportsmanship
• Play the Whistle
• Shots On Goal
• Communication
• Simple Goalkeeper Tricks
• Never Let the Ball Hit the Ground
• Follow up the Shot
• Smart Pass-Backs to the Goalie
• Neutralize the Best Player
• Home-Field Advantage

Referees Are Teachers Too

I recently published a post with the title, “All Adults Are Teachers.” That post was geared more to coaches and parents who needed a reminder of the awesome responsibility adults have in teaching our kids and that some of our actions, though unintended, may be sending the wrong message to our kids.

Carrying on with the notion that it “Takes a Village to Raise a Kid,” it is important to remember the role of the referee. Sure the main responsibility of the referee is to officiate the game. But when officiating games that involve …

• Young players
• Players who don’t have a lot of soccer experience
• Players who are being coached by someone with little soccer knowledge

… referees should also assume the role of on-field teacher.

There are many teaching moments and opportunities for referees to set a good tone for a game.

• It is important for all players, as well as coaches and parents, to understand the rules and violations of the game and why a certain call is made. When I blow my whistle, I like everyone in the immediate vicinity to know why I did it.
• The offside law is particularly difficult to understand. When I make this call, I always try to let the nearby players know why I made the call and which player was in the offside position. Sometimes I will tell a player I’m close to when he/she is in an offside position.
• Be quick and decisive on all calls. Don’t leave the teams and fans wondering who the foul was on. Point as quickly as possible in the direction that the ball should played.
• Be animated. If there is a bad throw-in, make sure to mime the infraction by raising your back foot off the ground.
• Don’t enforce all infractions, especially with young players and when no advantage has been gained. Let the first infraction slide but remind the players that the ball must be played forward on a kick off and that both feet need to remain on the ground on a throw-in.
• If a player does not know what to do with ball once the whistle is blown, make sure to be close enough to the action to be of assistance. I don’t like it when a referee can help speed up the game by helping but chooses not to.
• Care about what you are doing. Run and always be in position. You’ll make the right calls more often and you will show the players that you are working hard just like them.
• Have fun! Fun is contagious.
• Talk to the players. Don’t talk only about fouls or infractions. Tell them, “Nice pass” or “Good defense” or “I like your sportsmanship.” Validate the positives.
• Teach and educate but never be condescending. Don’t be a know-it-all.

Though they may not agree with all of your calls, players, coaches, and fans will appreciate the effort to help everyone understand the game better. In doing so, you will gain the players’ and adults’ respect and refereeing will be that much more joyous and rewarding.

2-3 Goal Difference Per Game: Play the Whistle

I know many of you have heard the expression “Play the Whistle”. It means that players should continue to play until the referee blows her whistle. This is great advice that all players should follow. However, many times at the youth level you will see players stop for various reasons:

• They believe a foul or infraction was committed. For instance, the ball hits a hand or arm, someone fell down from contact, a player was in an offside position, etc.
• They believe the ball left the field of play.
• They saw the assistant referee’s (AR’s) flag go up.
• They heard a whistle from another game.
• They heard parents and coaches yelling for a foul or infraction.

There is not much that can be done about another game going on at the same time. Some referees have different-sounding whistles for just this situation. If not, players usually adapt to a multi-whistle environment quickly so any confusion will usually happen just once. With regard to the other examples:

• A hand-ball is called when a player INTENTIONALLY handles the ball with the hand or arm. At the youth level, ‘intentional’ has a very broad interpretation. Play until the whistle is blown.
• Referees are instructed not to blow the whistle every single time the ball goes out-of-play. The only time they will is when it is not obvious that the ball has gone out. A ball is technically out-of-play when the ‘whole of the ball’ has completely crossed a boundary line. As a rule, anytime the ball is close to a boundary line, let the referee and her whistle decide when the ball is out-of-play. The players should continue to play.
• An AR (linesman/linesperson) is there to ASSIST the referee. Their flag can’t officially stop the game. Otherwise, they would have a whistle. By raising her flag, the AR is only suggesting that an offside occurred or that a foul or infraction took place. The referee is the final decision-maker. Wait for her whistle.

My U10 boys team won a tournament one year when in the finals, in OT, one of my players, aware that the whistle had not blown, scored the golden-goal game winner while everyone else was standing around. The rest of the players thought the ball had gone over the goal line. However, the referee did not think so and never blew his whistle. Could the ball have been out-of-play? Probably, given the way my players and the other team reacted. The lesson is that only one person’s opinion matters–the referee’s. The other team learned a very valuable and costly lesson that day. I’d be surprised if those players ever made that mistake again.

2-3 Goal Difference Per Game: Quick Kicks

The quick-kick is seldom used. Yet executed at the right time, you are almost guaranteed a goal. However, use them sparingly and only in offensive third when you know you can catch the defensive team napping.

The free kick law states that the only time a free kick needs to start on a whistle is for ceremonial kicks which is when an offensive player asks the referee for the defensive team to be moved back 10 yards from the kick. The ball must also be stationary when the kick is taken. If there any movement on the ball, the referee will ask for a re-take and any advantage now and in the future will be lost. Follow this tips when accessing the possibility of taking a quick kick.

• As soon as you know the foul has been called for you, access the situation. If an advantage can be gained by playing the ball quickly, do so. Make sure a player is not hurt and the ball is not moving.
• If the player who is fouled falls on the ball with her hands, the referee be forced to call a foul. If the foul is for the attacking team, a player will already have the ball in their possession and a quick start can occur quicker. However, make sure to bring the ball back to the spot of the infraction before the kick so the referee will not have you re-take the kick because of an unfair advantage having been gained (a free kick needs to be kick very close to where the infraction occurred). However, if a player falls on the ball with her hands and the foul goes against that player, the referee may be onto her and at a minimum, present a yellow card to that player.
• Don’t telegraph the quick kick. Be very calm, quiet, and appear to be indifferent.

Defensive Strategy

It is always better to be safe than sorry. Always assume the other team may take a quick kick. Therefore,

• As soon as the foul is committed, have the nearest defending player stand in front of the ball–not over the ball but close to it. Don’t make it too obvious. A referee could issue a yellow card immediately for delay of game or if in the opinion of the referee, the player does not retreat immediately when asked. Normally a 1-2 to second delay is all it takes to discouraged a team from trying the quick kick.
• If the foul occurs in the offensive third, make sure the goalie and defenders alert everyone to the possibility of a quick kick. By alerting everyone, the opposing team is less likely to try it.
• Don’t get caught napping
• Never have your goalie set up the wall until she knows that the referee has signaled for a ceremonial re-start (this is indicated by the referee pointing to his whistle). To avoid that problem entirely, keep the goalie in the center of the goal and have the center forward set-up the wall. The goalie has enough to worry about and the center forward can do the job just as easily. Plus the players in the wall are facing the forward and won’t have to turn their head to look at the goalie.