Vince Apple-Chiarella
Professionalism

Arrival time
 Be earlier than you need to be, in case
something happens.
 Consistent late arrivers make a bad impression.

Candor with coaches & players
 Showing you know a coach can alienate the
other.
 Be aware of how it looks.
 ARs should follow CR’s lead when conversing
with players.

Appearance
 Be aware your appearance does tell a story.
Preparation

Research
 Who’s been carded? Why have they been
carded? When were they carded?
 Wins/Losses

Team background
 Cultural differences provide different
challenges.

Leagues
 Know the league (high school) rules.
Know Your Role

Criticizing coaching decisions
 Don’t waste halftime talking about coaching.
 Other things to worry about

Ball kid?
 Are you the referee or the ball kid?
 Can lead to apparent impartiality

Control what is controllable
 Ball pressure – easy to control
 Rosters – get the rosters so you can control the
bench
 Take care of the simple stuff ahead of time.
Being present


“Mindfulness” – be mindful of why you’re there
Put your phone away
 Be with your team. Making phone calls/texts/etc put
a distance between you and your team.

Be involved in pre game discussion
 Doesn’t need to be extremely long
 When you’re having it, be involved.
 Be an active listener.

Focus on your game
 Focus on the game you’re doing
 Try to avoid all those stories we love to tell
Ability to adapt (flexibility)

Different expectations at different levels
 Age
 Level of play
 U12s don’t need refs arriving 60 minutes before

Games change (during)
 Score goes from 0-0 to 5-0: maybe deflates the game
 Score goes from 3-0 to 3-3: maybe game gets hot


Situations change (in game)
Jekyll/Hyde
 You’ll need to be both at times
○ Sometimes you need to be the nice guy
○ Sometimes you need that edge
 Sometimes you shouldn’t be approachable
Mental Fortitude

Getting past mistakes
 Sometimes you can just say “my bad”
○ Don’t do this often
○ Most effective when you miss advantage call

Dealing with dissent
 Be mentally strong and composed enough to distinguish
not-quite-dissent from dissent

Wild games
 You need the mind to “take a step back” and figure out
what’s happening. You may not be able to bring them
back down to earth, but at least you can get them off the
moon.
 Relaxation techniques – centering yourself

Fans
Guts (intestinal fortitude)

You have to have the courage and guts
 Tough calls
 Late PK
 Red cards
○ Cards not given because refs didn’t want to
“create any problems” or “change the game.”
○ Not giving the card changes the game, too.
Respect


Good referees garner it in different ways
I give as much as I get
 Always start game very respectful
 Not their friend: “coach”
 Let the coaches lead; don’t start joking on your own

Players and coaches deserve it
 BUT SO DO WE

Find a way to acknowledge a coach without
empowering them
 Lots of time coaches just want to be acknowledged
○ Though some just want to yell at you
 A signal, look, word
Imagination

I was asked if I had an active imagination
 My imagination stopped when the game started
 Lots of pre-game thinking about different
scenarios
 But what about considering new ways to deal
with situations during the game that achieve
what you need
 Do YOU have imagination during your game?
 Thinking of what you’re going to say
Have a game plan

Can discuss during pre-game, but you
can think about it even before then
 Injuries
 Odd situations
 Technical Area
○ Have a good idea about how you’re going to
deal with issues in the technical area.