I read in some other blogs and on the internet that it is a good idea to have a slow whistle, especially as the kids get older. It gives you that one to two second advantage to see where play develops. I have always used a wrist lanyard for my whistle because it automatically forces me to give that extra time. Many times I have thought of calling a foul or stopping play and in the time it takes to bring my hand up to my mouth and get the whistle ready for action, the play resolves itself and the advantage is realized.
Case in point, this past weekend, U16 girls game. Orange clears the ball and white was really pushing up. So the clearance clears most of the white defenders. The sweeper tries to head the ball as last defender. She does a sloppy job and instead manages to head it somewhat but also the ball rolls along her trailing arm towards her own goal. Everyone uses the infamous "Handball ref!", even the coach. The ball gets to a streaking attacker who has a one-on-one with the keeper and puts it away. All this happened because of that slow whistle. At the time of the actual contact with the arm (and it WAS handling, not inadvertent contact), the play did not appear to be one of needing a slow whistle. But given that it took a moment to get the process down, whistle into hand, hand up to mouth and then breathe in to blow to stop play, it gave the attacking team enough time to figure it out themselves. And instead of blowing to stop play, I bellowed "Play on!" and I looked like the guy that actually knew this was going to happen. So sometimes having that built in buffer is great because you have the time to let the players figure it out for you. And you look like the smartest guy on the field. Trust me, it does not happen often, but when it does, it is a beautiful thing.
3 comments:
Ability, location on the field, and the foul itself all contribute to applying advantage.
What is your form regarding advantage that did NOT develop? Some 6s and 5s have told me you can yell "play on", give the arms swinging signal, then pull it back if it doesn't develop. Others recommend pointing at the ball then bringing it back and not using "play on" until you've truly decided an advantage has developed.
Giving play a few seconds is very good advice for any referee.
You don't need to offer a long, drawn out explanation if you drag play back to the original offence (if advantage doesn't materialise) but do give a few quick words like, "No advantage developed so I pulled the play back guys."
Communication is the key; if you let players know what is happening then you will get their respect and understanding if you make a bad call. I'm a US Soccer and English FA Referee (also a coach) and I see lots of referees finger waving and pointing without talking very much. Communicate effectively and most of the battle is won, the rest is just about making the best decisions possible with the info available to your eyes and ears.
Smile, communicate and enjoy refereeing the game. It's rewarding (and relatively easy in my opinion) if you do it right!
Sorry for not commenting on this prior:
Brian, I personally like to yell "play on" to say I saw the foul but am not ready to stop play, let's see where this goes. And if it doesn't go where I think it should for the offended team, I bring it back. I rarely have to explain that I am bringing it back because advantage did not materialize.
Paul - spot on. Communication is the one thing that experienced referees seem to get and that others struggle with. Man management trumps foul recognition in my book if you have to have one and not the other.
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