#referee goals

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Training to Improve Mental Focus

In addition to chatting with my evaluator, coach, referee support group, the NH HC, and even my former coach last week. I also had the pleasure to speak with referee extraordinaire Gary Devoe. He had seen a post I left on the USA referees Facebook group and suggested we chat:

In addition to chatting about pre-match, as well as 10 other things, he had a simple yet amazing suggestion for practicing mental focus. I should break my training sessions up into parts of a match e.g. first 5 mins, 1st open field kick, last 20, etc. Have a checklist or aspect of the match that I need to visualize during each and think through each as I run my sprints. Not sure why I never thought of it but it’s simple, relevant, and brilliant. Thanks Gary!

Also worth noting the USA Rugby referee tracks are well worth downloading! I’ve listened to them a few times and the scrum one includes pre-match details…unfortunately they’re what I typically discuss with players which is apparently over kill at higher levels of play. 

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Week 4 Goals 2014

As my referee coach says, KISS! Mental focus is going to be the name of the game this week as I look to put together a full 80 of quick/clean rucks, addressing negative trends, and limiting my preventative talk to effective (non repetitive) directions…mouth full/not KISS. Second straight week with a “D1” match but this time I have a U19 match under the Friday night lights…at least that one is only 70 ;). It does mean I have the opportunity to practice two different pre-match chats as it was hinted that last week’s chat was too detailed/long for Mystic’s pack. I have a new checklist of key points with the goal of keeping it short and sweet.

Milton HS vs Lincoln-Sudbury to kick off their season and my weekend. I’m going to keep a mental tally of penalties for the entire match. Not sure how to verify as we’re expecting rain which means I won’t be audio recording and not sure a coach or TJ will be willing to track for me. Still worth trying and can always start over as I look to achieve my goal of mental engagement. Will likely use my Brown pre-match, keeping in mind this will likely be the first match for some of these players, definitely first time with the new scrum sequence. Don’t want to overload their young minds with info…I do that enough during the week :)

Boston Irish Wolfhounds vs Portland, ME on Saturday. I love their facility in Canton as they’re one of the few clubs with locker rooms and pitch side pub. BIW have a 1st week bye to start their spring season while Portland is preparing for their upcoming D2 playoff match. I’m expecting the match to be fast despite being played on wet grass…great perpetration for Gloucester next week :). I really want to pull everything together this weekend and hope it’s treated like a real match by the players/coaches. I have my key points for this talk and will ask for a recording if the weather isn’t too bad:

Safety/front row getting my attention if something has gone awry

Scrum sequence (crouch, bind, set) and looking for compliance with each stage before moving on to the next

Stability is key! Ball won’t come in until the scrum is stable

Scrum half waiting for my signal and staying out of the defensive pocket

QT penalties must be taken correctly and from (or behind) the mark

FH is responsible for their players being onside

The new ball out standard will be communicated to the coach and captain upon arrival at the pitch. During the chat I like waiting until the question comes up just to see how talkative the scrum half is going to be.

I’ll also ask the coaches about trained front row players so I know how many replacements each side will be allowed.

That should be sufficient for this level and will provide some flexibility for keeping the chat under 1 minute. Will try to get someone to film me again if the weather cooperates.

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Week 3 Goals 2014

After a few weeks of posting goals after the weekend I’ve decided to post the morning of each match. Who honestly reads my blog and what advantage can be gained when I tell both coaches what I’m focusing on prior to kickoff anyway? On that note here’s this week’s goals:

Mystic vs New Haven this weekend should be a big step up for me! It’s my first “D1” level mens match even if NH is technically a D2 side. I had NH in the fall against South Shore which was a great match and may be analogous depending on Mystic’s lineup. NH had a center/wing who was a big hitter who I eventually showed a YC for a dump tackle but may have had grounds to card earlier in the match for a mistimed/early tackle. I anticipate needing to be on top of him but won’t use that previous experience to judge too harshly. I don’t know much about Mystic but have been warned they are a bit whiny…honestly what Boston based team isn’t…? I’ll be sure to stick to my pregame warning of “captains being responsible for discipline before I have to get involved,” and will look to remind both or either the first chance I get. The weather looks like it might cooperate despite the forecast for rain/snow. At least it’s on turf pitch.

Focus this week is on anticipation and trends. I tolerated too much last weekend (not 10 and breakdown infringements) and the pace of the match this week could cause problems if I’m not properly managing these areas. I also perceived a negative trend by Brown and ultimately warned them but Providence was the side actually committing more penalties (tackle and breakdown) in the 1st half. I was also caught out of position by Providence far too much and I originally attributed it to their lack of a system. After review it’s clear I could have adapted and need to be more alert at every ruck.

I’m not going to set anymore weekly penalty goals in favor of a season average. 20 should always be the number I have in the back of my mind but obviously every match is different. Finding every opportunity to play advantage, see what develops, or ultimately delay blowing the whistle is also top of mind but I don’t have a specific goal.

That should be more than enough for this week as I’m ultimately looking to enjoy the match and hope the players have fun. Will also get an evaluation from my favorite PR which should be very helpful. Saturday is a rugby day!

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Week 2 Goals 2014

This week brought my first collegiate vs men crossover match and my expectation was that Brown may not be ready for the nuances of the men’s game including physicality, style of play, and scrum cheekiness. I’ve worked with Brown’s bside and was in the center last spring for Providence in the RI Cup. It’s Providence’s first match of the spring and fitness may become an issue as the match progresses. Keeping the match flowing will require zero tolerance of slow ball tactics such as tackler not releasing or rolling which happened near the end of the RI Cup. Brown’s most recent referee was kind enough to share her notes and my takeaway is that scrums may be a challenge. They had trouble getting clean ball against UMass including several that squirted out past the 8man. Add the size and strength of a men’s pack and their scrum issues may be magnified. I’ll be sure to evaluate the first 2-3 then let that data impact my advantage judgments for the remainder of the match i.e. scrum advantage within defensive 22 may be better gained quickly than bringing play back for a high pressure scrum.

My broad goals for week 1 were appropriate but this week can be more specific with only 1 match. The areas I want to focus on are penalties and the scrum by setting a goal for penalties and working to limit how often I blow the whistle through management and advantage. I want to see stability with the scrums so they become attacking platforms while hopefully not constantly resetting. Detailed goals:

1) limit penalties to 20. These are two experienced teams who shouldn’t have any issues complying with my standard as soon as the rust is off. I updated this goal to 25 after reviewing my research on penalty counts…no need to set myself up to fail.

2) clearly announce color, number, and penalty with every advantage call. This includes following up with the player at the next dead ball if advantage is gained. Hopefully I can come up with a metric over the course of this season with my audio recordings.

3) limit scrum resets to 3 by effectively escalating sanctions to FK -> PK -> cards for early driving, binding, or diving issues. Really want to make the scrums an effective part of the match and can’t tolerate nonsense.

These are all measurable goals which will help create a better flowing match. The third may be unrealistic but it will be good to shoot for and will hopefully give me a baseline for future weeks.

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Week 1 Goals 2014

I’ve been contemplating the appropriate time to post my match goals to this blog. Prior to the weekend doesn’t seem right as teams could potentially see my goals and know what to prepare for, not that it would provide much of an advantage. Perhaps only one side would see it but again they’ll only know a few things I’m working on to improve. Posting after the matches seems appropriate but wait too long and they become irrelevant. Here is the weekly email I send to my coach so he’s aware of the coming week’s matches. It’s a great opportunity to share what I’m thinking about and what development goals I’m working on each week. Hopefully he’ll provide feedback prior to the match with the main responsibility of keeping me from over thinking things which tends to be the case. It also serves as a springboard for my match wrapup as we’ll already have a chain going for sharing my diary and thoughts. Here’s week 1:

Saturday match at 4:30 between MIT women and Wentworth. I refereed this preseason match last year and managed to have only 1 first half scrum due to effective advantage play. This season will be on turf and it will be my first time seeing either team in a year.

Sunday match at 3 between HBS and Saratoga. I saw HBS twice last fall and have never seen Saratoga. It’s a step up for HBS but they are younger and have decent speed. The match is being played on Harvard’s football turf under a temporary bubble. Still haven’t decided how I’ll deal with kicks that hit the ceiling but I’m thinking immediate whistle and scrum to the kicking team around where it hit (I ultimately decided non-kicking team should get the put in, not sure if there’s a regulation on this topic).

Early season I like to have more general goals especially with multiple matches.

1) exaggerated whistle, primary, and secondary signals. These basic skills become rusty over the off season and I want to focus on making sure my signaling is quick and clear.

2) focusing on my checklist at the breakdown. I’m going to be very focused on identifying ball carrier, tackler, and any assists before the tackle occurs. Next step is assessing the type of tackle and my expected outcome. Then go through tackler/assist release, tackler roll, ball carrier play the ball, and arriving players. This will help clear up confusion/improve the accuracy of my signaling.

3) improve running lines with kicks in open play. I’ve noticed a tendency in film that I stay in the middle of the pitch on kicks even after the counter attack has started drifting to a sideline. I need to make my break as soon as the attack has decided so I’ll be in a better position for the next breakdown and don’t always have to rely on a more than likely inexperienced TJ.

I think these are good early season goals/areas for focus. They aren’t the most measurable goals but I think they’re good places to start.

Perhaps in future weeks I’ll focus on my coach’s response or going into specific goals with more detail but this will suffice for now.

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1 Week Countdown

One week left until I’m back on the pitch. That means it’s time to transition to an in-season training schedule to avoid overuse and to get adequate rest for match days. Will be running Mon, Tue, Thur and lifting Mon, Wed, Fri with a pool day or alternative workout on Sundays. Once U19 season arrives those Tuesday and Thursday run sessions will become match days but until then better to fill them with short interval training.

Focus for the early part of the season will be BIG primary/secondary signals, whistle differentiation, running lines and checklist at the tackle. The first two are things that get rusty during the offseason while the latter two are things I’ve been picking up from watching film. I’ve had a tendency to make incorrect calls at tackle/breakdown situations, especially hands in by the tackler/assist before a ruck is actually formed. A more appropriate call in these situations would be calling the defender for not releasing as I’ve jumped the gun to a ruck penalty. Going through a checklist of tackler/assist release, tackler roll, ball carrier release, arriving players on feet/gate compliant, and ruck formed will help keep things straight. Running lines have been a minor issue during kicks in open play as I’ve tended to stick to the middle of the pitch even as the flow of play has shifted to the sideline. This tendency can cause issues when relying on an inexperienced TJ/AR and it also takes a little longer to get to the next breakdown. Breaking from the middle as soon as play has shifted to a sideline will put me in a better position for making the next call. Plenty else to work on, especially management, but those are enough for now.

Can’t wait, almost back to rugby!