Here are a couple links to basic soccer rules. Please read over them. I know there will be
a learning curve for some of us. That's ok.
This first link, soccer for parents, has
more explanation and is a little more fun to read.
This second link is simpler, shorter
and more to the point.
Thank you for
volunteering to help this year with homeschool soccer! This is going
to be fun! Even if you're a little (or a lot) nervous about being a
ref, I'm sure you will have fun too. After a little experience, the
comfort level tends to go up quickly. I know mine sure did!
Here are some basics to remember:
Attitude is the main thing. Use your position to encourage and
enforce good sportsmanship. You are in a good position to instruct and affirm kids, especially but not only, with the
younger teams. You are not only there to make official calls.
Use your whistle (and your voice)
boldly! The whistle makes an announcement to the whole field, so
please blow it loudly and clearly. This helps players, coaches and
parents to understand what is going on. This will help you earn the
respect of the players too, since an unsure whistle gives the
impression of an unsure ref.
Also, you are in charge of timing the
game, unless you delegate that to another, so bring a stopwatch or
other appropriate timepiece.
And,
we will enforce the offsides rule with the 12+ games only. We will
instruct kids 9-11 about offsides, but we will not disallow goals
because of it.Finally, our first game day is this coming Saturday. You'll be hearing from me shortly with your game assignments. Again, thank you.