Preparing to Referee Proactive v Reactive Refereeing Ongoing Education Program 2006

Do I usually ‘get ready‘ to referee or just turn up? Am I usually focused-in at the start of the game and throughout? Do I have a consistent routine leading up to each match? Are there any things which tend to upset my routine and concentration? Reflection Questions:

Anxiety where does it come from and how can we control or avoid it? Poor Preparation The Unknown Bad Experiences Visual Cues

Our state of mind can affect our performance: Planning Relaxation Visualisation Recall Long Term Aspirational Goals An Opportunity - Short Term Performance Goals Controlling ‘Psych’ Levels

Waking-Up Wake slowly Rehearse a number of positive thoughts Slowly stretch each muscle group Smile deliberately and develop feelings of energy Relatively work free care free domestic experience

Pre-Match Checklist: Travel/Times Food/Hydration Equipment Refereeing Strategies Relaxation and Mental Rehearsal Pre-match Talk Teams of Three (Captains & TJs) Dynamic Warm-Up Visualisation

Benefits of using Visualisation Skills are more consistent New skills can be learned more quickly Mind-body coordination is better Confidence is greater Concentration is sharper Peak performance can be achieved Self-awareness is better Can minimise the impact of the ‘unexpected”

Different Types of Focus Long duration Brief periods Refocus Narrow Broad On external cues On internal cues Shifting Present Segmenting

Control Reactions to Environment Common Distracters: Errors Poor Play Bad TJ call Major Incident Thinking ahead to much Anxiety (Nerves) The Unexpected Tiredness Injury Crowd Captain

Do the hard work at training Practise the skills Consider all the possibilities in the planning phase Flick the switch Focus on the execution Summary:

Referee Ruck Segment Pre and Post Game Responsibilities of the Referee Brain storm and produce two lists which we will get typed up and circulate to members