1. Mental Game of Refereeing
Brian Baxter, MA Sport Psychology Sport Psychology Institute NW

2. Brian Baxter, MA Sport Psychology
Played Club & High School sports in Gainesville, FL
Played soccer at Wofford College in S. Carolina
20+ years coaching, USSF C License
2+ years refereeing
9+ years sports parent
Director – BaxterSports Summer Camps
Director – SPINw
Author – The Sports Mindset Gameplan

3. My Lacrosse Connection
My Grandfather...
Washington and Lee Men's Lacrosse Coach
Year Coach Record
John Baxter
John Baxter
John Baxter
John Baxter
4 Seasons John Baxter (.471)

4. The “Four Pillars” of Sports
Technical
Tactical
Physical
Mental

5. What is Sport Psychology?
Sport - an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature
-Psychology - the science of the mind or of mental states and processes.
-Roles for the Mental Skills Coach:
Teacher, Counselor, Coach

6. Sports Mindset Pyramid

7. The Mental Game for Referees
“Refereeing is hard”
“Referees are a necessary evil.”
-Phil Jackson, NBA coach

8. Confidence and Mental Toughness
Confidence - belief in yourself and your abilities
Mental Toughness
-the ability to remain confident and re-gain confidence over time

9. Confidence is based on FOCUS
knowing what to focus on, and the ability to control & change focus
Focus: Selectively concentration on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things

10. In Your Control Out of Your Control
“The Controllables”
In Your Control Out of Your Control
Other People: Coaches, Players, Parents, Fans
Conditions - Weather, Field
Situation: Time left, score of the game
Injury or illness
Results or Outcome
Past and Future
Effort
Attitude
Preparation
Present Moment

11. Confidence is based on FOCUS
knowing what to focus on, and the ability to control & change focus
Selectively concentration on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things
Also, knowing what distracts you, and developing the ability to control focus & change focus to something you can control

12. Emotions in Sport

13. You Will Make Mistakes! Have a plan to re-focus
You will be not feeling it that day
You will have had a stressful day at work or home
You will get yelled at
You will get a call wrong
You will be unsure of yourself and have doubts
You will have negative self talk
Have a plan to re-focus

14. How you handle it > the mistake itself!
Some Sport Psychology Techniques
Pre-Performance Routines
Goal Setting
Mission Statements
Visualization + Mental Rehearsal
Positive Self-Talk
Leadership and Communication
Body Language
Re-focusing techniques

15. Re-Focusing Techniques
Simple Reminders to Re-Focus attention when distracted
1 - Actions
2 - Words
3 - Visual Cue

16. Stay Connected! www.spinw.com