Defining Moments That Affect a Referee’s Confidence
Every referee, in every country and at every level, experiences a crisis of confidence at some point in their career. Whether it is being….
Stress
How Referees Can Boost Their Mental Toughness In The Face Of Adversity
To maximise the best of your potential ability, you must learn how to anticipate and deal with challenges. ‘Dealing with’ means to have a way….
Beginning Your Career as a Young Referee in a Climate of Abuse
In my position as Managing Director of The Third Team, I am lucky enough to be able to speak to speak to match officials of all levels…..
7 Things Referees Can Do To Maintain A Positive Headspace
As referees most of us, alongside our colleagues the world over, are largely redundant and inactive at the present time. The love and enjoyment for refereeing…..
How Referees Can Face Up To Testing Periods
So often we hear words such as uncertainty, change, panic, stress, pressure, helpless, worried and anxious whenever we turn on the news….
Communicating With Your Team During Stressful Periods
The best possible team of individual officials in the league who come together and communicate with each other poorly on the pitch will perform…..
How to Approach Officiating Key Fixtures
As we head towards a period of the season when Cup Finals are being played, let’s take a look at how we approach big games as match officials. Do your thoughts turn to…….
How to Be Mentally Prepared for Dissent
Emotions can supercharge or ruin the performance of a referee out in the middle. Have you ever had a game where players, spectators or club officials got into your head?…..
The Unavoidable Rush Of Emotion & The Impact Thereafter
Referees are human beings with emotions and contrary to common belief their reaction to situations can be swayed by the environment around them and what they see. If what they see looks bad then it usually is and the unavoidable rush of emotion……
How to Overcome Fear When Refereeing
I’ve been fortunate to speak to a large number of referees who have experienced a range of psychological challenges with a common theme – FEAR. Some of the following things were mentioned in our conversations……….