Improving Game-Changing Decision Making Out In The Middle

The ability to make good decisions while refereeing is a crucial factor for officials. I’m often asked about how to make better decisions, both by the referees that I work with and the Referee Coaches/Managers who I support to help their officials perform at their best.

So, here are my recommendations:

What Is Decision Making?

Although it may sound simple, there is a lot more to decision making than meets the eye. It’s a cognitive process that involves choosing the most optimal action from the available resources. To do this, referees need to think about the game situation and their own personal goals to help them make good decisions.

While we all make decisions every day, it doesn’t mean they’re always good. A skilled official and decision maker has certain qualities, such as:

• Recognising and identifying patterns of play
• Having a good understanding of the game
• Perceiving future actions within the game
• Selecting and using the most helpful information

What Affects Decision Making?

When it comes to decision making, several factors can hinder a referee’s performance. However, research has highlighted one significant factor, mental pressure. This refers to psychological strain or stress that officials often experience, particularly in matchday situations. Common examples of mental pressure include:

• Psychological impact errors
• Negative feedback
• Sustaining attention in a dynamic environment

Mental pressures can be detrimental to decision making, as they increase the cognitive demands on the referee. An official’s brain sees mental pressures as extrinsic load, which can overload their working memory, which results in cognitive overload.

Because of the decrease in resources available to help the referee make an accurate decision, their speed and accuracy in decision making suffers. But don’t just take my word for it, let’s explore what the research has to say.

The Studies Behind Decision Making

In this interesting study, researchers assessed youth referees in conditions of high and low mental pressure. They induced mental pressure with a verbal dual task, where officials were required to remember a list of words whilst performing decision-making tasks.

Results showed a clear connection between mental pressure and decision-making performance. referees in the high mental pressure group displayed slower responses and reaction times in comparison to those in the low mental pressure group. This is because the verbal dual task increased the amount of mental pressure experienced by the officials, overwhelming their working memory with anxiety and negative thoughts, which rendered the resources required to make accurate decisions unavailable.

Notably, this study shed a light on the influence of feedback as well. Findings revealed that negative feedback from Referee Managers/Coaches intensified anxiety-related thoughts, placing further strain on Referee’s working memory.

How To Enhance Decision Making

Making better decisions is a skill that can be developed with the right strategies. Here are four effective techniques to enhance your decision making or that of those who you Coach/Manage:

1. Reduce mental pressure

As we know, mental pressure is an enemy of good decision making. So, it’s important to find ways to lower it. You can do this through the type of feedback you give.

Negative feedback can increase something called rumination, which is when an official repetitively dwells on negative thoughts and feelings. However, if you make your feedback more constructive rather than negative, you can both can reduce rumination and increase motivation, which allows for better decision making.

2. Limit pre-match distractions

Distractions can increase the amount of extrinsic load a referee is exposed to before a match. This can increase the likelihood of you or your officials experiencing cognitive overload and therefore a reduction in decision-making performance.

To stop this, referees should try to limit the distractions they are exposed to before the first whistle, such as their phone. Establishing a pre-match warmup routine can also help officials with this and improve decision-making performance.

3. Look for patterns

Elite referees excel in decision making because they can identify patterns in the game. Recognising meaningful cues allows them to anticipate and respond effectively. For example, 2016 Champions League Final, UEFA European Championships Final & FA Cup Final Referee, Mark Clattenburg, was made aware of a subtle blocking tactic employed by Bayern Munich to stop their opponents, Barcelona, from attacking the ball. Having analysed the footage from the first leg, Clattenburg was more aware of this tactic and stunned the players when awarding a free kick for this offence in the 13th minute of the second leg.

4. Allocate your attention the right places

The best decision makers gather relevant information to enhance their performance. Professionals can be guilty of focusing more on free space and the attacking team rather than just the person with the ball. This broader perspective helps in making accurate decisions.

Final Reflections

Mastering decision making as a referee requires practice. By applying these strategies, officials can develop their decision-making skills, helping them to perform better under pressure and elevate their refereeing standard to new heights. Your ability to make the right decisions at the right time can sharpen your mental game which can be the key to achieving success as a match official.

At The Third Team I work individually and in collaboration with different professionals where I have developed workshops and 1-2-1 sessions associated with Resilience and Mental Toughness Development to help referees. The workshops and 1-2-1 sessions are interactive, where referees are encouraged to open up and share their experiences to help themselves and each other.

Feel free to contact me if you’d like to know more about my workshops or 1-2-1 sessions and how I could help you or your officials.

Best Wishes,