Have you ever been so frustrated with a lack of improvement in your refereeing and not reaching your expectations that training just doesn’t seem worth the time and effort?
At times you feel like walking away from officiating just because you feel so burned out or lack enthusiasm?
Refereeing can be demanding, but some officials increase those demands by putting excessive pressure upon themselves. These referees can become too focused on marks from clubs and observers that they heap unrealistic expectations upon themselves.
They expect that they should achieve a new highest mark in every game that they’re appointed to.
They expect that they should hit certain personal standards in all matches.
They expect they should be ahead of certain colleagues in the performance table.
They expect perfection.
They expect to achieve their personal goals every season in spite of unfortunate circumstances such as waterlogged pitches or injuries.
When officials fall short of their expectations, frustration ensues, doubts creep in, confidence drops, mental and physical energy wanes, passion dwindles and burnout starts to set in.
Many referees try to ramp up their efforts when they are just not seeing results. They train harder. They train longer. They put themselves forward for more fixtures. All of which end up being counterproductive.
When you experience burnout, the physical and mental efforts no longer seem to make sense and all you want to do is move on from the anxiety and frustration you feel.
70% of children stop playing organised sport by the time they are 13 years old. Burnout, not having fun, and losing interest are some of the culprits of dropout from sport.
The Olympic Example
Many professional athletes, Olympians and elite sportspeople experience burnout.
Take for instance, Hali Flickinger, Flickinger is a United States Swimming national champion, NCAA national champion and a 2016 Olympian yet she took a lengthy break from competing after frustration over a lack of results.
“I was becoming really impatient with the lack of results. I knew how I was training. My coaches knew how I was training. And I was nowhere near what I believed I could do. It was years after years of being disappointed. I was just tired of that feeling and needed to step away from the sport in order to remember why I am doing this, because I love the sport.” – Hali Flickinger, United States Olympic Swimmer
Flickinger’s result focus wore on her mentally leading to her break from swimming.
“I was becoming more concerned about the outcomes and being so disappointed in myself that I really needed to step back and find my love (for swimming) again. I really believed that once I found that, the results would come.” – Hali Flickinger, United States Olympic Swimmer
Once Flickinger stepped away from competing, she developed a renewed perspective, regained her passion for competing and posted the fastest 200-meter butterfly time in the world for 2019.
To avoid burnout, you need to let go of those excessively high expectations and demands for achieving certain standards.
How to Avoid Burnout and Dropout
Results will follow when you feel rejuvenated. Obsessing about how far you are from reaching your goals only instils a feeling of failure.
Find the right fuel to drive your passion. “Why do you do what you do?” the late Ken Ravizza would ask his athletes.
Understand why you referee and having the right motivation to compete will keep you in the game.
Be mindful of striving to meet expectations, worrying about what others think about your officiating, and being motivated by fame or popularity. These are not good motivators.
And always remember that you are a person first that happens to be a referee!
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,
Nathan Sherratt
Referee Educator & Managing Director of The Third Team
Nathan Sherratt
Nathan Sherratt, Referee Educator, Resilience Trainer and Managing Director of The Third Team. A Mental Toughness Practitioner based in County Durham, North East England.