Tips for officiating (please help)-

[Nutella 0]

Hey guys,

Well. I'm going to be officiating for intramurals A LOT this season.. starting Monday. I know the rules, and the 'gestures' and all of that.

However, I have never in my life officiated a game. Do you guys have any tips you could offer me?

There will be two officials on the ice. How and where should I skate? Can I say something cute like, "Let's have a clean game fellas" before dropping the puck at the start of the game? Anything 'secrets' I should know to the art?

I just want to be the best official I can be. It turns out I didn't need to know the hand motions for intramurals and I ended up memorizing them for no reason. Would it be rude to use them anyway (the other linesmen might not know them)?

Thanks for the help!

P.S. I did use the search function. Didn't find anything too helpful.

[Spreedizzle 1]

I've been reffing as a Level II ref for 7 years now....and there is so much that can be said on this topic. The most important thing for a ref, especially a new one that the players may not yet know and respect....is to ALWAYS be in the correct position to make the call. If you are the low ref and floating around the blue line and a puck goes near the goal line and you are unable to blow the whistle for either a goal or a stoppage....you are in deep trouble. Low ref: around the goal line looking for goals, assists and low penalties if they are directly infront of him. High ref: blue line looking for penalties and off sides predominantly.

I would talk to whoever is in charge of scheduling the refs in your league and request you have your first season, or at least a large number of games done with a very experienced ref. And also....communication. Talk to the more experienced refs between periods about calls, positioning, and other things that occur on the ice.

[QandA 0]

If intramurals is anything like it is here it's at university, it's basically a shit show, where guys are drunk half the time, and chirp the ref all night long. Most of us couldn't care less about the score, just there to have a good time, so I wouldn't sweat it to much. You know hockey,have confidence don't let stuff get to your head.

[Rustpot 1]

This goes for reffing any sport- Be confident, even when you think you made a bad call or don't know what you're doing.

Your first call is your final call. Don't call a penalty and then reverse it. I'm sure you know this, but I've reffed with some guys who have let players overturn calls from arguing.

Edit: Or they don't know the rules well enough to dictate where a faceoff should be or hand/kick pass rules.

If it's an even game, keep things even. On blowout games I'll call things by the book on the winning team. This is for college rec by the way, a step below IM.

I wouldn't worry too much for IM. I was more concerned with not taking an elbow to the face than whether the ref missed an offsides call when I layed last season. Most of the players know you're not a pro ref, you're just a student or other guy looking to get some cash and some time on the ice.

[Zamboni 6]

Make sure your partner is clear on responsibility, watch positioning of more experienced refs and what spreedizzle posted will become clear.

May only be intermural, but if the games close it'll become intense.....even shinny hockey gets serious if teams are even and scores close.

[Nutella 0]

If intramurals is anything like it is here it's at university, it's basically a shit show, where guys are drunk half the time, and chirp the ref all night long. Most of us couldn't care less about the score, just there to have a good time, so I wouldn't sweat it to much. You know hockey,have confidence don't let stuff get to your head.

We take our intramurals pretty seriously.

Thanks for the tips guys! Keep 'em coming. :D

[Jordan 13]

One thing that I have noticed has always worked for me as a player has been when the ref is willing to talk (now I don't mean to get drawn into arguments) to the benches...a brief explanation of a callc goes a long way.

[Spreedizzle 1]

One thing that I have noticed has always worked for me as a player has been when the ref is willing to talk (now I don't mean to get drawn into arguments) to the benches...a brief explanation of a callc goes a long way.

This I will agree with....depending on the rules of the league you are playing in. Stop clock on a questionable call....yeah...you can take a moment to talk to the captain of the team, but make sure you are not making it a public discussion. The captain of the team is the only person on the bench that has the TRUE capabilities to speak with the ref without "delaying the game". In a non-stop clock league.....I usually make it a point to not discuss the call during play and skate over to the bench during intermissions to discuss the questionable call.

[chippa13 1844]

Keys to reffing:

Be in position, nothing pisses off guys more than a close offsides call being made by a guy at the red line.

Hustle, it is the number one way to get into position.

Anticipate the play, especially helpful if you don't have a partner for the game.

Answer civil questions on calls, if a guy questions an offside or something, just answer him. If you're in position they'll usually accept the response.

Don't cop an attitude or be a statue. Nothing pisses off guys who get a ref swearing at them on a simple question or a ref not responding at all and ignoring the player.

Talk to players, little warnings like "Don't hook" "Let him go" "Stick down" and the like go a long way.

Give leeway. Don't immediately slap Unsportsmanlike penalties on guys. As long as someone isn't in your face screaming that you f-ing suck then let them get out their sentence or two of griping. If they seem to want to carry on, warn them with a seat to watch the game. If they ignore that then you sit them down. Usually the warning shuts them up or their teammates shut them up for you. If you have to give the penalty, his team will understand. After all, you told the guy if he kept it up he was getting a penalty.

Final thing, have fun.

If you follow these guidelines then reffing should be a breeze. Heck, one league I reffed and played. There was one team that wanted to kill me when we played against each other but I never had one problem when I reffed them.

[Nutella 0]

Is there some conversation at the start in which you say which team you're going to be the low ref for? For example. We'll be on opposite sides or the rink, but, one of us will have to go near the goal for Team A and the other at the blue line. Is it discussed who's going to stay at the blue line for whichever team?

Man. I hate not having experience.

[Hockey Fan 51 0]

I agree with most everything said already... The referees you respect most are the ones that are assertive, yet will at least pretend to listen to you.

A quick assertive response to questions from players will always work in your favor. They may not like your answer, but they'll be more pissed if you don't really have one or if you are abrasive when it's not called for.

You're going to piss off people, expect it, don't take anything personally and most important hustle and try to make the best calls you can.

[wc19 1]

in our league usually its the ref who isn't dropping the puck that skates towards where the puck/play initially goes and signals to the other ref the direction they're gonna go. Hopefully this helps.

[Chadd 916]

Is there some conversation at the start in which you say which team you're going to be the low ref for? For example. We'll be on opposite sides or the rink, but, one of us will have to go near the goal for Team A and the other at the blue line. Is it discussed who's going to stay at the blue line for whichever team?

Man. I hate not having experience.

It will change all game long with goals, penalties and neutral zone faceoffs.

Positioning:

If play is in the neutral zone, you should be on the other side of the blue line (in the defensive zone). If play is in one end, you should be just on the outside of the blue line. The theory is that you won't prevent the puck from crossing the line.

Never get between the goalie and the puck. If you are the low man and play is on your side of the net, back out towards the corner. Once play moves up or to the other side of the net, move closer to the net.

Don't get caught behind the net when someone is shooting.

You might want to download the powerpoint presentations from the USA Hockey website. Hopefully this link should work:

http://www.usahockey.com//Template_Usahock...04&ID=20226

As mentioned; Hustle, it's the number one thing that makes or breaks an official.

You're going to piss off people, expect it, don't take anything personally and most important hustle and try to make the best calls you can.

I believe it would be more accurate to say that people are going to get pissed no matter what you say, that's why you should be careful that you don't talk too much. A slight difference but an important one. A ref isn't there to make everyone happy, though you shouldn't be looking to make everyone angry either.

[Spreedizzle 1]

Is there some conversation at the start in which you say which team you're going to be the low ref for? For example. We'll be on opposite sides or the rink, but, one of us will have to go near the goal for Team A and the other at the blue line. Is it discussed who's going to stay at the blue line for whichever team?

Man. I hate not having experience.

I work with all of my refs on communication....both verbal and non-verbal while on the ice. The best way to handle the center ice face off is for the ref dropping the puck to simply move back out of the way to allow the 2 centers to battle for the puck, and I then point with an open hand in the direction that I WANT my partner to go. Thus letting him know which blue line to go towards and cover, and I will follow as the high ref at that point.

[Nutella 0]

Hey, thanks guys.

After all of these power points I finally got the jitters out.

Thanks for the help!

[Chadd 916]

Is there some conversation at the start in which you say which team you're going to be the low ref for? For example. We'll be on opposite sides or the rink, but, one of us will have to go near the goal for Team A and the other at the blue line. Is it discussed who's going to stay at the blue line for whichever team?

Man. I hate not having experience.

I work with all of my refs on communication....both verbal and non-verbal while on the ice. The best way to handle the center ice face off is for the ref dropping the puck to simply move back out of the way to allow the 2 centers to battle for the puck, and I then point with an open hand in the direction that I WANT my partner to go. Thus letting him know which blue line to go towards and cover, and I will follow as the high ref at that point.

I always have this discussion with the other ref before a game.

If I'm down low and play is on the other side of the net, let me know if the puck is loose. I tend to blow the whistle quickly on those plays as it's easy to get a fight started.

On neutral zone faceoffs, pick a direction and just go with the play. I will go the other way. (this makes me get out of the circle a little more quickly)

Don't be afraid to call something in front of me if you know you see something that I can't see.

[kosydar 0]

Its important that you want to be out there. If your mind is elsewhere, its obvious to everyone playing. You really can't fake interest in it. The best refs are the ones who enjoy it, and I know my biggest flaw as a ref is absolutely hating it.

[Nutella 0]

Well, I reffed three games.

The first one was terrible. Some guy broke his stick, threw it, etc.

However, I didn't see it was broken so I blew the wistle and had a very angry hockey team in a matter of seconds.

The other two games went really well though.

Thanks for all of the help guys!

[Chadd 916]

Well, I reffed three games.

The first one was terrible. Some guy broke his stick, threw it, etc.

However, I didn't see it was broken so I blew the wistle and had a very angry hockey team in a matter of seconds.

The other two games went really well though.

Thanks for all of the help guys!

He can't throw it, that's dangerous. He has to drop it.

[Nutella 0]

Well, I reffed three games.

The first one was terrible. Some guy broke his stick, threw it, etc.

However, I didn't see it was broken so I blew the wistle and had a very angry hockey team in a matter of seconds.

The other two games went really well though.

Thanks for all of the help guys!

He can't throw it, that's dangerous. He has to drop it.

It was a throw/drop.. bleh

They argued about it. I said it was my mistake (he didn't really throw it in a dangerous way) and let them faceoff in the neutral zone.

I don't know though. My new boss wasn't too impressed with the first game and she left for the other two that went swimmingly.

Ugh..

[Rustpot 1]

It was a throw/drop.. bleh

They argued about it. I said it was my mistake (he didn't really throw it in a dangerous way) and let them faceoff in the neutral zone.

I don't know though. My new boss wasn't too impressed with the first game and she left for the other two that went swimmingly.

Ugh..

Gotta be quick on your feet, don't reverse calls. Even if you know what you did was stupid, you blew the whistle for something.

Your boss knows you're new, she isn't going to fire you for screwing up one call. If you feel that bad, send her a message saying how excited you are about having two really great games and how you know that confidence is going to help avoid mistakes like in the first game.

Just remember it's IM, not the Stanley Cup Finals.

[chippa13 1844]

Is there some conversation at the start in which you say which team you're going to be the low ref for? For example. We'll be on opposite sides or the rink, but, one of us will have to go near the goal for Team A and the other at the blue line. Is it discussed who's going to stay at the blue line for whichever team?

Man. I hate not having experience.

I work with all of my refs on communication....both verbal and non-verbal while on the ice. The best way to handle the center ice face off is for the ref dropping the puck to simply move back out of the way to allow the 2 centers to battle for the puck, and I then point with an open hand in the direction that I WANT my partner to go. Thus letting him know which blue line to go towards and cover, and I will follow as the high ref at that point.

I always have this discussion with the other ref before a game.

If I'm down low and play is on the other side of the net, let me know if the puck is loose. I tend to blow the whistle quickly on those plays as it's easy to get a fight started.

On neutral zone faceoffs, pick a direction and just go with the play. I will go the other way. (this makes me get out of the circle a little more quickly)

Don't be afraid to call something in front of me if you know you see something that I can't see.

Good point. There is nothing more annoying as a player than a non-call because the near ref was blocked out on the play and the other ref says, "It's his call."

Another thing, it is always good to be on the same page with your partner as far as how tight you're going to call the game. You have to be consistent as a pair, otherwise players won't know what is a penalty and what isn't and that could lead to frustration and a lot of bitching.

Well, I reffed three games.

The first one was terrible. Some guy broke his stick, threw it, etc.

However, I didn't see it was broken so I blew the wistle and had a very angry hockey team in a matter of seconds.

The other two games went really well though.

Thanks for all of the help guys!

He can't throw it, that's dangerous. He has to drop it.

It was a throw/drop.. bleh

They argued about it. I said it was my mistake (he didn't really throw it in a dangerous way) and let them faceoff in the neutral zone.

I don't know though. My new boss wasn't too impressed with the first game and she left for the other two that went swimmingly.

Ugh..

Throwing your stick, whether or not it is broken, is against the rules. You blew the whistle based on what you saw, stick with it. Players will respect you more if you stand firm than if you waffle.