Guest post by Tim Wyatt, sport and exercise psychologist in training
Referees are performers too. Without a referee, a game of rugby would simply not be possible. The higher level of match intensity, the more pressure there is on the players to perform. As rugby has evolved, this match intensity has extended to referees from fans, coaches, and organisations to officiate games at this same standard. And with this heightened expectation, referees have looked at other critical performance areas such as physical condition, strength training and nutrition to enhance performance. It is also essential that referees of all levels consider psychological preparation and skills to meet the demands of officiating.
The Cornerstones Model of Refereeing Performance1 highlighted psychological characteristics of excellence that included confidence, mental fitness and strength of character. While these aspects are important, they remain vague and there were no instructions on how to train these characteristics.
At this point, before we jump into game day skills, I would like to bring an important area to focus: Values. For us, we often link that to ‘Game Values’ – how the sport recognises respect in all its virtues. But that’s not what we mean here. Values are desired qualities of ongoing action and describe how we want to behave every day2. When we understand our personal and professional values, it provides a direction to create an enjoyable life and, in this case, refereeing experience. Some questions about your values as a referee:
- Who do you want to be as a referee?
- Why is it important for you to be a referee?
- When your career as a referee is over, what do you want to say you stood for?
- What are the values that the referee’s you admire demonstrate?
Take some time to answer these questions and understand what you value about being a referee. Now, onto some skills to consider before, during and after a match:
Before:
- A day before the match try using a technique called the 3 circles3
On the left side of a piece of paper, draw a circle and title it “can’t control”, and list all the factors that you can’t control for this performance. On the right side, draw another circle and title it “can control”, and list all the factors you can control about this performance. In the middle of the paper, draw one last circle and title it “can influence”, and list all the factors from the “can’t control” list, that you could influence and add anything else you might think of. If you can move an item from “can’t control” to “can influence”, make sure you cross it out from the left circle. From there, decide which three factors from each circle are the most important. Then, choose a single factor from those three in each circle to focus on for the match.
- Develop a pre-game routine to prepare for performance
When you blow that first whistle for kick off, you want to know you’ve done everything in your power to be ready. Developing a personal pre-game routine is essential to achieve high levels of performance4. You want to include a few key components such as physical, tactical and psychological. Physical, e.g., warm-up properly and stretching; tactical, e.g., knowing team styles/players, win-loss record, derby game etc.; Psychological – e.g., goal setting such as one or two process-focused goals, meditation such as a body scan or imagery. Incorporating all aspects of preparation is vital and only you will know what truly works for you. Consider what you need to be ready for that first whistle, what that looks like and how you can physically, tactically and psychologically prepare to perform.
During:
Everyone always wants to put into a good performance. No referee (or athlete) goes out there to do badly. What happens is that our mind gets caught up in irrelevant tasks and hooked on unhelpful thoughts. Here are some skills to try during a match:
- The 3R’s to refocus5
It stands for Register, Release and Refocus. REGISTER the thought and/or body sensation that takes your focus away from the game; RELEASE by not fighting those thoughts/sensations and accepting that you might be feeling a bit uncomfortable; REFOCUS your attention back to the task and what’s important in that moment. This simple skill brings you back to the action that’s happening in front of your eyes.
- A grounding technique
When you are refocusing back onto the game, bring your attention to your senses. Normally we’d get you to see 5 things, hear 4 things, feel 3 things, smell 2 things, taste 1 thing. But you’re in the middle of a rugby match, so we need to adapt it to suit you – some people like to just see 1, hear 1, feel 1. An option is to just feel the connection of your feet on the ground – the timeless saying “Be where your feet are!” is applicable here.
After:
- Reflection is an important skill to learn from your past performances.
Reflection is different from thinking or ruminating, it’s more directive and for a purpose of learning. You might already be doing some sort of formal reflection e.g., performance reviews with assessors/mentors or watching film. Reflecting back on a situation or game increases our understanding of what happened and why. It provides a foundation to learn from success and ‘failure’ while continually becoming aware of our decision making, perspectives, tendencies and blind spots.
Here are some questions6 to help you get started:
What? – Describe the situation. What happened in your words? What did you see/do? What was your reaction? What did other people do?
So What? – Analysis what happened. What were your feelings at the time? What are they now? Any difference? What good came from this? What were effects of what you did? What troubles you?
Now What? – Action points. What needs to happen to alter situation? What are you going to do now? What happens if you don’t do anything? What might you do different if same situation comes back up?
Wellbeing activities: “You can’t pour from an empty jug!”
It’s important to ‘switch off’ from the game. Obviously, for most of you, refereeing is your hobby, and one you may not have gotten fully back into after the enforced break! But, as we get back to normality, you may still find the benefit of getting away from rugby. Maybe step into another hobby or activity that you enjoy away from rugby and refereeing. Sometimes it’s hard to leave what happened, on the field, so to speak! But disconnecting, and stepping away, may help bring more energy to your next performance.
Refereeing is a tough gig. The skills mentioned above are helpful tips (or reminders) that mental skills play an important role in a referee’s performance pre- during- and post-game. Like any skill, they need to be adapted to what suits you and practiced regularly. Give them a go and get the most out of your refereeing experience.
About Tim:
Tim is a sport and exercise psychologist in training with the British association of sport and exercise sciences. Currently based in Nottingham, Tim has a sport psychology business helping individuals and team reach their optimal performance. You can contact him via email: timwyattpsych@gmail.com, via Twitter or LinkedIn, or visit his website: Timwyattpsychology.com if you’d like to explore sport psychology.
References:
1Mascarenhas, D. R., Collins, D., & Mortimer, P. (2005). Elite Refereeing Performance: Developing a Model for Sport Science Support. The Sport Psychologist,19(4), 364-379. doi:10.1123/tsp.19.4.364
2Harris, R. (2009). ACT made simple: An easy-to-read primer on acceptance and commitment therapy. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications.
3Evans, C. (2019). Perform under pressure: Change the way you feel, think and act under pressure. Auckland: HarperCollins (New Zealand).
4Cotterill, S. T., Sanders, R., & Collins, D. (2010) Developing effective pre-performance routines in golf: Why don’t we ask the golfer? Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 22(1), 51–64.
5Henriksen, K., Hansen, J., & Larsen, C. H. (2020). Mindfulness and acceptance in sport: How to help athletes perform and thrive under pressure. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
6Driscoll J. (1994). Reflective practice for practice. Senior Nurse, 13, 47-50.