Columbus Soccer Ref

With all the rain we’ve had in March here in Ohio (5” above normal for the month), I’ve already had roughly 15 games washed out so far this season. Trying to turn a negative into a positive, it’s given me a chance to work some more on my fitness. The older I get and the more serious I get about refereeing, the more important I think fitness becomes. Of course you have to be able to keep up with play, but I’m convinced that fitness plays a major role in a referee’s decision-making process. Think about it, how clearly do you think when you’re totally gassed? How do you keep a cool head when you’re busy sucking air? How do you make sure your signals don’t get sloppy when you’re wiped out? So I definitely think fitness plays a role in making correct decisions, good mechanics, and game control. As a referee, most of what we do and learn is by doing and getting feedback from peers and more experienced referees. After all, we can’t go to practice like players do. But fitness is one of the few aspects of our game and preparations that we have almost complete control over. So I struggle with what I eat, keeping hydrated, and getting a workout in as close to every day as possible. Because if I don’t, I don’t think there’s any way my game will improve.