Effective Online Referee Training with Video

Player: It was clean

Referee: It’s a penalty! (*shows the red card*)

Play on! You must have heard these dialogues coming from a ref of a football match. One of the challenging tasks is to control a game and make it fair and square. People often have this perception that being a ref is a simple job. All they have to do is shout, show cards and observe in the field. But no, there is more to it. They are the persons in authority in numeral sports. Moreover, they are known by several other titles, including judge, umpire, arbitrator, linesman, commissaire, timekeeper, technical official or touch judge.

Source: Statista

As more and more people are interested in being a ref, key skills and relevant knowledge are the utmost priority. Here comes the training aspect. Referee training is just as essential as any other training for a different domain. How so?

In this blog, we’ll discuss how referee training is important and its different types. We will also see the skills required to become a referee and how an online video training and learning can help your referees to become more skilled combined with a video platform. 

Types Of Referee Training

There are 5 types of referee training that are physical and remote:

1.     Extensive Endurance Training

In this training, you go with low intensity but for a longer period of time. This will slowly get you fatigued because of the duration.

2.     Intensive Endurance Training

No sprinting, just like in extensive endurance, but it is a bit quicker. The duration of exercises is kept shorter with a quicker tempo.

3.     Extensive Interval Training

External interval training involves sprints. We’re going faster, so is your heart rate monitor as you run for a shorter distance.

4.     Intensive Interval Training

Intensive interval training is faster than the others. The distance may vary, but your heart rate and speed are higher again. The breaks between the runs are usually longer.

5.     VAR Referee Training

VAR (Video Assistant Referee) training is another type where the referee sitting behind the screen requires training to view the footage from different angles, live match testing to make a quick decision.

Skills Require to Become a Successful Ref

Many aspects make up a successful ref. Being an aspiring referee generally requires the following

• Communication Skills

To communicate rules and regulations of the game, a ref must be able to convey them effectively. They should also be good at settling disputes among teams, communicating infractions and violations to coaches, spectators, and opposing team players.

• Decision-making Skills

The decisions are just as fast-paced as the players running in the ground. A ref must have quick decision-making skills by assessing various situations.

• Stamina

Depending on the nature of the gameplay, a referee may require sprinting across the field. They should have the stamina to walk, stand, or sprint for longer periods during games or events.

• Good Vision

Referees must have good vision and observation skills to notice infractions and look for violations during the game.

• Teamwork

The ability to cooperate with others is essential because refs usually work in teams to officiate a game.

To improve these existing skills and to teach the new ones, face-to-face training can be a hassle.

How Can Video Training Improve Referee Training?

The effective means of training is through a video. You can have your own course to equip new referees with much-needed skills while sharing knowledge. A referee can see a video to learn about the rules and regulations of the game or the overall policies. They can learn about the challenges and the situation that may occur during the game.

The video may teach the tips and tricks for effectively monitoring the game, which can be beneficial for them. You can either live stream or show the demo videos on-demand so that the refs can view it at their own pace. If the videos are interactive, then they create a more engaging experience.

Well, have you ever thought to deliver training through a YouTube-like Platform?

VIDIZMO For Referee Training

Yes, you can create your own YouTube for referees. VIDIZMO, a corporate YouTube where trainers can record and upload videos for new refs and share their expertise and knowledge with new members. The process is easy. You need to categorize the referee’s courses and modules in playlists or collections where only authorized individuals can access them.

Videos can be made interactive by adding quizzes, surveys, or forms as the videos are readily playable on any browser of every device. With VIDIZMO, you can benefit from features like:

• Private hosting or streaming live or on-demand.
• Mark videos as favorite and comment under them
• Add interactivity
• All the videos are transcribed via AI in up to 50 languages
• Define access as to who can view the videos
• Restricted Sharing allows you to share video via a link which can be expired as well
• Meetings done on web conferencing tools such as Zoom, or MS Team can be ingested in our YouTube-like content library.
• You can embed videos on your website or LMS
• Brand the portal according to your own branding guidelines.
• You can get detailed video usage reports, which helps in measuring the ROI of your training.
• VIDIZMO also alows provides annotations and frame by frame analysis feature, allowing you to have a focused view of minor details.

VIDIZMO is a Member of the Global Sports Innovation Center (GSIC). Powered by Microsoft, GSIC is an organization that enables sports entities and companies to grow and develop with the help of experienced professionals in the sports tech ecosystem.

Wait, there is more! VIDIZMO can be used for every end-to-end video use case, not just for referee training if there’s a need to do more. Learn more about our features and feel free to contact us in case of any queries.