My first 4th Official opportunity
I've been assigned 4th Official duty at 2 UPSL, the 4th tier of US Soccer. Let's go!
You read that right!
I’ve been filling my work schedule through the winter and spring by working as many local tournaments, U15-U19 games and amateur adult league as I could.
I’ve also been (respectfully) bugging a few of my assignors and local referee admin to see if they have any higher level games that they’d be willing to give me an opportunity to work.
And here we go!
I’m really excited for a few reasons…
I’ve been given a great opportunity. I’m just so thankful for that.
When going through my LOTG flashcards, I always went through the 4th Official one with a little chuckle since I was always so focused on CR and AR duties. This is a great reminder that the 4th Official is an integral part of the Officials Team and not an afterthought. I’ll be putting some extra study in to make sure I fulfill all my duties (more on all that below).
It will be a fitness breather. Both these games are the day before or after I’m working multiple other games so it will be a positive to be mentally locked in for these games but still give my body a rest. No happy feet!
I get the opportunity to observe some pretty high-level referees. You know I’ll be picking up as much as I can from them.
It’s a great chance to continue to surround myself with more high performers. That’s how I become one so this is a step in that direction.
There is a very slim possibility that I’ll actually be CRing this game! If the CR gets injured before the game or in warmups, traditionally the 4th Official takes over as Center Referee. I played competitively growing up as a GK and was mostly a backup during my collegiate career. You know I’ll bring the focus and concentration of a starter even if I probably won’t see any in-game action.
What I’ll be responsible for in these games as 4th Official
Swiped straight from IFAB…
The fourth official’s assistance also includes:
supervising the substitution procedure
checking a player’s/substitute’s equipment
the re-entry of a player following a signal/approval from the referee
supervising the replacement balls
indicating the minimum amount of additional time the referee intends to play at the end of each half (including extra time)
informing the referee of irresponsible behavior by any technical area occupant
A few things I’ll be digging into to prepare for these games
Supervising the substitution procedure: How many subs do each team get? I’ve never worked a game that has limited substitutions so this will be new to me. I also don’t know if the procedure is to hold up a board to show who’s subbing in and out (probably not at this level but it’s possible). I’ll have to make sure I get these details.
Checking a player’s/substitute’s equipment: I’ll be brushing up on all of this to make sure I have a solid process for checking. Of course, I’ll go through the basics of no jewelry, shin guards in, correct sock color and nothing dangerous.
The re-entry of a player following a signal/approval from the referee: This happens if a player comes off injured: I’ll need to be aware when this happens and communicate with the player that they need the CR to wave them on for them to re-enter the game. Note: during a stoppage, they can enter from any boundary line but when the ball is in play, they can only enter from the touchline.
Supervising the replacement balls: I’ll make sure to do the ball check before the match and have multiple extras in case a ball gets kicked over a fence, etc. I’m not sure if this kindof game has ball boys but I’ll be sure to check on that before the game. I’ll also bring my automatic ball pump to make sure every ball has perfect PSI.
Indicating the minimum amount of additional time the referee intends to play at the end of each half (including extra time): I always keep my own time as AR so I’ll do the same as 4th. But this duty is just to indicate the extra time to the players, coaches, fans, etc. Not sure if they even play with extra time in this league so I’ll first need to find that out. And if so, how does the CR let me know how much extra time to show? And if I’m showing it, do I have a board I need to hold up?
Informing the referee of irresponsible behavior by any technical area occupant: AR1 is close enough to the sideline to monitor behavior going on here but it’s not their chief responsibility. I’ll be responsible for keeping technical area behavior correct. That includes monitoring who’s giving instructions from the technical area, who leaves their technical area and any other issues that arise in this area. Hopefully no coaches get too fired up!
This is just a start. I’m sure there are other areas I’ll need to brush up on as well as a few things I’m not even thinking of yet!
I’ll so some sleuthing around the internet and post again here with anything else I find. Reddit is a weird place but apparently it can aid in my research!
Know a footy ref? Feel free to share this with them 💙