hockey ref
 

I was wondering how to get started on ref'ing hockey games.

I was told something about going to ref clinics, but heard you dont have to.

anyone can tell me the process and where to get started thanks.

If you don't have a ref cert., then no league that i know would hire you.

If theres a league that would hire you without a ref'ing cert, i'm assuming it would be a really shitty league...so make sure you tell me, so i can stay away from it.

Are you looking for ice or roller? I suggest starting on roller first. You don't have to worry about offsides and icing. And you can get a way with being a weaker skater on roller. For ice, you have to be a pretty good skater. Unless your some ex-jr player?

more so if you're reffing a rep game. even then you don't have to be a phenomenal skater. you can coach house and be a below average skater. but being a ref sucks, you freeze your ass off out there if your doing ice

No, you right, you don't have to be a phenomenal skater, but I've never seen a weak skater reffing ice. I've also only done roller, so I don't know if you really freeze during ice. haha

well.. i think im a pretty good skater.

i wanna start on roller leauge first. where do i go and get the ref cert.

to the guy above.. dont worry... im sure you are good enough for the leagues i would want to ref. so ill tell you the leauges later on.
just kidding

Man, we need more GOOD refs out in the leagues. There are some real douche bags out there that kind of waddle about calling the odd penalty.

If you make it, please don't be one of those jerk offs. LOL

I know PICH league you dont need to be certified. VIHL requires so.
I certified last year and as a weak skater Novice 3-4, peewee games are ok...because you only have to record goal scorer no assist etc
I would recommended working thru the minor league system as you can line for a while and then start doing ref...and they are very supportive and will help you out.

Contact Steve Tajiri on vihl website. He may not have any space for more refs? I dunno, he told me VIhl has 50-ish refs this summer. Or do the really, low divs in PICH then move over to Vihl next yr.

Problem I find this yr, is that both refs are rookies. Usually it's a rookie ref paired with an experienced ref. When your starting out, it is harder to spot everything and the odd calls are based on nervousness or pressure from players. I can point out tons of stuff, but It's too much. haha.

When I did ref a few yrs back, even if I made a bad call and I knew it, I'd call a weak one the other way. If I missed a call, I'd apologize to the team. But what I don't see is when a ref calls a penalty, they skate away. They should be escorting the player to the penalty box. It makes it clearer as to who has the penalty and diffuses any problems that may arise, like the player trying to injure someone else or the player who got hit/slashed/etc skates over to exact revenge.

As a ref, explaining to the team captain about a call/miscall, makes you more liked. Communication is essential. Always give a warning out first before making a call, unless the offense was bad enough that a warning couldn't be shouted out first.