Decision-making skills and deliberate practice in elite association football referees

Abstract

We examined sport expertise as a function of role. In study 1, referees were better than players in a video-based decision-making task. This provides evidence that there are role-specific skills within one domain or sport. In study 2, we examined the training activities that could be influential in the development of skills in sports officials. Elite association football (soccer) referees retrospectively reported time spent in and perceptions of training activities for three periods: their first year of formal refereeing, 1998 (before formal training programmes were available), and the current year (2003). This allowed us to examine an area of skill with a limited culture of practice, where performance simulations with direct feedback are usually not feasible. The results showed that referees specialize early and, as they develop, they engage in greater volumes and types of training. Competitive match refereeing is considered a relevant activity for skill acquisition that does not fit Ericsson and colleagues' (1993) original definition of deliberate practice. Our findings indicate that actual performance is a significant activity for skill acquisition and refinement.

Why Ref? Understanding sport officials’ motivations to begin, continue, and quit

“…There are several challenges for sport officials during a match -they must be physically fit (Leicht, 2008), make split-second decisions (MacMahon, Helsen, Starkes, & Weston, 2007), have extensive rule knowledge (MacMahon & Plessner, 2008), communicate with athletes and coaches (MacMahon & Plessner, 2008), and deal with tremendous pressure and scrutiny (Lehman & Reifman, 1987;Nevill, Balmer, & Williams, 2002). Certainly, sport officiating is not an easy avocation.…”

The role of embodied cognition in sports officiating

“…The number of years as well as the league level contribute to this experience. Evidence suggests that officiating experience determines the performance quality of sports officials (MacMahon, et al, 2007). Using a video-based tackle assessment task, MacMahon, et al (2007) showed that a higher amount of officiating experience correlated with better performance quality of Belgian elite soccer referees.…”

“…Evidence suggests that officiating experience determines the performance quality of sports officials (MacMahon, et al, 2007). Using a video-based tackle assessment task, MacMahon, et al (2007) showed that a higher amount of officiating experience correlated with better performance quality of Belgian elite soccer referees. Performance quality of sports officials is characterized differently in each sport, although decision or judgment accuracy being the most important aspect.…”

“…Ericsson, et al, 2006), reviewing practice history profiles of expert 1 sports officials has revealed that an increase in refereeing skills was accompanied by an increase in training volumes (MacMahon, Helsen, Starkes, & Weston, 2007). Regarding refereeing decisions in soccer, this relation was shown to be quadratic, with increasing refereeing experience (until a peak at 16 years) diminishing the greater leniency of referees toward the home team (Nevill, Balmer, & Williams, 2002).…”

“…on the severity of the foul), the referee makes his decision, which is followed by his behavioral response. Therefore, superior perceptual-cognitive skills of experts, 1 Expert sports officials can be defined as those who either have reached a high amount of accumulated years of officiating experience or have officiated the top competitions within their respective leagues (for a discussion, see MacMahon, et al, 2007).…”