Customer Reviews

The Referee's Survival Guide

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This is a tremendous book for the beginning soccer referee. Like a mentor, Jeffrey Caminsky does an excellent job of letting the new referee know what to expect, how to be a referee, and all the other things that they don't teach you in class. This book is full of good advice and addresses a lot of the situations that I had been unclear or unsure about during my first twenty-five matches and had to learn the hard way. This book is also very readable; not a dry treatise on Laws of the Game. Caminsky has a sly wit that he reveals on occasion to keep things interesting.

For the intermediate referee, there are some "best practices" that can be drawn out; for example, the section on match control or some of the nonverbal communication techniques for use with ARs.

Advanced referees would be better suited with Evans & Bellion's "For the Good of the Game", an outstanding book in its own right but one that requires much more experience to fully appreciate. I read Evans & Bellion first, then Caminsky. Having now read both, I wish I had started with Caminsky first, then as I gained game experience, moved up to Evans & Bellion.

This book should be part of every new referee's starter kit.

I truly enjoyed this book. While it does have some useful tidbits for the experienced referee, I think that its greatest impact will be for the new or beginning referee.

This book will help referees understand the traditions and meaning of the game from the referee standpoint; case in point: Two instances of deliberate handling of the ball. One, the keeper strays outside the penalty area whilst booting the ball downfied. Two, the keeper reaches outside the penalty area to scoop up the ball with his hand and breaks up an attack. Both can be penalized with a direct free kick but, but which infraction requires that play be stopped?

The beginning referee will say "BOTH!", but the author recommends that, since the keeper really gets no significant advantage by using an extra few inches to send the ball downfield a verbal warning may be the best result - while breaking up an attack truly deserves the free kick.

It is these insights that I feel are well told. I liked the genial tone and amusing byplay of the book, and truly recommend it!

This book is brilliant. It has very useful advice and information for referees across the breadth of experience, from first year novices to 20+ year veterans.

As a first year referee, this book has been invaluable to me. I have been able to apply many of Jeffrey Caminsky's tips. If you are a new referee, or wish to enhance your current skills, read this book!

Very helpful, wish I had this book when I started as a ref.