REFS NEED LOVE TOO
An honest perspective from the 3rd team on the pitch... the referees. Through humor, analysis and education, we are slowly changing how people view referees and officials in all sports. We care and have a love for the game as much as any player or coach. Sometimes even more. Youth soccer (proper football) is a multi-billion $ industry in the US. Tremendous money is spent on players, competitions, travel etc., but almost nothing spent on developing the next generation of referees. I hope that this Podcast inspires, educates and humanizes the next generation of referees for their own development and appreciation from the players, coaches and spectators they need to work alongside.
REFS NEED LOVE TOO
Elevate Your Referee Fitness Game with Expert Advice from Running Refs, Austin Ardrey
Unlock the secrets to peak performance for referees with our special guest, Austin Ardrey, CEO of Runnin' Ref. Have you ever considered the rigorous athletic demands placed on sports officials? Austin shares his expansive knowledge on why referees should be considered athletes, given their demanding roles in basketball, soccer, and football. Discover how sport-specific training programs are meticulously designed to address the unique movements and fitness needs of referees, and why these often-overlooked athletes deserve our utmost respect.
Managing energy and recovery is crucial for referees to perform at their best. In this episode, Austin dives deep into effective strategies for injury prevention, with a particular focus on tackling common issues like Achilles tendonitis. Gain valuable insights on how rest, targeted strengthening, and proper movement mechanics are essential for maintaining optimal condition and avoiding injuries. Learn how tools like the Ref6 app can revolutionize the way referees track their fitness metrics and enhance their performance game after game.
Prepare to elevate your refereeing skills with practical tips on nutrition, hydration, and fitness maintenance straight from the expert. Austin highlights the significance of a balanced diet, proper electrolyte replenishment, and effective warm-up routines to ensure peak performance on the pitch. From recommendations on lean protein and easily digestible carbs to choosing the right electrolyte products, this episode is a treasure trove of actionable advice. Whether you’re a seasoned referee or a newcomer, Austin’s expertise will empower you to excel in officiating with confidence and prowess.
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Speaker 1:Hello and welcome to the Refs Need Love 2 podcast, a show that gives you a real, raw and behind the scenes view of one of the hardest jobs on the pitch the referee. I'm your host, david Gerson, a grassroots referee and certified mentor with over 10 years of experience and over 1,200 matches under my belt. You can find me at refsneedlove2.com and on Insta, tiktok and now even YouTube. Today we are welcoming Austin Ardrey, and he is the CEO of Runnin' Ref, an app-based strength and conditioning company designed specifically for referees and sports officials. He brings an insatiable passion for fitness along with a decade of experience in the collegiate strength and conditioning industry. He's worked with schools such as Ole Miss, the University of Nevada, washington State University and Liberty University.
Speaker 1:As a performance coach, austin has helped officials across multiple sports prepare to officiate their sport at a high level by maintaining a high fitness and becoming stronger and preventing injuries, which I need. Running ref's mission is to help you become the best official you can be. Okay, austin. The first question, man, you know why in the world do you believe referees are athletes? That sounds crazy.
Speaker 2:It is to most people. But referees are athletes, right? If you watch the games, you sprint, you stop, you start and you never get a break. So referees do everything that the athletes do, and much more.
Speaker 1:Man, you sound like someone who appreciates a referee. I like that.
Speaker 2:Things have changed over the years. Right, I used to watch the balls. I used to watch the plays stay out of the referee's way. But now, hey, I don't even watch the play anymore. I'm focused on what the referees are doing.
Speaker 1:That's wild, and so do you have a background in officiating. Have you been a referee before?
Speaker 2:Actually I have not. I have never officiated. I've been in many circles now, so learning the nuances of different sports, right. What basketball officials do versus soccer referees and ARs and the whistle, you know football referees at different positions on the field, so I have never put stripes on myself and had to call a game. So but judgment-free zone here. I know what you go through now, so hey, it's all good.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, you're still working with high performance athletes. Can you talk a little bit the different sports that you worked in?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, with a basketball referee, right, they need to stop, start and sprint often, often, and they change positions a lot, so they've all got to be able to do the same things, right? A soccer referee and an AR do a little bit different things. Fitness level is still important for both, but your ARs move laterally a whole lot and then they'll get to stand for a minute and then they'll sprint again and then they'll shuffle, shuffle, sprint. The football referee has a lot of different actions, but they're just broken up into a lot of different movements and then different positions on the field as well. So all of the different nuances of the three. You know large sports here in America. They all have similarities, but they all have vast differences too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's wild. And so for the different sports, do you create different training or different workout for that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly so we try to be as specific as we can for each refereeing sport. Okay, so our strength training would be a little bit more general, right? Because everybody needs injury prevention, stability, mobility, you know true strength training on one leg, two legs, hamstring Okay, we all get that. Now, when it comes to the field or the court work, it's different. The surfaces are different, the actions are different, the shoe wear is completely different, the body types are different. The time in between actions I mean a football play you know exactly when you have a range right Between 18 and 24 seconds in most cases, right In today's American football game and soccer is very different. In basketball it could change like that too If there's a change of possession. So we have now created different fitness and on-fielder court movement elements to complement each referee in their sport.
Speaker 1:So I'm so curious, man. I mean, there's so many places that you could work in the fitness world. I mean, again, you've coached high-level college athletes. What is it about us roughs that you're attracted to?
Speaker 2:Man, I just love referees. The personalities are incredible too. Man, I just love referees. The personalities are incredible. No, it just kind of came on naturally, man, and I really do enjoy referees. I really love the personalities. How caring officials are, they will take the shirt off their back. It's a small, tight knit community too, which is really cool to now be a part of. But yeah, I mean, one phone call led to another. You know, one career change led to another, and here we are today. I just, I mean, one phone call led to another. You know, one career change led to another, and here we are today. I just, I've become obsessed with it.
Speaker 1:Talk to our listeners about this for a second. So the organization is called Run and Ref, and so are you doing in-person clinics, are you doing online? Are you doing personal coaching? I mean, what does this look like?
Speaker 2:So it's a little bit of all that actually. So you know, it started with in-person here I live in Dallas. It started with some in-person training with American football referees. I met them. We didn't know where it would go. We didn't talk about me getting paid, we didn't talk about ever seeing each other again, and it went well seeing each other again, and it went well. So they started inviting people and they started paying me. And then they were like there's referees in Oklahoma that want in, there's referees in Kansas that have questions, so on and so forth. So that's where we built the online training program to where a referee anywhere in the country could access it. Right, and it's step-by-step. They could follow along with it.
Speaker 2:Referees have families, they have children, they have full-time jobs, so we needed to make it as time efficient as possible for them. Well then, we start. More and more people want to get involved with this. So I have begun to travel a little bit. So I went to Virginia Beach this summer, to Detroit, to Atlanta, to different conferences and clinics and, specifically for the referees, teaching them how to warm up, how to prevent injuries and different stuff. So it began to encompass a little bit of travel, but for the most part it was designed for, you know, a general program for referees, and then now we've even started some customized stuff too, which is beyond me that we would get to this point. But here we are.
Speaker 1:So I know I have a number of senior referees and assigners, people on the state referee committees who listen to this podcast, you know. If they were organizing training events for referees, I mean, what would you say to them? Why should they bring you in to come work with their teams?
Speaker 2:You know, a lot of times. You know, the biggest thing that I see with you know the sport of soccer, or football, as most people call it right is the fitness test. That's number one. Right, we need our officials to pass the fitness test. Okay, well, where's your guidance coming from? Right, it's typically, you know, crossfit or general strength training or you know following a local run club. Okay, well, we can get a little more specific and help them with that, you know, give them the ability to pass the test.
Speaker 2:Well, the other thing I don't see many referees warm up. Now I'm hopeful that more and more are, and I know you know, in different levels of different sports, different people take it more serious, but teaching them actually how to warm up and how to prevent some of their injuries on the field. So I think there's some value in that. If we're teaching them the laws of the game, we're teaching them how to be a referee. We have to teach them the physical part too, because you want them to be available and be on the pitch to make calls. You know you don't want them on the sidelines and having to hustle and bustle and find a replacement, that's got to be annoying.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, a thousand percent. Now we've talked about um fitness previously on the podcast and specifically about older referees. You know, over 40 years old, 50 years old I'm right about 50. And especially in high school, we have a high school fitness test and it seems like we start the year with like 350 refs and by the end of the year there's only like 175 who are still fit. And you talk about the warmup. You know, when I go to the pitch and I watch a lot of these older guys, it's like like they're standing there, they may do some static stretch or something like that, and then all of a sudden they're trying to run on the pitch. So what is a proper warmup look like for a referee?
Speaker 2:So I'm going to give you the long winded answer here. You can shorten it up right, and some of it depends on if you've had an injury before right. You may need some more dedicated time to that specific region. But I always think that soft tissue preparation is important. So what that means is just a little massage therapy and I try to really hone in on people bringing some small tools and stuff. I mean foam rollers can be useful, theraguns whatever. But I think you can get a lot of benefit out of simple stuff such as golf balls, soft balls, what I call peanut balls, two tennis balls taped together. You can almost hit everything you need in your legs to get ready. So I always think five to ten minutes of a little bit of targeted soft tissue work, some targeted stretching. So I'm a firm believer and I think most research out there shows that dynamic stretching is better than static pre-match pre-training. And then you know getting up and moving static pre-match pre-training and then getting up and moving.
Speaker 2:One of the big things that people don't understand about a warm-up is you're trying to close the gap from zero being sedentary to full-speed movements. Now, at the beginning of the game, you may not have to run 70 yards or meters down the pitch. I get it, but you never know when that time may come, so you have to be warm and ready to sprint full speed in the event that it happens. So I think from start to finish, you know you can zero to 20 minutes, you can get what you need done in that timeframe and really be prepped and ready. And hopefully that solves some of the number issues that you're talking about keeping referees on the pitch and feeling good. Right that we want people to feel good while they're on the pitch. We don't want them to be in pain. It's no good for anybody.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had a young referee message me the other day. She was saying she's a fourth-year official but she's still nervous about doing centers. And one of the things I said is, first off, everyone gets a little nervous and that's a good thing. It means you care. But when I don't get the time to do a proper warm-up, then I don't feel ready. I don't feel ready to get on the pitch and I also think a little bit of a warmup, you know, lets you get those nerves out too and gets you like in the game mode, gets you ready for the game. I think a warmup is so critical.
Speaker 2:I agree. I think, like you said, it holds other benefits too. It just breaks a sweat and you get amped up a little bit and like, hey, it's go time. This is why I'm here.
Speaker 1:I know it. So let's talk about you know. Let's say you don't work out and maybe you're not doing what you need to be to get ready. What are the top injuries that you tend to see with soccer officials?
Speaker 2:I think it's a couple. I think obviously our younger officials get a little bit luckier than some of our more seasoned veteran officials. But you know, one of the biggest one and I'll just target an area is basically from the knee down or the lower shank, so that can go anywhere from turf toe plantar fasciitis, fifth metatarsal breaks not quite as much, but a lot of plantar fasciitis. Achilles tendonitis is a big one that I hear about in calf strains. Along with that I hear a lot of patella tendonitis and low back type of stuff. So I think a lot of them can be preventable. You train hard, you officiate a lot of games. Your body is going to need a break at some point. All it is is a signal right Saying hey, I need some therapy, I need some different things to help me out.
Speaker 1:But those are really the top ones. Yeah, it's so interesting you say that, so I just want to delve a little deeper into this topic. A little personal here. Thankfully, I'm not suffering from Achilles tendonitis right now, but I have in the past, and so I think, as referees, we just push through. I reffed this past weekend, I'm reffing the next weekend. We get all the emails going out. Hey, we need rest, we need rest. We just keep on going. What do you do if you are suffering from tendonitis? Is the only answer rest, or is there anything else we can be doing?
Speaker 2:No, that's a really good question. We could go down the rabbit hole on this, for sure, because there's so many means of curing it, but rest is absolutely important. Getting rid of inflammation once you just finish a game is very important, but you actually got to restructure and restrengthen, repair the tendon. I mean, that's a tendon issue and it could come from a lot of different ways. It could come from poor shoe wear, which I want to start looking more into for officials, as we're starting to bring this up. It could come from calf tightness. It could come from lack of strength below. You know what I mean. It could come from overuse as well, so it can come from a multitude of ways.
Speaker 2:So, sure, rest could be important, but specifically targeting the calf and foot to release some pressure, I mean, hey, manicures are great, like seriously. I know it sounds funny and people are going to giggle when they listen to this, but loosening up your calves, loosening up your feet, will change the game for you. I mean, a quarter of the bones in your body are in your feet, so you got to take care of them, and the Achilles tendon just happens to be what's in the middle right. I mean it may not be the problem, but it's getting the bulk of the work. So rest but repair, so strengthening specifically within that area. And then movement mechanics too. You know the more and more that I look into and watch officials move and run improper running mechanics do hold a place. Now to what level, with which referee we can't identify, but that definitely holds a place as well wild.
Speaker 1:Okay question for you. Okay, it's going to be a force ranking. Okay, how would you rank these in terms of importance for a ref mobility, fitness level, strength changing, strength training or injury prevention? What's most important? You know what's least. What would you focus on first?
Speaker 2:they, they all tie together. I think injury prevention has got to be number one. Still, that's all encompassing. So all that goes together right. Better mobility may prevent some injuries. Better strength, better fitness level I still think that's number one, because availability is your best ability. Now fitness level is a very close second. I mean, you know how much you run within the course of a game, how much you sprint, how much you stop, how much you start. Your fitness level is everything. And then, honestly, I'm going to turn some heads here, but I think strength training is number three and mobility, I truly do believe, is the fourth. Not that it's not important, but I do believe being strong and stable holds a little bit more value than mobility In some cases. In some cases that would be different.
Speaker 1:Yeah no, I hear you loud and clear. I actually I use the Ref6 app, so I'm a huge, huge fan. I mean, honestly, I never ref a match without it. If I leave my Apple Watch at home and I don't have my Ref6 app, I never ref a match without it. If I leave my Apple Watch at home and I don't have my Ref6 app, I freak out Like I feel naked out there. I'm like I don't know how I'm going to tell time.
Speaker 1:But I will say my favorite thing is when I get home and I'm finally able to chill out, I'm drinking my post-match smoothie to actually look at my metrics and see how much distance I covered. See my heat map, see my sprint map. I love being able to see certain runs that I did. I did it on the pitch and I think about okay, later I'm going to see that and it's going to look awesome. It's going to be in the red, it's going to be like a high speed one and it motivates me, and so I totally understand. You know, fitness and strength is so, so critical to being in the right position to make the right call.
Speaker 2:Exactly. I mean, you know I talk about running mechanics quite often for those reasons and you know some people are kind of like hey, I'm not trying to be a sprinter, I don't need to get that much faster. But exactly to your point. The purpose isn't to run a fast or 100 meter dash, the purpose is to be athletic and technical enough that you can get in position and make the call, because that's what you're there for, right You're there to make a call.
Speaker 2:So I a hundred percent and to your point, ref six is really cool for that aspect. I think looking at those, how far I ran and how fast I ran, is super, super cool and super motivating for a lot of officials as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm a big fan. I mean they are wonderful peeps. I should say if you want the ref six app, use the code. Refs need love, like those refs need love for 10% office subscriptions. So I'll hook you guys up on that. But I do consider it like my own personal scoreboard and it again it motivates me out there and I I've learned over time that if I'm fit and I'm doing my proper workouts during the week it enables me to be fit on the pitch. And the other thing, I'm scared of getting injured. So I have a confidence that I can kind of get into a sprint or I can change directions and burst If I know I'm in shape. If I'm hurting a little or I haven't been working out like in the beginning of the season, right now I'm a little more fearful and I'm taking my foot off the gas and I can tell the difference of my performance on the pitch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I totally get that. The confidence piece absolutely goes with it, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about we've like this weekend I had six matches I'm sure there are refs listening to this who had 12 matches. I swear I worked with a guy on Saturday whose first game was at 8 am, his last game was at 8 pm and he literally had like eight matches and I'm like there's no way that 8 pm match is going to be like his best performance, number one, and I couldn't even imagine what he was going to feel like the next day. So can we talk a little bit? Oh, I know he's got money, so that helps. So let's talk a little about recovery for officials.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we already kind of hit on it a little bit. Rest is part of recovery, right? I mean, sleep, in my opinion, is one of the best, and I think people are starting to understand how impactful it is for your hormones and, you know, for your brain, your cognitive ability, which once again, is important for an official right In the end of a game. I have to, you know, be ready to go and have to be able to react. But diet, so nutrition, hydration, huge part of it as well. But I'm also a huge proponent, more than most people probably have, active recovery. So I think you know a good way to get inflammation out, to get those joints in the body moving again, is to actually move, you know. So sleep, diet, hydration, and then for me, active recovery is a big one and pro tip here, the pool, if you have access to a pool, is your best friend. The pool is one of the best forms of active recovery on the market.
Speaker 1:Not everybody has access. Are you doing labs in?
Speaker 2:the pool.
Speaker 1:You can kind of make it what you want.
Speaker 2:I mean you can run in place, you can jump in place, I mean depending on water level, right.
Speaker 1:I mean right, you can tread water.
Speaker 2:It's just therapeutic. The water feels good, but you're taking your body weight away and you're, you know, creating movement. So there's just a ton of benefits. If you have access to a pool or your local gym, does I mean hop in, if you at all can, it's, it's incredible. Honestly, it's a game changer that's really interesting.
Speaker 1:I you know when I, when I do, go to mls matches, after the game you will see the center official and the ARs actually come on out to the pitch one more time and do a light jog around the pitch, um, and I've never, yeah a cool down and I've never really thought about it much. But I guess that's what they're doing is just allowing their body just to um, because they're going from that sprint, sprint, sprint and then back to the locker room and that's probably not the best thing to just sit. Still, you know, a little bit of movement is probably helpful.
Speaker 2:Which is tough because a lot of referees, you know the game's over, it's time to go home, so it's added time. I want to go home to my family. I understand, but yeah, your body's your big token. You got to find ways to, you know, start the recovery process as early as possible you know, start the recovery process as early as possible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't think people appreciate that professional referees how much time they spend making sure that their body is in tip top condition. I mean it is, it's their instrument, as if they're a musician. If they don't have their fitness and their body, they don't have a job or they're not working, they're not making money, so it's huge.
Speaker 2:I mean that's what I try to tell everybody as a referee. I mean your most two important assets, your eyes and your legs. I mean after that you can find ways to problem solve.
Speaker 1:So what are some of the biggest predictors of injury for referees?
Speaker 2:I do think the fitness level is at the top here. So I think fitness level absolutely is at the top of predicting injuries. If I'm not in good shape, there's a ton of things that could happen negatively, you know, musculally or cardiovascularly speaking. I think because and I'm so big into the on fuel or on court movements that I think that just solid movement mechanics and athleticism, just general athleticism, means a lot because you're able to put your body in the right place at the right time and safeguard yourself, because you're being more mechanically sound and your movements are more effective. So I think the fitness level and movement mechanics are, you know, at the top of the list.
Speaker 2:If I'm not in shape, if I'm not very good mover, I'm setting myself up for failure. And then I also still continue to say that mobility and strength or lack thereof, leads to other problems. Right, if I'm stiff in certain areas, stress is going to go into areas I don't want. If I've got really tight and restricted ankles, it's going to come up into the knees. If I'm weak in certain places, something's going to give out at some point. I think in that order, those are, in my opinion, the biggest predictors of injuries for officials personal for me on injury, so I mentioned this.
Speaker 1:I know my podcast listeners like shut up about your injury, but I did tear my hamstring during the fifa fitness test how long ago was it?
Speaker 1:two and a half years ago. Okay, so I'm fully recovered, but it took a good eight weeks before I could start really not sprinting but jogging and having confidence to do it. But it ruined a full season. You know I missed most of the high school season, all of the spring club season. It was depressing, let me say that. But so fitness test is a thing and those who are looking to move up and improve as a referee and take on higher level games and get that regional certification have to do the FIFA fitness test. Do you have any specific advice or specific type of training they can be doing to do those short 40-meter sprints and those longer 75-meter runs?
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure. I mean I think we'll start with the sprint portion. I have watched three fitness tests in person in the last year. I've seen someone pull up in each one of those tests. I can't remember all three of the injuries. Specifically, one was definitely hamstring. If I had a guess was the second. The speed of movement is part of it. So if you are never running a full speed sprint, if you're just jogging and you're training prior to leading up to that, that hamstring is not ready to act that fast. So that could set you up for some failure. So we've already talked about warmup. I think if there's any way you can start to embed into your warmup some running technique drills. It's only going to help you because those actions are very specific. And then running sprints it can be once a week, but try to improve your speed because that sprint portion is in the test for a reason it's testing general athleticism, explosiveness Can I move quick enough and get in position? And then, as far as the fitness test itself, I know a big thing for officials is they want to practice the test to get ready for it. I don't have a problem with that. I actually think setting up benchmarks over the course of training is a good idea. So if I know, on August 1st I need to take the full gamut. That's when I'm getting my association is going to test it. I want to have an idea, probably four weeks before, like, hey, I need to push harder, I'm not in shape enough to pass this, or not.
Speaker 2:I think running repeated sprints are a big deal. That's one of my favorite fitness exercises for officials in all sports. It's just high intensity interval training is all it is, but you're doing it. It's very specific, I think lengthening out that timeframe. So I think repeated sprints, I think tempo runs are great because I think you can get a lot of volume out of that. But I think those two things are the biggest ways to prepare you for that, because it's not always I'm not ready for the volume and I'm not ready for the speed, but it's tying them together and being able to handle that interval at that pace. So repeated sprints and then, if you can get some longer runs throughout the course of a week, I think you can be in tip top shape and it's like anything else, it's just planning.
Speaker 2:If I start six weeks early, maybe as I get older it gets harder to get there. But now, if I start, 12 weeks out, 16 weeks out, I can just chip away, chip away, chip away, and then at some point it's got to come. You know, with a little bit of grit. Right, I'm going to pass this. I'm on lap seven. You're not turning me down from that badge. I'm going. I got this.
Speaker 1:I know I have a lot of regrets. I dropped out on lap six last time I did it and I was like like my heart rate was at like 188. I was like really feeling dizzy. I was like darn it, but I just I gave up. There's a mental thing. I mean, there's something about practicing it and I didn't do the training right. I still see it in my future, so maybe it'll happen again. But you talk specifically about running technique and running drills. So talk to me about the importance of running technique and then what can you do to improve your running technique?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I think there's three big reasons for it. Number one injury prevention being able to put my limbs in the right place at the right time. Number two would be being more economical. Right, just being able to save energy over the course of a game. I think we kind of hit on it earlier. I don't want to get to the 90th minute if I can help it and be gassed right. If I'm more efficient, I can save more energy over the course of a game. So being technically sound helps me in that. And then you know. Lastly is uh, better mechanics allow me to run at a faster pace.
Speaker 2:It doesn't necessarily say it right. I mean, can usain bolt really improve his technique much more to make him run nine second hundred? But you get where I'm going, right, it's still helpful in the event. And then you know, I think practicing running drills are some of the best things for general athleticism. But time into your warmup If you know you're going to the track or you're getting onto the field and doing a fitness session on Monday morning, why would you not do something that looks like running in your warmup? Right, it only makes sense before the game If you're not doing some things high knees or, you know, even a skip, certain things like that that look like running. I think you're. You're missing the boat, and that's an easy way just to practice them a couple of times a week in your warmup.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have added a skips into my warmup, probably about a year and a half ago, and I feel that's probably one of the best things that I've been able to do. Just for my glutes, hamstrings and just for being a little bit more explosive before I try and do sprints has been really helpful.
Speaker 2:I like where your head's at.
Speaker 1:Hey, listen man, I am all about the injury prevention at this stage of my life. I mean seriously. So for listeners out there, austin and I were just joking a little bit before the podcast and I was telling him I didn't have a great day, just to be honest, I didn't have a great day at work. I cannot wait until 8 am Saturday morning when I got that first kickoff. I am looking forward to that with all of my heart and soul so that I can be out there and I can lose myself in that moment and I find it to be so cathartic. And that's when I got injured, you know. And why I bring people on this channel to talk about health and fitness and nutrition and and how to be fit to be a ref is because if I don't have the fitness and I get injured, I can't be a ref and that would really break my heart. Sorry, getting a little personal. Yeah, no, it's legit. I have so many people who are lifelong refs.
Speaker 1:I actually bumped into a coach this weekend after I had refed. He told me first off that he had bought some merch for his dad. His dad is an 81-year-old referee. He is still reffing. Dude has been reffing for over 40 years and I am thinking to myself man, I hope I am still above ground and walking and breathing at 81. This guy is still riffing at 81. Doing what he loves at this point. Right, it's fantastic. It's fantastic. So what are some common trends that you see with higher level referees that we could be giving to our aspiring referees? You know whether they're young, whether they're old. What are some common trends you're seeing with them for higher level refs?
Speaker 2:I think fitness level, without a doubt. You don't see higher level referees struggle with their fitness or at least I don't Now maybe it's just my time in the game here but I don't see higher level referees struggle with that. I think the next thing is just athleticism. You watch them move and once again, they're athletes, they're professional athletes. At that point Everything's just so smooth and rhythmic and they have some explosiveness and their arm swing looks good with their leg swing and the mechanics, just like flow, and I'm going into a different state here. But just the general athleticism of them is completely different, in my opinion. Not completely different. There's a lot of athletic younger officials too. I don't mean that, but they just have a different way about them, a different movement, and it's really fun to watch.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I will just tell anyone, if you look at pictures of the referees who are going to regionals and are going to nationals, they are all fit, like proper lean and fit to a person, every single one, and I think that's just so critical. I mean, not only do they look phenomenal and look professional, but you know they're going to be able to move on the pitch and be able to have that proper posture and mechanics and be able to sprint into the right spot to be able to make that call with authority. Yeah, there's no doubt.
Speaker 2:And then it gives them confidence, too right, in what they're doing, because they know they're fit. And when you're fit and you look a certain way, you feel good about yourself, and that holds a lot of weight too.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Hey, can I ask you a nutrition question? What would be your recommended night before a match meal and then morning of a match meal?
Speaker 2:Oh, now you're putting me on the hot seat because I might do things different than some people.
Speaker 1:That's okay, it's okay.
Speaker 2:Something that you can digest is number one, right, Pasta might work for you okay. So I do think a balanced diet I will never tell somebody to not eat vegetables, right but I think a lean protein source the night before or the morning of is definitely a need. I think that carbohydrates are good too, but once again, I think that one goes to the person. So the night before, I think you have a little bit more time to digest it. If it's a little heavier on the side of pasta or a baked potato or something of that nature, you have some time.
Speaker 2:I think the morning of is where it gets real personal for you. If you don't digest things very well or fast, you don't want to go in bloated or heavy. Be able to move. Maybe fruit is a better option, because I think a lot of people know fruit or carbs, but they'll digest quickly. So, but then you got to know yourself too. If I'm starving at halftime, I might need a snack. So I think being well balanced is always critical. Being able to hydrate at both meals and hydration doesn't mean just water right, you need some electrolytes, but lean protein vegetables and a solid carb source that you can digest quickly is the way to go.
Speaker 1:Okay, what is your electrolyte recommendation? There's so many out there.
Speaker 2:I love element. I don't know if you the stick packets elementy. I like them because there's no sugar, and a lot of times when people strip sugar, what do they put in it? Sucralose or something that's you know. Maybe not as great for us, but, um, I'm a little bit picky when it comes to that, but I love it. There's a lot of different flavors. There's one out of Hawaii that I want to try and I just always buy the bundle from element and never get myself to but it's called ATH dot sport. Um, I want to try that one. They claim better ingredients, but those are my two big ones. But what do you use?
Speaker 1:I use Liquid IV in my jug that I bring to the field. I've got body armors and then Gatorade. I'll usually bring a Gatorade and a body armor, but it's whatever I can get my hands on sometimes I need something on the way to the field.
Speaker 2:Where can I stop and get electrolytes?
Speaker 1:That's exactly right. No, but I've been trying to be more conscious of it. I used to just down water, but it's like, no matter how much water you drink, you're still cramping. You're still don't feel right. You need something else.
Speaker 2:Magnesium, sodium, potassium, those three.
Speaker 1:You know it's interesting, you say sodium. So I had read one supplement one time that someone recommended to me. I was like, oh, it's got sodium in it. That can't be good. But sodium actually can be helpful for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you got to replace it. It comes out in sweat, right. So if we never replace it, yeah, sodium is a big one. There's different research that's come out too over the years and really once again challenging what we've thought in america for a while that says, oh, sodium's bad, stay away from salt, so on and so forth. But now there's another camp that's really pushing sodium and saying, hey, no, like your body needs it, it's a, it's a essential mineral.
Speaker 1:You know that you need so, yeah, I mean as an athlete. I mean, obviously, if you're not going to be running crazy or something like that, take it easy on on your salt, people, but if you're going to be out there on the pitch and sweating like crazy which in August in Georgia, we do need to replace it, that's right. So, austin, tell our listeners how do they find you, how do they get in touch with you if they want to improve their fitness and become a better and more fit running ref.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, really easy to get a hold of on socials, so Facebook, instagram, at running refs and what's the handle At running refs? Okay, so there is actually an S on it. There was a running ref was taken. Email is very easy too. If you want to contact me directly, I'm easy to get a hold of. I'm happy to help. There's officials that always reach out and I say, hey, give me your email. I can give you something a little more long winded and, you know, give you some YouTube links that you can take and do what you want. But Austin at runningrefcom pretty easy. And then our website is runningrefcom pretty easy, pretty simple to get to, um and it gives you a lot of different information. But if you need anything at all, just feel free to reach out. I'm more than happy to help anybody and problem solve along the way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it is so important you can train, but there's a big difference between training the right way and just training, and sometimes you need a professional to help you learn how to train right so that you can improve your performance. Not just you know run or lift and think you're doing things, but you may not be actually doing the right things to improve your performance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I think that's a good point, right? I mean, is a bodybuilder fit to go run up and down the pitch? You know, as a power lifter fit to run up and down the pitch? I think it just comes back to specificity and what you want to be good at. If you want to be good at, If you want to be a bodybuilder, hey that's great. But just know, maybe it doesn't help you on the pitch.
Speaker 1:Excellent. Well, I hope everyone out there enjoyed today's pod. Running is key to being a good ref. Just because you can ref in the center circle and not move doesn't mean you should. So staying fit and getting in the right position to make a call is key for any official. Also, please support the refs need to online store. Check out the new whistle I recently added. Pick up some merch if you haven't already. Everything gets poured back into the making this channel possible. We could not do it without you. Last but not least and you know I'm gonna say it I wish you all the best and I hope your next match is red card free. We'll see you next time.