On Ice Tips

Don’t engage verbally with parents. Is it tempting? Yes. Is it a good idea? No. Nothing you say will make the situation better. If you feel like the words coming from the stands are reaching the point where ejections are necessary, you can then tell the parents to leave. Other than that, speaking to the crowd will usually just backfire.
Consult with your partner on anything larger than a minor penalty. If you think you are going to call a penalty shot, minor + misconduct, major + game misconduct, game misconduct, or a match penalty, you should definitely see what your partner has to say. A quick discussion makes it seem like both officials agree and that you are invested in the game.
Always face the puck with your skates. This is a small but mighty positioning tip. If you face the puck at all times, you minimize the surface area of your blades that can be hit by the puck compared to when you stand with your blades perpendicular to the puck.
Limit your washouts on the blue line. When I was starting out, I washed out every single blue line crossing. It didn’t matter how obvious it was, I would still wash it out. Doing so dilutes the value, power, and credibility of the signal. Save it for the times where plays are close.
Tell coaches to get off the bench or dasher. One of the best ways to calm a coach down is to tell them you will speak to them once they step off the bench or dasher. Conversations often go south when one person is literally standing over the other. If you invite them to walk to the other side of the bench, it also gives the coach a chance to cool off.
Invest in protective equipment… even at low levels. I get hit more in a low level squirt game than I do in a juniors game. Little kids don’t pick their heads up to see where you are and often have no control of their sticks on faceoffs. Being protected is worth the cost.
Have an extra whistle. I’ve had my whistle stop working in games multiple times. Make sure you have an extra in your pocket so you are prepared.
When assessing a penalty, be sure to stand near the edge of the center circle. The rationale behind this is not obvious. If you present your penalty from inside the referee’s crease, coaches can say awful things without needing to shout. If you stand further back, the coach must yell. This can be picked up on LiveBarn and everyone in the rink can hear. Oftentimes this will dissuade them from saying anything too unsavory.
Don’t rush through age groups. It can be easy to have a good U10 game and then feel like you should be working Tier 1 U12 the next day. Make sure you really feel like you have mastered one age group before you move to the next one. There really is no rush. Working a game that you don’t have the skills for is a bad experience for everyone involved. If possible, check in with veteran partners/assignors/mentors/supervisors and see what level they think is best for you.
Have fun. If you aren’t enjoying your games, take a break! Late February to early March is a crush of playoff games. One year, I had 5 straight weeks of intense playoff games with supervisors present. It was a ton of fun, but I felt worn out after everything ended, so I took a break for 3 weeks. Most referees perform better when they have fun out there, so if the fun starts to vanish you should take some time off.

On Ice Tips

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