The Referee Chronicle: It's in the Bag

The referee bag is the most crucial piece of equipment in the referee’s arsenal. It literally is the toolbox that the referee’s tools are kept safe. There are many types of bags available to the referee. It is up to each individual referee to evaluate and purchase the best bag and supplies for his or her needs.

My old bag was a simple, standard type gym bag emblazoned with the United States Soccer Referee Program logo. It served me for a season and half before it needed to be retired. I was straining it beyond its capacity, and I’m honestly surprised it lasted as long as it did. Like all things, you get what you pay for, and it was fairly cheap. This Christmas, Santa Claus brought a new bag to replace the old one. Actually, Santa brought me three bags. I chose the new compartmentalized bag from Official Sports. This bag is proudly displays the USSF Soccer Referee logo as well. 

 I have lived most of my adult life by the US Coast Guard motto: Semper Paratus. That’s Latin for, “Always Prepared.” The referee needs to always be prepared. The soccer pitch is not a place to be caught short of any of the necessities. Looking at the front of the bag, I’ll go compartment to compartment and list the equipment I carry to each field.

The small, outside left pocket contains: two watches, a hand pump, Laws of the Game booklet, and two black trash bags. I always wear two watches for the games I referee. The one worn on the left wrist is the primary timekeeper; the watch on the right wrist is the backup. Both watches keep the running game time just in case one of the watches fails. During one game, the battery on my backup watch died. The field marshal laughed when I mentioned it to him and asked why I wore a backup. I honestly thought the situation answered his question, but I simply replied, “Because it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” Every referee must carry a copy of the laws of the game. Failing to do so is, in my opinion, unbelievably irresponsible. The black trash bags are used to protect the bag and its contents from the elements. In Miami, the summer sun shower can pop anytime. It’s good practice to always wrap the bag in plastic. 

The larger left sided pocket contains a pair of cleats and a first aid bag. I don’t wear cleats as my primary referee shoe; however, in the rain, the quick stops and starts needed for running a line can be treacherous. They also serve as back up shoes should the primary shoes suffer catastrophic failure, Semper Paratus. The first aid bag has athletic tape, ibuprofen, Icy-Hot ointment/spray, and an Epi-Pen. 

The two small front pockets contain two small plastic bags. The first contains several different types and styles of whistles. I primarily use a Fox40 Sharx whistle. It’s probably overkill on the smaller fields, but it is a distinct and very loud whistle. It is a black whistle with a pink lanyard. The pink lanyard makes it easy to spot on the pitch if I happen to drop it. I carry a regular Fox40 whistle in my pocket just in case I drop the primary whistle. I do carry two “old school” whistles with the cork pea. Sometimes, referees need to change whistles because a neighboring field’s referee has the same whistle.  The second small bag contains referee patches, two sets of yellow and red cards, pencils, scorecards, and a coin. 

The large right side pocket contains a pair of turf shoes. These are my primary refereeing shoes. Whether on grass or artificial turf, these shoes provide the right amount of grip for running a line or centering a soccer game in dry conditions. [Insert pic] The small, outer right pocket contains two pairs of referee socks. Wearing wet socks is one of the most awful feelings on the planet. Sometimes, you just have to change socks between games or halves.

This brings me to the main, large pocket; inside are all of the uniforms needed to officiate the game. All the colors of the rainbow are represented: two red, two black, two yellow, two blue, one green USSF Referee program shirts. With the exception of the green shirt, I have a long sleeve and short sleeve of each of them. Also inside the main pocket, there are league specific shirts: Club Sport Official shirt, Regla XVIII purple shirt, and a yellow Adidas shirt. There’s a USSF hat, an extra pair of referee shorts, and regular t-shirt for after the game.

Too large to fit into the bag are two sets of assistant referee flags. They rest inside the handles of the bag near the top pocket. A small cell phone holder is clipped to the shoulder strap. The little pocket inside the cell phone holder is my USSF Referee identification and my Florida Youth Soccer background clearance.

In total, the bag and its contents are around $1,000.00. The bag is more than just a carrying tool for all the equipment the referees need; it’s a bank vault that carries a large investment for each referee.