What I Learned as a Broomball Referee

I like trying odd jobs and seeing where they take me. At one point in college I was a broomball referee.

I ended up at the ice rink because I was learning to play hockey, to spend more time with my dad. Getting the referee's perspective sparked my interest. But I was just a beginner at hockey. Why not try it for broomball?

If you're not familiar with broomball, picture all your college friends going to the ice rink after a night of drinking, and skidding around on their sneakers, chasing after a ball with whatever they can grab to push it around - sticks, brooms, their feet - making up the rules as they go along. Then take that, and make it an extracurricular.



That's not totally fair - there were two types of leagues. One was a competitive, organized sport. The other was drunken 11:00 PM ice rink time with friends.

I reffed for the latter.

You might picture college students strapping on pads and skidding upside down into walls, giggling, as a frustrating place to enforce the rules. It was my job to make sure no one hurt themselves or each other, while everyone had a goofy good time. But honestly, I learned a few great lessons.

• If all the players agreed what kind of game it was, it went a lot smoother. I bet you've seen this before: If people wanting a serious game got on the rink with people wanting goof-off time, the culture clash was worse than dealing with almost any other rule.

• I didn't need to stress out about every detail in a for-fun league, but on a few key rules, I always stuck to my guns. It kept people safe, and set consistent expectations - and that let everyone relax and have more fun.

• If I kept the first two points in mind - I could really enjoy myself! It took me a few games to adjust to the culture and figure out when to be firm and when to relax. But ultimately, it was a blast to support teams of friends trying something ridiculous and social that they might not otherwise do. They'd remember great nights out giggling and sliding around the ice. I could smile about that.

I only tried refereeing for a couple semesters. But I get that feeling of "we're-making-this-up-as-we-go-along" and "we don't need no stinkin' rules" a lot. It's pretty familiar, and usually followed by "oh god I guess we did need a few rules didn't we". Sometimes it's for fun, sometimes it's more serious work.

When I know what's needed to get any new team on the same page, create a safe space with some basic expectations, and do my part confidently, I think everything goes a lot smoother. You don't need to be a ref or a coach to know that - but it's a fun reminder.