On this episode of Soccer Geeks, we were delighted to speak with Christina Unkel, former FIFA referee and NCAA collegiate soccer athlete. In January 2022, Unkel was announced as the State Referee Administrator for the Florida State Referee Committee. Unkel’s love of and commitment to both soccer and refereeing is in her blood. Her father was a semi-pro player, and she took her first referee course as a ten-year-old player.
How did Unkel end up taking her first referee course as a ten-year-old?
When she was playing on her team in Florida, the ref was off on the sidelines flirting with his girlfriend, and Unkel found herself yelling at him to do his job. Her coach gave her two options. Either stop yelling or take the referee course, so she would better understand the referee role. So, she took the course. Eventually, Unkel realized that work as a referee paid pretty well, and it improved her abilities as a player. Working as a referee gave her a unique perspective of the game as it was being played: she wasn’t responsible for any ballwork, and she could focus on two or three plays ahead. Also, she had the opportunity to ref for boys’ games, which broadened her experience and perspective.
Healthier Sidelines
If you’ve watched your kid play soccer, you’ve probably seen some sidelines where the environment was super polarized, and everyone was on edge or angry. And that’s not what any of us want the game to be. We asked Unkel what she thought might help create a rising tide when it comes to allowing players to play, coaches to coach, and refs to referee. She had two main ideas about how to address this.
First, “people with influence and power need to be a lot more careful and, if anything, more proactive.” Specifically, journalists, pro athletes, broadcasters, and the like. Even though the excuse is often made, “well, this is pro,” the truth is that parents and youth watch pro games. So, it has to start at the top.
Second is the idea of respect and how you can build respect in—refs respecting the players, parents respecting the refs, etc.
There was so much helpful and thought-provoking conversation in this episode; we hope you’ll check it out and dive in deeper. Find Soccer Geeks wherever you get your podcasts!
PODCAST LINKS:
https://bit.ly/soccergeekspodcast