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Ball power…… By Stanley Lover

Fascination of a ball
For most of us the fascination of a ball started at baby stage and the moment we were first put on the floor to crawl. We began a great adventure into life, making two wonderful discoveries.
The first - INDEPENDENCE - to move freely. During our first steps on a long journey a brightly coloured round thing attracted special curiosity. We touched it and it moved, it rolled, it bounced. Exciting, fascinating !
The second discovery - PHYSICAL POWER - the power to bring an object alive with our own hands. Smooth, pleasant to handle, a ball became a friend for life, a partner in games; football, tennis, cricket, golf, hockey, basketball, etc, where we test physical and mental ability as individuals or in team play.
Pleasures of ball games stem from good organisation, sensible rules and interaction with others. The focal point is the ball and what it is doing. We are riveted by its movement, whether induced by players at top pro levels or Sunday morning amateurs in the parks.

Ball signals
A ball mirrors the player's skills, providing a constant flow of information in the form of signals.
What kind of signals? A famous golf teacher, John Jacobs, asserts that " the ball is your best instructor." To prove his point he turns his back while a pupil hits a practice shot. He studies the flight of the ball and suggests adjustments for better performance. He gives two reasons,

"First, the ball is Truthful and Honest. It tells you what your club head is doing at impact. Second, the ball does not care about Technique. However you hold or swing the club, your shots for good or bad are determined by conditions built-in at impact. A snap of the fingers is enough time for a golf ball to absorb, measure and reproduce skill input of direction, trajectory, spin, distance and roll."

Add a third factor - Neutrality. In competitive play a ball favours neither one player or team over the other.
In football the ball transmits many signals to be read and interpreted. What are they saying to the player or to you, the referee? How can they help you to make the right decisions and take correct actions in every match?

A game of football boils down to two elements - the ball is either stationary (DEAD) or moving (LIVE). From research of hundreds of games the ball is DEAD on average 136 times in amateur matches and 108 at pro level for -

• Play stopped by the referee: Amateur 43; Pro 45
• Ball over the boundary lines: Amateur 93; Pro 63

Higher skill levels of the pros explain the big difference in boundary line figures.

Dead ball signals
The ball is dead for free kicks (43), throw-ins (55), goal kicks (19) and a few each for corners, kick-offs and offside.
A dead ball poses questions; "How did I get here? Who put me here? How do I get back into play? Should I be kicked or thrown? Am I in the right position for the restart? Are players the correct distance from me? Are you in a good position to see my next moves?"
All simple questions, mostly answered automatically but any wrong answers will affect the quality of your performance.

Live ball signals
When the ball is in motion you make hundreds of assessments and decisions based on reactions between players and the ball. As with a golf ball a football behaves according to impact conditions induced by the players. It reproduces skill input Truthfully and Honestly, without caring about Technique and is quite Neutral.
Behaviour of your match ball depends on three factors;

• Ball condition
• Conditions of play
• Player input.

Ball condition
Recall your Law 5 duty to 'ensure that the ball meets with the requirements of Law 2'. Hardly necessary now when FIFA licensed balls cover material, shape, size and weight. What's left? Only pressure.
Football is the sole ball game where the match official may vary the ball condition. What criteria do you use to determine suitability for play? Just the two-thumbs squeeze? Is this good enough with a margin of 80% between maximum and minimum pressure?
What is the objective? It is to provide a ball which will help the players to express their skills to the best of their ability. Whatever affects ball behaviour affects the results of player input and the quality of play.

Conditions of play
For your match Law 2 offers no guidance but clearly, ball behaviour will relate to surface conditions; whether natural or artificial, soft, hard, dry, uneven, wet, snow covered or frozen. They relate to climate; cold or heat, rain, wind strength and direction. Any or all can affect the quality of play.

Player input
When the ball is live player input starts with an assessment of ball movement; direction, speed, height, bounce, spin and roll, followed by a calculation of what he can do within his capabilities. He decides action, programming impact data through to execution, and ends with observation of skill achievement.

Cause and effect
Even star players have problems with unpredictable ball behaviour which provokes annoying errors of judgement. Incidents of dangerous play, mistimed tackles, ball to hand contact, out of play stoppages, all occur more frequently and players become frustrated. The quality of play suffers and your task to maintain control is made more difficult.
Observations noted during many top matches spread over years up to 1998 suggested that 1 in 10 were spoiled as a spectacle because the ball was not prepared to suit the conditions of play. During the first rounds of the 1998 World Cup in France an alarming 1 in 4 were affected by a fixed ball pressure for all matches played on firm surfaces. For later matches referees were advised to be more thoughtful about ball condition, contributing to a marked reduction in ball behaviour problems.
Star players including Carlos Roberto, David Seaman, Frenchmen Deschamps and Barthez, were critical of unusual ball behaviour. Roberto reportedly claimed that the ball ruined the effect of his swerving free kick technique. Goalkeepers were puzzled by erratic ball flight.
Prior to the 2002 Japan/Korea World Cup some players went public with similar criticisms of the ball chosen for the tournament. Fortunately FIFA provided excellent pitch surfaces which absorbed energy at impact to counter excessive bounce. In just a handful of matches players needed two touches to control awkward bounces but there were many shots on goal wildly off-target.

About balls
Modern footballs are high-tech products usually made from synthetic materials. Some have thick outer casings incorporating micro gas-filled bubbles intended to soften heading feel but also to produce explosive reaction to compression at impact. Generally they need high internal pressure to fill non-stretch skins and can be difficult to control on hard surfaces. 
They fly faster and farther than old leather balls and have changed the tempo of play with increasing use of long-ball tactics. On large pitches referees need sharp mobility to achieve good positioning at dropping zones of hard punts from goalkeepers and free kicks. Efficient support from assistant referees is critical if you are stranded behind the play.
Ball makers search constantly for new gimmicks to gain market share. Some have golf ball style dimples for 'superior speed, control and precision', others have internal pumps, and a series of experiments tested balls with in-built electronic chips to check over-the-goal-line calls. (This project was abandoned by the IFAB in 2008)

How to help players and yourself
For most games you cannot rely on quality surfaces. You need to arrive in good time to assess surface and climatic conditions. If you have more than one ball available choose high and low pressures and test on the pitch for feel, roll, bounce, etc. Think of player comfort more than Law 2. A sound general rule is hard surface/soft ball; soft surface/hard ball.

During the game. Check ball signals early. Is the ball bouncing unreasonably high with a second bounce as high as the first? Is it often airborne, out of reasonable control? Note problems of ball control within the skill level on the field. Do talented players need two touches for control?
Watch for mistimed tackles, ball to hand, dangerous play, head clashes, frustration, retaliation. Listen for players' comments which bear on ball behaviour.
Ask yourself, "Is this ball right for this game?" Don't wait for half-time if it needs attention or changing.

Every player wants to play well, to enjoy the game and not get hurt. You can contribute positively to these simple aims by providing a ball which allows full skill input and satisfaction of achievement. By so doing you will reduce the need for disciplinary actions, for everyone's enjoyment. 

The match ball is your friend and partner - worth more than a two-thumbs squeeze.

MASTEREF Ball Selector

An aide-memoire for the selection of Match Balls to suit the conditions of play.

CRITERIA : The main factors which can influence ball 
behaviour in play:

1. TEMPERATURE ; Cold - Cool - Warm - Hot
2. HUMIDITY ; High - Medium - Low
3. SURFACE ; Dry - Damp - Wet
Soft - Slippery - Hard - Very Hard
Even - Uneven - Bumpy - Domed - Slope
Problem areas - e.g. frozen - flooded
Characteristics - e.g. playing dry to wet
4. STADIUM ; Sitting - relative to sun movement
Design - Open - Part Open - Enclosed
Wind factor - e.g. corner eddies, cross or
diagonal currents
5. WEATHER PATTERN ; Forecast changes before and during play
6. BALL CHARACTERISTICS ; Effect of different pressures on bounce, flight, roll, velocity 


INSPECTION and TESTING : Confirming Law 2 parameters 
Field Test at different pressures - 
Soft - Medium soft - Medium hard - Hard
BALL PRESSURE : At start of play ( note )
Change during play ( note)
OBSERVATIONS : Relevant to ball performance at chosen 
pressures
Players' comments

©Stanley Lover 2008