The match belonged to the players

Ok, I am finally getting around to talk about the match, and I still owe you the commentary regarding the seminar and some links but I should be able to get to that shortly. Work during these last 2-3 weeks has been very demanding, so the only time I have is on the weekends.

The match last weekend was one that I thought was not going to be played, it was snowing (more like flurries) 25 F that morning and windy, but by the time I had to leave for the match, there was a lot of sun, still very cold and windy.

I arrived at the park with 25 minutes to spare for the start of the match and there was no one that looked over 40 and ready to play soccer. I found the field we were going to play on, a well worn turf field. There were a couple of people there, kicking the ball around or passing the football and when I thought that the game had been called, and that I had not heard about it, the ladies started arriving.

The match itself was uneventful, really nothing of note, except the brutal wind and that both goals in the match were against the wind. So basically the team with the wind to their backs had the ball on the other side of the field the whole game, but there was one counter-attack in each half that scored a goal.

The other two interesting things were that at the end of the half, I began to blow my whistle to signal the end of the half and one of the ladies shoots from the outside, beating the goalie, but I was already into my second blast by the time the ball crossed the line for a goal. I immediately disallowed the goal stating that the half ended when I began my whistling, not when it concluded but it did teach me a lesson, do not blow for the half unless there is little chance of an immediate goal to avoid confusion.

The other thing of note was the fact that in one play one of the ladies tried to save a ball from going out to touch and I was about 3 feet away and called that the ball had gone over the line. She went ballistic, but really, how could she when I was a few feet away. I could get it if I was 20 feet away and with a weird angle. Still she did not like it at all, oh well.

And my knee started acting up again, so since the match, I went to my doctor who said I had a strained LDL (never heard of it) and that I should wear a brace, warm up considerably before reffing and to premedicate with 600mg of Advil to see if the issue goes away, if not, he will take some pictures to see what else could be wrong, but that my knee is structually sound.

Back to the match, I was proud of the ladies, some of which were closer to 60 than to 40. They played hard, had a good idea of what to do with the ball and they were clean for the most part. I enjoyed their match and hope to do it again before the tournaments/matches start in a month or two.

More on the seminar in the days to come. Keep those emails coming!

The Seminar

As promised, here is the installment that relates to the seminar I attended. The presenter for the two sessions I did attend was Herb Silva and the topics were Foul Severity determination and Communication Skills.

The first one was all about the ability to see the difference between a regular foul and a foul that had ill intentions. A couple of links were mentioned but I do not have my notes here (in bed and with my wife sound asleep beside me). I will milk another post and get those links to you shortly.

The second was mostly communication skills such as when to use humor, or the unspoken techniques that Herb Silva had observed from soccer referee greats like Pierluigi Collina and others. Most were gestures or looks that could cut through ice. This lecture was focused more on the higher level officials and I did see some relationship with my reffing but it was not really geared towards me. I did enjoy them, Herb Silva had a great presentation style and made things entertaining.

I also learned at the seminar that one of the local administrators for the club that my son plays in was going to be given an award, and that one of the people I knew was going to start assigning matches for the fields 5 minutes from my house, and to expect a busy season. I am more than happy about that as it means more work and less travel. Woo Hoo (or however it is spelled) to that tidbit!

More on the link, Herb Silva and the match report to come.

Winter Blues - Not so much

Yes, it is bitterly cold this winter, but that does not mean that there is no referee action going on. I had received an email about a league that was being established for the winter months. It was regarding a league of women over 40 that was starting play in a few weeks. At the same time, there was a note regarding a workshop that was being held in the area with a special section for referees. Of course, the two had to coincide on the same day and basically the same time. So I am going to make one entry for the league and the other regarding what I got from the seminar as there are interesting things from each. And I want to milk the amount of posts I make, make two separate topics into three posts (one talking about them and the other two actually covering them). Anyway, more to come shortly. And yes, it is good to be back!

More on paychecks

The last of the checks rolled in today, the tournament I had 8 mini matches on Saturday and then was hurt on Sunday. The total was $140 for that one, and compared to the $125 from the other tournament where I was just backup, it does not measure up in terms of compensation. Still, in the end, my season's haul was just north of $1,000 in 39 matches with comes out to about $26 per match but that average is skewed due to the fact that $125 were for being a backup ref. Still you take what you can get, right?

I centered 21 matches and was an AR in 18 of them. I only worked as a center in 2 matches where I had a full crew at my disposal. That is something I will need to improve on next season. It was interesting to do the U-13 match with a full crew, that was probably the best game I worked, because it was a challenge. I certainly want to work more of those matches for this season, but I do enjoy the U9 U10 crowd as well, as they are not yet jaded and not trying to play you as much.

As far as I can recall, I pulled 4 yellow cards, none during the regular season, but rather at tournaments. No reds this season, but I am sure that time will come. I will post more tidbits here and there during the off season and get to some of your comments, questions as they roll in.

Pleasant surprise

Sometimes, not reffing is just as lucrative as actually reffing. I was a backup referee this past weekend and did not get a chance to actually manage any of the matches, but I was basically on call for 5 hours or so each day. I did not expect much in terms of payment because it was not much in terms of work but yesterday I received a check for $125 for such services. Not bad given the fact that I think the check I will get soon, for the 8 mini matches I had the week before, will probably be that much as well, though given this payoff, it should be more. I will give an update when that check arrives.

And I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

First Season in the books

It is done, my first season was completed this last weekend with no matches to referee. All referees that were scheduled for the two fields I was the backup for, showed up. Interestingly enough, I did have to lend out my flags to one of the referees and then lend him some money since he forgot his wallet and did not know that matches had built in breakes in between then (to the tune of an hour and a half between match #2 and match #3 on each field).

I still expect to make around $80 for the efforts and I got to watch some good refereeing by some of those involved. Over the course of the winter, I plan to write up more of my experiences with the equipment itself as well as posting some pictures of the things I use to referee. I would love to hear some of your comments or suggestions on how to make it better.

Also, being the statistical enthusiast that I am, I will post some more details as to how much I made and all the matches I did, once the final numbers are counted.

Stand-by in the cold

Oh boy was it freezing this morning. I arrived at 8am at the fields where I was a stand-by referee. I originally was not too happy that I was only selected to be a stand-in instead of a referee with assigned matches, but after feeling the blistering cold, the wind that cut right through you, I was more than happy to be able to sit in the car and wait to see if any of refs outside suffered from hypothermia.

The matches I did observe were well played for the most part. My son's team did very well with a 7-0 win and then an 8-0 win. But the really funny parts were the following:

- The first one was a jolly old referee. He did my son's first match and was a great example of how to work games without taking it too seriously but at the same time resepecting the kids and the parents. He had some dialogue with the crowd as well as explaining all the rules/decisions concisely when needed. And at the end of the game, he was leaving the field with us, so he turns to my daughter and asked her if would like a pencil. She said yes and he pulled out a soccer themed pencil. He gave a couple more out to the kids that were still around. That is why I called him a jolly old referee. Just a fun guy to be around. I am not sure if he ever works U19 matches or if it is mostly younger kids, but those tactics will not fly after a certain age group.

- The other interesting thing was that during the break between the first round of matches and the second, I was able to drive up to Walmart to buy some gloves and a knit hat as I did not have any and it was desperately needed. As I was walking up to pay I overheard a woman talking on the cell and her conversation went very much like this..."the girls played well but they were beaten, I do not remember the final score but it was not close. And the worst part was the referee, he called everything in favor of the other girls..." and then she was gone. I wanted to stop the woman and ask her if she really thought that the referee had that much ill will against a group of girls he does not even know. I think not!

I will have some more tomorrow, but the bad part is that my knee is acting up so I may just have to bite the bullet and go to get it looked at.