I am sure I have mentioned this before, but I really dislike the winter. Especially, this winter. With the polar vortex hitting our area (and pretty much all of the US) and the frigid temperatures, it has been slim pickings when it comes to anything related to reffing. I know that I have not had much of a chance to go outside and run and the traditional eating of this time of year certainly does not help. I have not really done any running in the last couple of months other than to and from the car to the front door! Hopefully we can get things going in time for the March madness that is the weekend soccer tournaments.
On another note, I did find a clip online that I am going to try and show you to see if it generates any comments. It was a play where the question is whether the player was offside or not and did he get involved in play. Really a good teaching moment for those referees that think they have offside down pat. I can't seem to locate it but when I have a moment, I will post the link and see what everyone thinks. In the meantime, stay warm!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Watch what you say and post
Had the recert exam two weeks ago and last weekend had the recert class to complete my 2014 requirements to maintain my 7. The online exam was different. Since it was open book, it seemed like it was going to be easy. It was not. Many well worked questions that focused on the advice to referees more so than the laws of the game.
I got an 87, which means that 13 of them were wrong. When I looked over the correct answers (something I appreciated in this online exam), I had to admit that some of them were right, I just didn't read the question as carefully as I should have. However, there were two that I totally disagreed with. I won't go into the specifics, but I made a note to ask my instructor at the recert clinic to see what they thought.
When I went to the recert clinic, it was somewhat of a madhouse. Since they didn't offer many recent clinics in the fall for 7s and above, this one seemed to be packed. There was no chance to ask specific questions at the end because we had to be out of the location we were in. I am going to have to email my point of contact and see what they say about the questions.
Still, I guess I am ok for 2014.
Now on to what shocked me the most about the recert clinic. It does not appear that there are many rule changes. There are, instead, clarifications mostly. Especially to the offside law. Which we know what that means, more confusion, because some of us will read it one way and others will read it another way. Still, nothing has changed, just clarifying language.
The interesting thing about the recert class was the time spent on social media. They made a big deal about not posting anything related to upcoming matches to Facebook, Twitter, etc. They even gave an example of two referees that got into hot water when they did such a thing and used it as a word of caution. They did not ban it outright, just more of a strong suggestion to not use social media to give specifics of assignments or comments about players, etc.
This boils down to common sense, but then again, I do post a lot of what happens on the field here as well. However, I feel like I do not personally identify anyone except myself. I wonder what they would say about what I have done up to now and if it crosses the line as to their barriers with social media. If I get an answer, I will let everyone know (or I will just stop posting, and by my silence, you will know the answer).
I will leave you with one comment the instructors had about posting on social media. They had a phrase in there that said "Silence is hard to misconstrue." I would have to agree with that.
I got an 87, which means that 13 of them were wrong. When I looked over the correct answers (something I appreciated in this online exam), I had to admit that some of them were right, I just didn't read the question as carefully as I should have. However, there were two that I totally disagreed with. I won't go into the specifics, but I made a note to ask my instructor at the recert clinic to see what they thought.
When I went to the recert clinic, it was somewhat of a madhouse. Since they didn't offer many recent clinics in the fall for 7s and above, this one seemed to be packed. There was no chance to ask specific questions at the end because we had to be out of the location we were in. I am going to have to email my point of contact and see what they say about the questions.
Still, I guess I am ok for 2014.
Now on to what shocked me the most about the recert clinic. It does not appear that there are many rule changes. There are, instead, clarifications mostly. Especially to the offside law. Which we know what that means, more confusion, because some of us will read it one way and others will read it another way. Still, nothing has changed, just clarifying language.
The interesting thing about the recert class was the time spent on social media. They made a big deal about not posting anything related to upcoming matches to Facebook, Twitter, etc. They even gave an example of two referees that got into hot water when they did such a thing and used it as a word of caution. They did not ban it outright, just more of a strong suggestion to not use social media to give specifics of assignments or comments about players, etc.
This boils down to common sense, but then again, I do post a lot of what happens on the field here as well. However, I feel like I do not personally identify anyone except myself. I wonder what they would say about what I have done up to now and if it crosses the line as to their barriers with social media. If I get an answer, I will let everyone know (or I will just stop posting, and by my silence, you will know the answer).
I will leave you with one comment the instructors had about posting on social media. They had a phrase in there that said "Silence is hard to misconstrue." I would have to agree with that.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
That is not something you see everyday
This past weekend, my son and I did a tournament for the first time. It was a lot of work with 8 games over the weekend, but he got to see a little more of what makes up the life of a referee. While the weekend was cold and dreary, it was fun for the most part.
On Saturday, we had only U13 and it was an all-star tournament, so basically good rec players for the most part. Then on Sunday we had U19 Girls and therefore, it was a lot more intense for him. He had never done that level and had to run quite a bit and make sure that he got into position a lot more.
The important thing was that he had exposure to KFTM (PKs to determine a winner). 3 of the 4 Sunday matches went to PKs, so he had a chance to do both, the AR that manages the takers and the AR that observes the keeper encroachment.
On one of the games with the 5th kick coming up for the second team (a goal sending the PKs to the 6th kicker and a miss finishing the game), the kicker takes the kick and the keeper makes a good stop. I blow the whistle to end the game and my son later tells me that he had seen keeper encroachment and that he had given me the skirt (I did not see it of course, but then again, my fault for not checking). I made it a teachable moment for both of us (me to check the AR to ensure that there was encroachment and for him to make sure that if I don't see the "silent" signal, to get my attention any way possible before blowing the end of the match.
On another note, we saw a funny thing as well with the equipment of one player. He was wearing knee pads. Like the ones you see in volleyball. I had never seen it on a soccer player. Had it been higher level I might have said something but at the level these kids were playing at, it made no sense to say anything. Also, another boy had the famous snoods (like a neck warmer) that would have caused a problem had anyone pulled on it, so I had him remove it.
On Saturday, we had only U13 and it was an all-star tournament, so basically good rec players for the most part. Then on Sunday we had U19 Girls and therefore, it was a lot more intense for him. He had never done that level and had to run quite a bit and make sure that he got into position a lot more.
The important thing was that he had exposure to KFTM (PKs to determine a winner). 3 of the 4 Sunday matches went to PKs, so he had a chance to do both, the AR that manages the takers and the AR that observes the keeper encroachment.
On one of the games with the 5th kick coming up for the second team (a goal sending the PKs to the 6th kicker and a miss finishing the game), the kicker takes the kick and the keeper makes a good stop. I blow the whistle to end the game and my son later tells me that he had seen keeper encroachment and that he had given me the skirt (I did not see it of course, but then again, my fault for not checking). I made it a teachable moment for both of us (me to check the AR to ensure that there was encroachment and for him to make sure that if I don't see the "silent" signal, to get my attention any way possible before blowing the end of the match.
On another note, we saw a funny thing as well with the equipment of one player. He was wearing knee pads. Like the ones you see in volleyball. I had never seen it on a soccer player. Had it been higher level I might have said something but at the level these kids were playing at, it made no sense to say anything. Also, another boy had the famous snoods (like a neck warmer) that would have caused a problem had anyone pulled on it, so I had him remove it.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Fitness Physical
As a 7, I have to take part in being assessed as well as proving you are somewhat in shape. Today was the day to prove the latter. I never thought it would get easier but this year's Cooper test (12 minute run) was simpler for me. For one, I did not have to run as far, since I hit the milestone of 38 years of age, I now was told that I had to run 2,000 meters instead of 2,200 meters.
Second, I ran farther than I had ever run before on the Cooper test, 2,350 meters, and I did not seem to really get tired, so I must be doing something right, as it should get harder, not easier to do the test.
The other two portions of the exam really are hard to fail, 40 seconds to run 200 meters is not too difficult (I did 30.5 this morning) and 50 meters in 9 seconds (6.5 for me) are really not anything I ever thought would be something one could fail at. The only one is that Cooper test.
Not that I enjoyed getting up at 6:30 to be there at 8am for my test, but it is something that I have to do anyway, and it worked out well that I seem to be doing better now than in years past.
Second, I ran farther than I had ever run before on the Cooper test, 2,350 meters, and I did not seem to really get tired, so I must be doing something right, as it should get harder, not easier to do the test.
The other two portions of the exam really are hard to fail, 40 seconds to run 200 meters is not too difficult (I did 30.5 this morning) and 50 meters in 9 seconds (6.5 for me) are really not anything I ever thought would be something one could fail at. The only one is that Cooper test.
Not that I enjoyed getting up at 6:30 to be there at 8am for my test, but it is something that I have to do anyway, and it worked out well that I seem to be doing better now than in years past.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
So, more cards, eh?
I had a slate of decent games this past Sunday, a top level U17 match, followed by another top level U16 match and then a U14 match to wind things down. In preparing for the matches, I mentioned to some fellow referees that I thought games required more cards. For the most part, if people were given cards more often, they would not go all crazy when they happen to receive one. At least that is my thought process on it. And sure enough, I figured that these matches would get a lot of that since they were high level, and the stakes were high.
Turns out that I certainly had more PKs in those 3 matches than cards. It is the level and the demeanor of the kids that determine when cards get shown, not some predisposition as to number of fouls or the level of play. In the first match, in 90 minutes, all I saw were 22 girls (and the subs as well) who wanted to play soccer. Did they foul? Yes. Did they go hard? Yes. Did any one go over that line that constituted something more than a talking to? Nope.
What was funny was that the only times when I thought about pulling a card was during the second match, when two players collided when jumping to head the ball and it seemed like one went more into the opponent than straight up. And I thought that while it was hard, it was foul but nothing more. 15 minutes later, a similar foul happened but the other way. At that moment, I thought it might be time for a card, but it was so similar to the first that I felt like I was betraying the bar I had set when I called the first one. It wasn't retaliation since the two players involved in the first foul were nowhere near the pair of participants in the second.
Finally, the third game, had the biggest chance for a card. 2nd minute of the match, blue breaks away from defenders and as she goes into the penalty area, she is taken down from behind by a defender. I quickly sprint to spot and my brain immediately ponders the thought of a red card. But this is what went through my head (and if you need to chime in, please do so):
- Blue is going to get a PK and probably convert.
-White does not have subs and would now be playing the rest of the game with 10.
-While is going to lose anyway as the skill level is not on par with Blue.
-White players drove at least 50-60 miles to come to this field. How much would it suck to get thrown out in the second minute of a game that you drove so far to get to?
-White defender did not really aim to foul, it was more clumsy than anything else.
I have to admit that regardless, I probably should have shown the red card to the defender, but my intuition was right. They did convert, they went on to win 5-0 and there was little that the red card would have achieved on top of what was happening. Sometimes you just get it right for the game at hand without know if you really will at the time of the decision.
So in the end, while I might pontificate that soccer needs more cards, all that is needed is to show them when they are needed. Everyone of us has a threshold and when it is crossed, do what needs to be done, when it does not get crossed or when the game or players don't need it, keep them in your pocket. You shouldn't use them for the sake of using them, you should use them when you need to get something out of the game or the players. At least that is my story this week. Next week I might change my mind.
Turns out that I certainly had more PKs in those 3 matches than cards. It is the level and the demeanor of the kids that determine when cards get shown, not some predisposition as to number of fouls or the level of play. In the first match, in 90 minutes, all I saw were 22 girls (and the subs as well) who wanted to play soccer. Did they foul? Yes. Did they go hard? Yes. Did any one go over that line that constituted something more than a talking to? Nope.
What was funny was that the only times when I thought about pulling a card was during the second match, when two players collided when jumping to head the ball and it seemed like one went more into the opponent than straight up. And I thought that while it was hard, it was foul but nothing more. 15 minutes later, a similar foul happened but the other way. At that moment, I thought it might be time for a card, but it was so similar to the first that I felt like I was betraying the bar I had set when I called the first one. It wasn't retaliation since the two players involved in the first foul were nowhere near the pair of participants in the second.
Finally, the third game, had the biggest chance for a card. 2nd minute of the match, blue breaks away from defenders and as she goes into the penalty area, she is taken down from behind by a defender. I quickly sprint to spot and my brain immediately ponders the thought of a red card. But this is what went through my head (and if you need to chime in, please do so):
- Blue is going to get a PK and probably convert.
-White does not have subs and would now be playing the rest of the game with 10.
-While is going to lose anyway as the skill level is not on par with Blue.
-White players drove at least 50-60 miles to come to this field. How much would it suck to get thrown out in the second minute of a game that you drove so far to get to?
-White defender did not really aim to foul, it was more clumsy than anything else.
I have to admit that regardless, I probably should have shown the red card to the defender, but my intuition was right. They did convert, they went on to win 5-0 and there was little that the red card would have achieved on top of what was happening. Sometimes you just get it right for the game at hand without know if you really will at the time of the decision.
So in the end, while I might pontificate that soccer needs more cards, all that is needed is to show them when they are needed. Everyone of us has a threshold and when it is crossed, do what needs to be done, when it does not get crossed or when the game or players don't need it, keep them in your pocket. You shouldn't use them for the sake of using them, you should use them when you need to get something out of the game or the players. At least that is my story this week. Next week I might change my mind.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
A question of levels
In this area, you have your garden variety rec leagues, your travel leagues and in the middle, exists SFL. This league, as I think I have mentioned before, mixes kids from rec and travel caliber kids. It is popular because it mixes in the travel part (teams travel a bit out of their home area) and still have rec prices in terms of registration and practices, etc.
With that said, the bad part is you get kids who can barely kick the ball playing with kids who should be playing travel but can't afford to. I have mentioned that this mix is not a good one because the different levels leads to things like the situation from yesterday I had in my game. This was a u13 game, to fully set the stage.
White team up 1-0 late in the game. Yellow pressing up and they lose the ball on attack. Yellow player tries to recover the ball from white's defender by executing a two footed tackle from the side that the defender could not see. While the tackle was good in terms of dispossessing the ball from the defender, I felt it was really a dangerous tackle. Had the defender's ankle been 2 inches closer to the tackler's two footed lunge, he would be spending the rest of the weekend at the hospital. So I blew the whistle and the coach went ballistic because all he saw was the result of the play. I saw the potential of tackles like that. I told him that a tackle like this is fine in a World Cup but not in a u13 semi rec match. I showed him (the player) the yellow card and that sent the parents over the edge. But at the end of the game, no one came by asking me to explain myself. It was one where I was going to show a yellow or a red card depending on whether there was contact with the ankle. I am not sure if coach or player fully understood what I was trying to convey. It all depends if they take a step back and reflect on the play or just brush it off as the ref being unreasonable. Time will tell if that player eventually gets it or not. Hopefully he will.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Another assessment
This past weekend, after my Saturday with the young kids, I had my assessment match to maintain my Grade 7 certification. I received good marks for staying close to the play, but not too close. The other thing that the assessor said was that I called 7 fouls in the first 15 minutes and then had only 11 more through the rest of the game. He said that it worked for that game though my AR said that the coach was questioning if I was going to call all contact at the beginning. However, the kids never complained and then I did not have to worry too much about the frustration level.
The only thing that was a problem was an exchange with one of the coaches. He complained that during one of those screening plays where a player accompanies a ball that is rolling out of bounds, that the player veered too far away from the ball to play the player. I did not think so, but he complained very publicly. I replied "Thanks coach. I ref, you coach." The assessor stated that I should have left it at Thanks Coach. That way you do not invite a reply.
Other than that, another year of me being a 7. He did state that he wanted me to try to upgrade to a 6 given what he saw that day. Some day maybe.
The only thing that was a problem was an exchange with one of the coaches. He complained that during one of those screening plays where a player accompanies a ball that is rolling out of bounds, that the player veered too far away from the ball to play the player. I did not think so, but he complained very publicly. I replied "Thanks coach. I ref, you coach." The assessor stated that I should have left it at Thanks Coach. That way you do not invite a reply.
Other than that, another year of me being a 7. He did state that he wanted me to try to upgrade to a 6 given what he saw that day. Some day maybe.
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