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!