I am sure this has happened to you before. An AR that you need for your match that is supposed to start on-time is being held up on another field because the other field is running behind. Had that happen in a very competitive U19 match. The ladies were waiting, we gave the AR another 5 minutes but he was still centering his match and no one knew exactly how to long remained.
I recruited a parent, gave him instructions as to what to call and what not to call (call nothing, don't call basically everything). But I made one mistake that I hope to correct for the next time we encounter such a thing. I never told him how I wanted to handle the baton exchange if you will. So 5 minutes later, my AR starts running towards our field, taking off his red jersey and putting on his green jersey. As he prepares to enter the field, my AR runs over to him while the ball is in play on his side and starts trying to do the exchange. At that moment, the attacking team makes a great through ball pass to an apparently onside attacker from my perspective and puts it in the net. Defense goes ballistic.
Coach that just got scored on, to his credit, told the girls to quit yapping and just play their game since he was the one that had pushed for a stand in while the other AR made his way over to our field. The rest of the game went fine. Good match up between a skilled team and another that was just one level higher.
The lesson learned here for me was that when we are going to make the switch back to the 3 man system instead of the 2 plus club AR, is to STOP the match, make the switch and then restart. The other lesson learned is to cover the changing of the guard process to the club AR so they don't try to pull one at the exact same time that the attacking team is trying to put one in the net. But it is always an interesting thing, especially when it becomes something that you had not considered before.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Site gone
One of my links on the right hand side is no longer available. The Corsham Ref site had some great links and had a plethora of handy referee game cards which are no longer available. Sorry to see them go because in the end what we need is more material and a site like that contained some decent material. Will have to replace the link but for now, don't use it.
There is a site that contains long gone websites and it has some of this old site's material:
http://web.archive.org/web/
There is a site that contains long gone websites and it has some of this old site's material:
http://web.archive.org/web/
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Realization
I have been bombarding you all with posts lately but I feel the need to update this blog as the last couple of years I have been quite busy (and I am now as well but feel that this is a form of therapy to clear the mind to work on something else).
The other day while pondering what matches to take for the upcoming holiday weekend, I came to a realization. The situation boiled down to what to take and how to juggle the other responsibilities of one's life. In this area, Columbus Day tournaments abound. There is a big tournament for WAGS (the girls league I mentioned in a previous post) as well as others. In that WAGS tournament, one of the assignors reached out and asked me if I was willing to do some games and then be part of an academy for referees that weekend as well. At first, I was jumping for joy because it meant a lot of matches, a lot of training and so I told him to sign me up as I was game.
Then I had to do something that I was not going to enjoy. Since my son and my oldest daughter play on that weekend, I was going to have to take one or the other to a series of games (most tournaments guarantee 3 matches per weekend). So I called my mother and asked if she could cover for me if the matches coincided. She said yes and as I was filling out the application for the referee academy, it struck me. I really would rather watch my kids play than ref. I don't think I had had that feeling before. I was actually shocked at myself because of my internal motivations, because I believe that I am a good referee and because I love reffing, but I came to the realization that I love watching my kids play even more.
So I closed out my application, and sent the assignor a message that I was not going to do matches for him. I probably burned part of my bridge with him, but I have to level with myself in that, right now, watching my kids play is right up there with reffing. And that to really move up in the ranks of referees, you really cannot be tied down too much as it is somewhat of a fluid occupation, especially at the grade 6 and above level. Having kids who play every single weekend that I ref makes it that much harder to be good at both. And while my whistle may look at me longingly, I want my kids to be able to say that their father was at almost all of their games even more than I would love for someone to say that I reffed a great game. It is a hard decision and realization but one that I am happy with. This time last year I had reffed double what I have reffed up to now. And you know what, its ok.
The other day while pondering what matches to take for the upcoming holiday weekend, I came to a realization. The situation boiled down to what to take and how to juggle the other responsibilities of one's life. In this area, Columbus Day tournaments abound. There is a big tournament for WAGS (the girls league I mentioned in a previous post) as well as others. In that WAGS tournament, one of the assignors reached out and asked me if I was willing to do some games and then be part of an academy for referees that weekend as well. At first, I was jumping for joy because it meant a lot of matches, a lot of training and so I told him to sign me up as I was game.
Then I had to do something that I was not going to enjoy. Since my son and my oldest daughter play on that weekend, I was going to have to take one or the other to a series of games (most tournaments guarantee 3 matches per weekend). So I called my mother and asked if she could cover for me if the matches coincided. She said yes and as I was filling out the application for the referee academy, it struck me. I really would rather watch my kids play than ref. I don't think I had had that feeling before. I was actually shocked at myself because of my internal motivations, because I believe that I am a good referee and because I love reffing, but I came to the realization that I love watching my kids play even more.
So I closed out my application, and sent the assignor a message that I was not going to do matches for him. I probably burned part of my bridge with him, but I have to level with myself in that, right now, watching my kids play is right up there with reffing. And that to really move up in the ranks of referees, you really cannot be tied down too much as it is somewhat of a fluid occupation, especially at the grade 6 and above level. Having kids who play every single weekend that I ref makes it that much harder to be good at both. And while my whistle may look at me longingly, I want my kids to be able to say that their father was at almost all of their games even more than I would love for someone to say that I reffed a great game. It is a hard decision and realization but one that I am happy with. This time last year I had reffed double what I have reffed up to now. And you know what, its ok.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Why the name?
The other day I received an email from someone regarding the naming convention of the blog. So let me peel back a little bit of the info of what makes me who I am. I work in the IT field for my Monday to Friday job. In that world, you sometime have to use software applications to help you figure out what type of machine you are dealing with. In the early days of my IT career, I used to use an application called a port scanner that allowed you to figure out what was on the other side of a network connection. So for example, if I were scanning a server and I saw port 1433 and 1434 open, I knew it was a Microsoft SQL server. If ports 135, 137, etc were open, it was possibly just a PC, etc. The one I used the most was one called Yet Another Port Scanner (YAPS for short) which had been named because it was not the first one but it was a darned good one. So when I had to come up with a name for this blog, I had seen that I was not the first soccer referee to begin blogging about his experience in the trenches, hence the name Yet Another Soccer Referee.
Here is the link to what is now YAPS:
http://www.steelbytes.com/?mid=19
Anyway, as they say, and the rest is history. But now if you want to use a port scanner, I normally rely on Angry IP, though I have to admit I have not had to port scan in a while.
Here is the link to what is now YAPS:
http://www.steelbytes.com/?mid=19
Anyway, as they say, and the rest is history. But now if you want to use a port scanner, I normally rely on Angry IP, though I have to admit I have not had to port scan in a while.
Recert
I have to figure out how to change my profile as I just realized that it said that I was an 8 going for a 7. Well, actaully now I am a 7, trying to maintain a 7, so out of date for a bit.
As for the actual recert this weekend, boy were there a lot of questions related to kicks from the mark and if someone were to get hurt while participating in them. Too many questions related to that. Other than that, it was an interesting class. A little about the new dropped ball rule (can't score on the first touch of a dropped ball, either one way or another). Some expansion with the advantage rule, to include things like double touch that rolls to an opposing attacker who has a clear 1 on 1 with the keeper is not penalized but rather given an advantage.
In general I liked the class, and was happy to get a 93 in the State exam. For some reason here in Virginia we lump all the 8, 7, 6 and 5s into one class and then to make things easy for the instructors, they hand out exams that are for the state (6 and 5). Still, it was a lot of questioning on proper restarts, etc. And as always, the notorious shin guard thrown at the striker.
The funniest one was where an attacker named Fred is on a 1 on 1 towards the keeper, a defender trailing the play yells at him, Hey Fred, and he is startled and loses the ball. What do you do to the defender. Even though it is not a true "foul" it is a red card for denying the goal scoring opportunity. I originally did not think that was the case, but it is according to the instructors. All in all, a good class.
And the physical was like it was last year. I run faster since there are other people that help me pace myself, so it is easier to do those than when I run and practice at home. So one more year as a 7 if I pass my maintenance assessment match...that is this month, so we shall see.
As for the actual recert this weekend, boy were there a lot of questions related to kicks from the mark and if someone were to get hurt while participating in them. Too many questions related to that. Other than that, it was an interesting class. A little about the new dropped ball rule (can't score on the first touch of a dropped ball, either one way or another). Some expansion with the advantage rule, to include things like double touch that rolls to an opposing attacker who has a clear 1 on 1 with the keeper is not penalized but rather given an advantage.
In general I liked the class, and was happy to get a 93 in the State exam. For some reason here in Virginia we lump all the 8, 7, 6 and 5s into one class and then to make things easy for the instructors, they hand out exams that are for the state (6 and 5). Still, it was a lot of questioning on proper restarts, etc. And as always, the notorious shin guard thrown at the striker.
The funniest one was where an attacker named Fred is on a 1 on 1 towards the keeper, a defender trailing the play yells at him, Hey Fred, and he is startled and loses the ball. What do you do to the defender. Even though it is not a true "foul" it is a red card for denying the goal scoring opportunity. I originally did not think that was the case, but it is according to the instructors. All in all, a good class.
And the physical was like it was last year. I run faster since there are other people that help me pace myself, so it is easier to do those than when I run and practice at home. So one more year as a 7 if I pass my maintenance assessment match...that is this month, so we shall see.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Pre game hydration
Let me preface this post to tell you that I am not a doctor, I don't know much about doctor related things, get queazy at the first sight of blood, cannot look at things like broken bones or anything like that without wanting to throw up.
That said, this weekend, after working the u11 girls match I mentioned in my previous post, the next match was a match between a team that had 8 players (in an 8v8 match) and another team who had 10 kids (so they had 2 subs). I figured that the team with 10 would find a way to win towards the second half because the other kids would be really tired. The result of the match was not what I wanted to report on, it is the situation that happened during a game thanks to what happened before the game.
To start, the game ended 5-4 in favor of the team that had 8 kids. The final goal happened when they had 7 on the field. So very interesting and powerful that they were able to get the victory with everything stacked against them.
During the first half one of the kids looked off on the team with no subs. He would run but almost in a trance. At one point he went down (with about a minute left in the half). He was tended to and did not return until the start of the second half. I asked my ARs to look at him well and to ensure that he was not concussed or something similar and to be able to help me figure out what was ailing him. In the second half he went down again, after a very clumsy foul he committed and grabbed his head. He then sat up and said he was really dizzy. I thought, oh crap, here is a kid with a concussion and I let him play.
The coach came on again and I told him the kid was done for the day. This was while they were up 4-3. The other team immediately tied the match and with 1 minute left, the goalkeeper of the 10 man team committed the blunder of all blunders and allowed a silly goal in for the win.
For the dizzy kid, what I thought was a concussion was really a power drink (Monster I believe) drunk 15 minutes before game time. This was the first time the 11 year old had consumed an energy drink to boot. While again, I am not a doctor, it seems downright dangerous to consume something that is going to make your heart race right before going out and running a lot that also makes your heart race. Fortunately nothing happened, but it did raise the awareness for me. He looked off, he was dizzy and if I had known, I would have kept him out sooner. But the parents must have been happy, they won, didn't they?
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The other side of travel soccer
Saw two really interesting things out on the field this past weekend. Wanted to share them both because even though they do not really relate to reffing explicitly, they do show you that you can pick things up quite a bit and learn from it.
First one is more of a funny thing. As you know, I have kids who play soccer. A LOT of soccer. Both of my oldest play travel soccer and have been playing for some time now. The world of travel soccer is anything but transparent and this weekend was a good example of some of the shennanigans that go on in the world of travel soccer as a whole.
There are a couple of leagues in this area for girls, WAGS and ODSL. Many clubs play 2 teams in the WAGS league (their top two teams, as it is more competitive) and then the rest of their teams in the ODSL league. The deal is that kids should not play in more than one game and normally, playing for one team on any given day, bars you from playing for another team that very same day. But there is a loophole of sorts that does not explicitly bar you from playing in one league and then turning around and playing in another. But it is not something that can easily be captured and even less reported unless something happens like what you will read below.
This last Sunday, I took my son to his soccer match 45 miles away and on the way back, we realized that my daughter's match that was about to start was on the way back home. My wife had driven out to take my daughter. We met up at the field, watched the game and then went home. In the PM, I went to ref my 2 matches at the local field and was working on one of the matches from my daughter's age group. She plays on the B team (WAGS) and I was reffing the C team that plays in ODSL. And when I am checking the girls in, I see that they have 2 kids from my daughter's team on their roster, hand printed. Now these two kids are not the best players, nor are they the worst. So it is not a ringer situation here, but it bothered me that this had been arranged behind closed doors. My daughter was never asked if she was available to play. It was the team manager's kid and her close friend. And I found it typical of the dealings that come with playing travel. You set up your kid to do things and take opportunities before putting them out to the general public.
I spoke to the coach (who also manages my daughter's team) why this was not communicated and that my daughter would have loved to play had she been given the opportunity. He stated that he asked the manager to arrange it and the two girls that showed up were the two that she had said were available. Well, yeah, if you don't extend the invite to anyone else and keep the info to yourself, then yes, those would be the only two available.
It is akin to working at Best Buy or some other retail place and not putting out that flat screen TV on the floor because you know the moment you put it out there someone will snatch it up as it is on super sale, so instead, you buy it yourself. I know it happens, but it was just dumb luck that I caught them red handed. So now I know what type of manager I am dealing with, one that does not look out for the interests of all the girls equally, just some. And this is all thanks to reffing that let me catch them in their scheme.
This went too long for one post to do another, but the next post is related to player safety and when to tell a kid (and his parents) that their child is not longer welcome on the field (and saying it without using a red card).
First one is more of a funny thing. As you know, I have kids who play soccer. A LOT of soccer. Both of my oldest play travel soccer and have been playing for some time now. The world of travel soccer is anything but transparent and this weekend was a good example of some of the shennanigans that go on in the world of travel soccer as a whole.
There are a couple of leagues in this area for girls, WAGS and ODSL. Many clubs play 2 teams in the WAGS league (their top two teams, as it is more competitive) and then the rest of their teams in the ODSL league. The deal is that kids should not play in more than one game and normally, playing for one team on any given day, bars you from playing for another team that very same day. But there is a loophole of sorts that does not explicitly bar you from playing in one league and then turning around and playing in another. But it is not something that can easily be captured and even less reported unless something happens like what you will read below.
This last Sunday, I took my son to his soccer match 45 miles away and on the way back, we realized that my daughter's match that was about to start was on the way back home. My wife had driven out to take my daughter. We met up at the field, watched the game and then went home. In the PM, I went to ref my 2 matches at the local field and was working on one of the matches from my daughter's age group. She plays on the B team (WAGS) and I was reffing the C team that plays in ODSL. And when I am checking the girls in, I see that they have 2 kids from my daughter's team on their roster, hand printed. Now these two kids are not the best players, nor are they the worst. So it is not a ringer situation here, but it bothered me that this had been arranged behind closed doors. My daughter was never asked if she was available to play. It was the team manager's kid and her close friend. And I found it typical of the dealings that come with playing travel. You set up your kid to do things and take opportunities before putting them out to the general public.
I spoke to the coach (who also manages my daughter's team) why this was not communicated and that my daughter would have loved to play had she been given the opportunity. He stated that he asked the manager to arrange it and the two girls that showed up were the two that she had said were available. Well, yeah, if you don't extend the invite to anyone else and keep the info to yourself, then yes, those would be the only two available.
It is akin to working at Best Buy or some other retail place and not putting out that flat screen TV on the floor because you know the moment you put it out there someone will snatch it up as it is on super sale, so instead, you buy it yourself. I know it happens, but it was just dumb luck that I caught them red handed. So now I know what type of manager I am dealing with, one that does not look out for the interests of all the girls equally, just some. And this is all thanks to reffing that let me catch them in their scheme.
This went too long for one post to do another, but the next post is related to player safety and when to tell a kid (and his parents) that their child is not longer welcome on the field (and saying it without using a red card).
Monday, September 17, 2012
Running for my 7 again
I am in pain a bit today. I qualify myself as someone who is not a runner and does not normally jog or do much in terms of exercise other than when I get on the field. I have an active day-to-day job and also am moving around when at home due to 3 kids, so exercise is kind of built in to my way of life. I don't normally go out and look for it.
Yesterday, my daughter had some special training (ODP) and so I accompanied her and while I waited, I decided to run around the track 5.5 times in 12 minutes, or try to come close. I finished at 12 minutes at 1.47 miles (above the 1.37 I would need come test day). But man does it hurt today.
What is funny, is that this test is not a real good indicator, as rarely do we jog/run without some mad sprint or two mixed in. But with the three tests, it does cover most of what you need as a 7. Still, this morning, instead of waking up and giving it another run, I slept in a little more and will do it tomorrow morning (if I can peel myself off my bed).
Yesterday, my daughter had some special training (ODP) and so I accompanied her and while I waited, I decided to run around the track 5.5 times in 12 minutes, or try to come close. I finished at 12 minutes at 1.47 miles (above the 1.37 I would need come test day). But man does it hurt today.
What is funny, is that this test is not a real good indicator, as rarely do we jog/run without some mad sprint or two mixed in. But with the three tests, it does cover most of what you need as a 7. Still, this morning, instead of waking up and giving it another run, I slept in a little more and will do it tomorrow morning (if I can peel myself off my bed).
Friday, August 31, 2012
Results of the training class
The class I mentioned in my previous post was certainly a success. We had a group of our core referees, those that are grade 8 and some 7. The instructor did a great job of upping the tone of what separates a good grade 8 from the masses.
Presentation
Professionalism
Presence
We also did a portion of the clinic on the field and his main thing was backpedaling. We do not do it enough and we need to get to be better at it. Running backwards during a punt so you never take your eyes off the action (not the ball when it is 25 feet in the air). Thought that was a well placed comment as well. We tend to do that, look at the ball instead of the players vying for position at the expected landing zone. That is what separates an 8 with what I call a 7.5 (those of you out there that read blogs on refereeing, or stay up on the latest trends qualify as a 7.5 if you are an 8 currently, because the vast majority of the referees in my area are more 8.5 than 7.5).
This past weekend during my son's tournament match, I encountered one such 8.5 as an AR. During an attack for one of teams, this AR flags for offside (correctly or not, not really important to the discussion at hand). The center does not immediately see him and the ball then goes out of bounds for the attacking team. AR then lowers the flag right in front of me and starts to move down the field. I told him to keep his flag up (I know, I shouldn't, nothing good ever comes of it, but I just can't see one of our brethren make mistakes like that). He turns around and tells me that since another call has been made, the offside does not apply. Mind you that the offside occurred before the out of bounds. I told him he was wrong and he told me that I did not know what I was talking about. Oh well, another 8.5er strikes again. I just need to learn to shut up at these matches and do like some others recommend that is not really pay attention to the officiating, but silly things like this get me all riled up. Anyway, shoot me a comment if you see something here that you want more info on. And I will try and keep it quiet this weekend when my kids play again with those 8.5ers that seem to lurk everywhere.
Presentation
Professionalism
Presence
We also did a portion of the clinic on the field and his main thing was backpedaling. We do not do it enough and we need to get to be better at it. Running backwards during a punt so you never take your eyes off the action (not the ball when it is 25 feet in the air). Thought that was a well placed comment as well. We tend to do that, look at the ball instead of the players vying for position at the expected landing zone. That is what separates an 8 with what I call a 7.5 (those of you out there that read blogs on refereeing, or stay up on the latest trends qualify as a 7.5 if you are an 8 currently, because the vast majority of the referees in my area are more 8.5 than 7.5).
This past weekend during my son's tournament match, I encountered one such 8.5 as an AR. During an attack for one of teams, this AR flags for offside (correctly or not, not really important to the discussion at hand). The center does not immediately see him and the ball then goes out of bounds for the attacking team. AR then lowers the flag right in front of me and starts to move down the field. I told him to keep his flag up (I know, I shouldn't, nothing good ever comes of it, but I just can't see one of our brethren make mistakes like that). He turns around and tells me that since another call has been made, the offside does not apply. Mind you that the offside occurred before the out of bounds. I told him he was wrong and he told me that I did not know what I was talking about. Oh well, another 8.5er strikes again. I just need to learn to shut up at these matches and do like some others recommend that is not really pay attention to the officiating, but silly things like this get me all riled up. Anyway, shoot me a comment if you see something here that you want more info on. And I will try and keep it quiet this weekend when my kids play again with those 8.5ers that seem to lurk everywhere.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Training class
The local club that I am the director of referees for asked me to put together a little get together for the travel refs in the area. So we are hosting something with a local instructor. He asked me what specific topic he should present and I am at a loss as to what specifically. I told him to focus on things that Grade 7 students would receive that Grade 8s normally do not but what specifically I do not know.
We will have one lecture and one field session, each of about 30 minutes. Do any of you have any suggestions as to what a Grade 8 would like to know if you had the chance to ask an instructor to give you a class? Would love to hear your input.
Thanks in advance for any ideas you may have.
We will have one lecture and one field session, each of about 30 minutes. Do any of you have any suggestions as to what a Grade 8 would like to know if you had the chance to ask an instructor to give you a class? Would love to hear your input.
Thanks in advance for any ideas you may have.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Hammerhead whistle review
I am kind of a geek when it comes to gadgets. In my professional life I work in the IT field and am somewhat of a geek so that spills over to my reffing like as well. When it comes to trying new things, I like to think I give it a shot. This last week I saw that a new store had opened in a strip mall close to work so I headed over there to see what they had. One of the things that caught my eye was a weird looking whistle called the Hammerhead. It looks like an L and is designed to not propagate the sound towards your ears but rather away from them. Interesting design so I picked one up and used it this past weekend.
The Hammerhead has a pea in it but not the old cork type. It is made of plastic or some sort of rubber and has grooves on it to battle dust and humidity better. I believe it when they say that it moves sound away and the fact that it resists moisture and dust better than a regular pea whistle does.
I also liked the sound. It is deeper, distinctive and fairly loud. My only complaint, and this is a big one, is that you need a large dose of air from your lungs to blow it. It is not a simple tweet, it is more of a candle blow out session when it is your birthday and you are on the larger side of 40 (and the person preparing the cake made sure to include every single candle.
So if you are looking for a different sound so not to sound like everyone else using a Fox 40 classic, then go with this one, but make sure you give it a good dose of air, or no one will hear you tweet.
The Hammerhead has a pea in it but not the old cork type. It is made of plastic or some sort of rubber and has grooves on it to battle dust and humidity better. I believe it when they say that it moves sound away and the fact that it resists moisture and dust better than a regular pea whistle does.
I also liked the sound. It is deeper, distinctive and fairly loud. My only complaint, and this is a big one, is that you need a large dose of air from your lungs to blow it. It is not a simple tweet, it is more of a candle blow out session when it is your birthday and you are on the larger side of 40 (and the person preparing the cake made sure to include every single candle.
So if you are looking for a different sound so not to sound like everyone else using a Fox 40 classic, then go with this one, but make sure you give it a good dose of air, or no one will hear you tweet.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Now really Passing the torch
This weekend, apart from the crazy referee in the previous post, I worked Saturday for the first time with my son. The local rec league does something that most leagues do not do. That is to put ARs on their U10 and U12 matches. Those are the first age groups where there is a semi big field. It is basically the same size as the fields used by travel if they were 12 and under.
My son and I worked 3 matches, 2 U12 boys and one U12 girls. He was more than observant and did quite well. My glowing moment where I realized he "got" it was during the first match where I was close to him but due to a discussion with a coach on his side, I had my back to him for a second as play restarted. Team took a quick throw in, one player flicked it with his head to a teammate that was slightly offside. I called it without looking at him since I had a good view and he had his flag up, so he saw it as well.
It was great to work with my son, it felt like something akin to bonding time. It helped that he knew what he was doing, so that always works. Good for him. Next weekend, he works with the U6 kids all by himself. I wonder if he will be able to control play just as well as he did on the AR side.
My son and I worked 3 matches, 2 U12 boys and one U12 girls. He was more than observant and did quite well. My glowing moment where I realized he "got" it was during the first match where I was close to him but due to a discussion with a coach on his side, I had my back to him for a second as play restarted. Team took a quick throw in, one player flicked it with his head to a teammate that was slightly offside. I called it without looking at him since I had a good view and he had his flag up, so he saw it as well.
It was great to work with my son, it felt like something akin to bonding time. It helped that he knew what he was doing, so that always works. Good for him. Next weekend, he works with the U6 kids all by himself. I wonder if he will be able to control play just as well as he did on the AR side.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Passing the torch
This weekend was a wet one for many in the east coast. I had my fair share of matches and had some interesting things, but the most important one was working my first games with my son (who did awesome by the way).
To start off, I will go to the Sunday work. Two higher level matches (in terms of age). A U16 Boys match and a U17 match, also boys. I was ARing on the U16 match that featured a well known referee in our parts. He is somewhat of an interesting character, a lot of flair, a lot of other stuff as well.
To start it off, he was using an electronic whistle. I had never had one use it, but there is always a first. The problem was that it was not really audible. If you were in the vicinity (about 15-20 feet), you heard it, but farther away, it was difficult to make out what was going on. He later said that he needed to replace the batteries. Well, why didn't he? Or use a whistle...
To start things off, in the first 10 minutes, there is a ball played over the defense, keeper and attacker come to the 50/50 ball when there is a collision. Keeper had played the ball away and then collided with the attacker. No foul in my book (I was the lead AR) and the ball falls to another attacker who drops it over the defense for a goal. Center signals no goal because of the hurt attacker. Mind you that the time it took from the collision to the goal was 2-3 seconds at the most. Still, no goal for that team.
So what is the restart, since he stopped play for an injured player? Dropped ball, right? Wrong, for this referee, he decided to give the attacking team an indirect free kick from where the shot was taken that eventually resulted in a goal. When questioned at half time as to what he was thinking, he said, it was the fairest way to give the team a chance to score. But it is not in the rulebook, the other AR and I said. Well, but it was what was fairest, he said. We then suggested that this would be fair in high school, but not in weekend soccer.
Then comes a weak penalty for the other team at the start of the second half. It was really weak. Not something I would have ever called, especially not in a 0-0 game like that. The team converts the PK and then down at the other end, he calls for a free kick, close to the 18. As the players are lining up, the team losing try a quick free kick, which goes in, but alas, our great center decides that he was setting up the wall, though no one on the attacking team asked for 10, it was the defending team that asked for it. So for the second time that match, the same team had a good goal wiped off.
In the end, the match ended 1-0 but was not the result of the team, it was a bunch of hogwash. Silly actually.
The one about my son will have to wait until the next time, as I am out of time right now. But what a character he was.
To start off, I will go to the Sunday work. Two higher level matches (in terms of age). A U16 Boys match and a U17 match, also boys. I was ARing on the U16 match that featured a well known referee in our parts. He is somewhat of an interesting character, a lot of flair, a lot of other stuff as well.
To start it off, he was using an electronic whistle. I had never had one use it, but there is always a first. The problem was that it was not really audible. If you were in the vicinity (about 15-20 feet), you heard it, but farther away, it was difficult to make out what was going on. He later said that he needed to replace the batteries. Well, why didn't he? Or use a whistle...
To start things off, in the first 10 minutes, there is a ball played over the defense, keeper and attacker come to the 50/50 ball when there is a collision. Keeper had played the ball away and then collided with the attacker. No foul in my book (I was the lead AR) and the ball falls to another attacker who drops it over the defense for a goal. Center signals no goal because of the hurt attacker. Mind you that the time it took from the collision to the goal was 2-3 seconds at the most. Still, no goal for that team.
So what is the restart, since he stopped play for an injured player? Dropped ball, right? Wrong, for this referee, he decided to give the attacking team an indirect free kick from where the shot was taken that eventually resulted in a goal. When questioned at half time as to what he was thinking, he said, it was the fairest way to give the team a chance to score. But it is not in the rulebook, the other AR and I said. Well, but it was what was fairest, he said. We then suggested that this would be fair in high school, but not in weekend soccer.
Then comes a weak penalty for the other team at the start of the second half. It was really weak. Not something I would have ever called, especially not in a 0-0 game like that. The team converts the PK and then down at the other end, he calls for a free kick, close to the 18. As the players are lining up, the team losing try a quick free kick, which goes in, but alas, our great center decides that he was setting up the wall, though no one on the attacking team asked for 10, it was the defending team that asked for it. So for the second time that match, the same team had a good goal wiped off.
In the end, the match ended 1-0 but was not the result of the team, it was a bunch of hogwash. Silly actually.
The one about my son will have to wait until the next time, as I am out of time right now. But what a character he was.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Do coaches know the rules?
Pretty standard match yesterday I was working as an AR in High School (which I like less and less by the day) until late in the second half. A throw in by white that was more like a corner, a laser. Anyway, it gets flicked and tips off of a defender and into the goal.
Coach from team receiving the goal if I looked at the thrower. I said I did. Then why did I not flag the illegal throw he asks. Because it was not an illegal throw I tell him. So his assistant walks up to me and said, "You mean to tell me that was not an illegal throw?" Again, now more than slightly irritated that indeed, it was a legal throw. To top it off, one of the younger kids on the bench then says real loud "I am a referee and even I know that it was an illegal throw!". At that point I ask all of them, what part of the throw in was not legal.
The coach, assistant coach and idiot sub all basically say that part of his foot was on the field. And so therein lies my problem. How can they be so ignorant of the rules? In my case, I did tell them that unless the foot is completely on the field, it is legal.
After the match, the coach had the gall to ask my the other two members of my team if indeed it was right what I was saying. Ah, what can I expect? A coach that knows the rules. Nah, why bother.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Update on End of Season article
I just received an email from one of you asking to update the End of Season posting from November. Thanks for reminding me. Here is the skinny on all of that:
On the first issue, the referee that worked the center where I was an AR, did not really come to anything. The center and the father of the kid seriously hurt went with me to Alabama and did not have any issues. Apparently, the two high level referees that were doing the assessment on the adjacent field never actually filed a complaint or any other formal issue so nothing seems to have come from that.
On the second issue, I am quite disappointed on how it all panned out. If you recall, in the last match of his season, he received a red card for allegedly fighting. As it happened right in front of me, I saw what happened first hand. The center (who again, was far away and quite biased if you ask me) came over and proceeded to hand out two red cards. One to the aggressor and one to my son. The aggressor walked off after striking my son and my son, who again, did not strike anyone, received his card while laying on the ground holding his head.
When he finally got up and walked off, he had some choice words for the referee which was reported to the league. I thought that both players were going to get a two match suspension, the first kid for fighting and my son for language after the red card. Somehow though, the league found that my son was the only one that deserved a two game suspension.
What made this worse is that the new season is now upon us and the schedule is out. The rematch, is of course, the second match of the season, so my son has to miss it, and the other player gets to play it. Beyond annoyed. But it will hopefully teach my son a lesson into how to control his emotions. Between you and me though, it is hard to just walk off without saying something to such an injustice. I just wish there was something I could do with regards to this, but sometimes things just don't work out.
Anyway, excited that the season is starting out. The March tournaments were ok, but nothing spectacular. I may write up something over the weekend regarding one coach I had this last weekend, but there is not much there to say other than he behaved badly. Also, I am realizing it is hard to tone down expectations when you've been doing a certain age group for a while and then have to bring it down a couple of notches when the match is a U13 boys match instead of a U19 boys match. The measuring stick is totally different and you sometimes have to retrain yourself.
On the first issue, the referee that worked the center where I was an AR, did not really come to anything. The center and the father of the kid seriously hurt went with me to Alabama and did not have any issues. Apparently, the two high level referees that were doing the assessment on the adjacent field never actually filed a complaint or any other formal issue so nothing seems to have come from that.
On the second issue, I am quite disappointed on how it all panned out. If you recall, in the last match of his season, he received a red card for allegedly fighting. As it happened right in front of me, I saw what happened first hand. The center (who again, was far away and quite biased if you ask me) came over and proceeded to hand out two red cards. One to the aggressor and one to my son. The aggressor walked off after striking my son and my son, who again, did not strike anyone, received his card while laying on the ground holding his head.
When he finally got up and walked off, he had some choice words for the referee which was reported to the league. I thought that both players were going to get a two match suspension, the first kid for fighting and my son for language after the red card. Somehow though, the league found that my son was the only one that deserved a two game suspension.
What made this worse is that the new season is now upon us and the schedule is out. The rematch, is of course, the second match of the season, so my son has to miss it, and the other player gets to play it. Beyond annoyed. But it will hopefully teach my son a lesson into how to control his emotions. Between you and me though, it is hard to just walk off without saying something to such an injustice. I just wish there was something I could do with regards to this, but sometimes things just don't work out.
Anyway, excited that the season is starting out. The March tournaments were ok, but nothing spectacular. I may write up something over the weekend regarding one coach I had this last weekend, but there is not much there to say other than he behaved badly. Also, I am realizing it is hard to tone down expectations when you've been doing a certain age group for a while and then have to bring it down a couple of notches when the match is a U13 boys match instead of a U19 boys match. The measuring stick is totally different and you sometimes have to retrain yourself.
Monday, March 19, 2012
AYSO badge
I had never seen one until my daughter's last match for the tournament. I saw the referee and he had a different badge, one that I had never seen before. So before the match, I walked past him and gave it a good look. It was an AYSO badge. Nothing like what I had seen before, so I had no idea what to make of it.
The performance was fine, so no comments there, just that I had no idea what to make of his badge.
The performance was fine, so no comments there, just that I had no idea what to make of his badge.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Soccered Out
Way too many games in the last 6 days leading up to last Sunday. I was out after the 15th game in 6 days and my knee decided it was too much. I am fine now but it was interesting to get assessed on a match at 8am when the day before I closed out a field at 11pm. It was a long weekend.
What is funny is that most of the referees I worked with this weekend were either grade 6 or something better. As a 7, I was one of the lower levels. Still, in my assessments, I did well and was given good tips on positioning (and what to look for in an about to sprint attacker - answer: heels off the ground) as well as my center. In that one, the assessment came from Brendan Barry, an Irishman now associated with making the reffing in Virginia better. I certainly hope he can do it. He suggested I look at being a 6. Don't see how I would have the time, but will keep it in the back of my mind.
The matches were all high level. Really good soccer for sure. First touch is really important at the U19 levels and these kids were off the charts.
This coming weekend, I will be taking my two kids back and forth from the tournaments so there will probably be little reffing.
What is funny is that most of the referees I worked with this weekend were either grade 6 or something better. As a 7, I was one of the lower levels. Still, in my assessments, I did well and was given good tips on positioning (and what to look for in an about to sprint attacker - answer: heels off the ground) as well as my center. In that one, the assessment came from Brendan Barry, an Irishman now associated with making the reffing in Virginia better. I certainly hope he can do it. He suggested I look at being a 6. Don't see how I would have the time, but will keep it in the back of my mind.
The matches were all high level. Really good soccer for sure. First touch is really important at the U19 levels and these kids were off the charts.
This coming weekend, I will be taking my two kids back and forth from the tournaments so there will probably be little reffing.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
So much for Ireland
Well, the Ireland thing came and went. It was fun in a way but I was not impressed by the Irish team in this tournament. While the coaches were quite nice, the "lads" were anything but. And they had one heck of a vocabulary, and they chipped at the ankles when the ball had already gone, but they were fun to watch for a while. Game ended 4-1 against them.
But the center was a 4 and it was someone that I had recognized as having spoken at one of the VYSA conventions a couple of years back. And this is what I learned from him and then my next match, where I had a 4th official myself for the first time. Foul counts and almost total recall foul memory.
At halftime of the Ireland match, the center comes off and starts talking about the fouls, "so we have to look out for #14 red because he fouled at the center circle and then again 5 minutes later on the corner..."
My fourth official for my match took it to another level. At halftime, he says to me, "Well your foul count was 9-2 in favor of blue, but it was what had to be called, so just keep that in mind." I later found out he is a 5. And he was right, but I had no idea what the foul count was, just that I had called a lot more fouls for blue. He indicated that if I did not call more fouls for white, they might see it like I am not favoring them. And what is funny is that I knew I had to find something to call in favor of white. I just did not realize how unbalanced it had been in the first half. In the second half, I should have carded one kid who went fairly hard on another, but instead gave him a butt chewing. For a while I thought the game might spiral out of control, but a couple of gifts from the players (#20 white finally fouled for the 4th time and I gave him a card for PI) and then #20 blue that halted a promising counter attack with a "professional" foul and the testosterone level fell a bit. We finished well for a 1-0 match.
But the center was a 4 and it was someone that I had recognized as having spoken at one of the VYSA conventions a couple of years back. And this is what I learned from him and then my next match, where I had a 4th official myself for the first time. Foul counts and almost total recall foul memory.
At halftime of the Ireland match, the center comes off and starts talking about the fouls, "so we have to look out for #14 red because he fouled at the center circle and then again 5 minutes later on the corner..."
My fourth official for my match took it to another level. At halftime, he says to me, "Well your foul count was 9-2 in favor of blue, but it was what had to be called, so just keep that in mind." I later found out he is a 5. And he was right, but I had no idea what the foul count was, just that I had called a lot more fouls for blue. He indicated that if I did not call more fouls for white, they might see it like I am not favoring them. And what is funny is that I knew I had to find something to call in favor of white. I just did not realize how unbalanced it had been in the first half. In the second half, I should have carded one kid who went fairly hard on another, but instead gave him a butt chewing. For a while I thought the game might spiral out of control, but a couple of gifts from the players (#20 white finally fouled for the 4th time and I gave him a card for PI) and then #20 blue that halted a promising counter attack with a "professional" foul and the testosterone level fell a bit. We finished well for a 1-0 match.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Starting off strong
It is the start of another season and this one is getting off with a LOT of soccer. The last really competitive matches I had done was in Alabama in December. I did a scrimmage in January but it was not really that competitive (U13 boys).
But since High School soccer gets off with a bang here around this time of year, I have become quite busy. I worked a couple of matches for the Premier League over this last weekend and now I am in the middle of working 6 straight days of soccer matches, mostly high school during the week and then a College Showcase tournament over this coming weekend. All said it will be 6 days and 15 matches in that time span. Never have I worked that many matches so quickly. I am on day 2 and I am quite tired.
But no rest for the wary. So far, I have not been that impressed with the level of soccer, so most people must be brushing off some of that rust from the winter months.
I was told that this coming Showcase tournament is going to be assessed by FIFA assessors (yeah right!) and one of the teams that I am involved with in the college showcase is from Ireland, so my first international match. But don't get too excited, it is only a 4th, as I believe that the center is a 4 or a 3. Never will get there, but hope to learn something from these really high level referees. More to come after the tournament.
But since High School soccer gets off with a bang here around this time of year, I have become quite busy. I worked a couple of matches for the Premier League over this last weekend and now I am in the middle of working 6 straight days of soccer matches, mostly high school during the week and then a College Showcase tournament over this coming weekend. All said it will be 6 days and 15 matches in that time span. Never have I worked that many matches so quickly. I am on day 2 and I am quite tired.
But no rest for the wary. So far, I have not been that impressed with the level of soccer, so most people must be brushing off some of that rust from the winter months.
I was told that this coming Showcase tournament is going to be assessed by FIFA assessors (yeah right!) and one of the teams that I am involved with in the college showcase is from Ireland, so my first international match. But don't get too excited, it is only a 4th, as I believe that the center is a 4 or a 3. Never will get there, but hope to learn something from these really high level referees. More to come after the tournament.
Monday, February 13, 2012
So I never finished the story...
It seems that when I leave things for later, they rarely get done. Hopefully for 2012, I will stop with the notion that I will have time to write a couple of lines regarding something I did in December. I never finished the story on the College Showcase tournament.
The last two days of the tournament were great. I did two matches each day, and they were fun. Good, hard matches with very, very good play. And I called the game that I know how to call, not the one that I thought the kids wanted to have. So it worked out. In the first match, it was an 8pm match, under the lights, lots of people in the stands, and all out to see one kid. #7 from a team called the Texans from Pensacola, FL. The kid had a first touch that was just sick. He was intelligent with the ball and fast. He scored 3 goals and assisted in the 4th. In the end his team won 4-1 and it was quite a show. Thing is that the kids were there to play soccer. Sometimes the kids want to play and sometimes they don't.
The final day was a shorter match, because of the NCAA finals that we were all invited to (but our group did not go to try and make it out on time to head back to Virginia). Again, coaches were ok, though one was all up in arms over a tackle that I called and saw that the kid did not have studs up, so I just called the foul, and did not show plastic. The coach went fairly batty for about 30 seconds and was about 5 seconds away from being tossed when he put a sock in it. Good for him because I stand by my call.
There were a lot of stories, got to meet a lot of interesting people. If you have the chance to take a working vacation like this at any time in your reffing lifetime, I strongly recommend it.
The last two days of the tournament were great. I did two matches each day, and they were fun. Good, hard matches with very, very good play. And I called the game that I know how to call, not the one that I thought the kids wanted to have. So it worked out. In the first match, it was an 8pm match, under the lights, lots of people in the stands, and all out to see one kid. #7 from a team called the Texans from Pensacola, FL. The kid had a first touch that was just sick. He was intelligent with the ball and fast. He scored 3 goals and assisted in the 4th. In the end his team won 4-1 and it was quite a show. Thing is that the kids were there to play soccer. Sometimes the kids want to play and sometimes they don't.
The final day was a shorter match, because of the NCAA finals that we were all invited to (but our group did not go to try and make it out on time to head back to Virginia). Again, coaches were ok, though one was all up in arms over a tackle that I called and saw that the kid did not have studs up, so I just called the foul, and did not show plastic. The coach went fairly batty for about 30 seconds and was about 5 seconds away from being tossed when he put a sock in it. Good for him because I stand by my call.
There were a lot of stories, got to meet a lot of interesting people. If you have the chance to take a working vacation like this at any time in your reffing lifetime, I strongly recommend it.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Happy New Year
I need to finish my write ups of the last two days of the December College Showcase tournament but just had a lot going on. I promise to do so shortly. In the meantime, happy New Year and hope everyone has a great start to 2012.
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