But I have an email

This past week I had to do something I would rather never do, be on the coach's side for a match. My daughter's travel team had a conflict of epic proportions which left her team (the club's B team out of 3 teams in her age group) without a coach. The local girls travel league is supposed to deconflict matches for the coaches so that they can make each game. This weekend, the league decided to make our club's A team for the age group travel to St. Mary's County in Maryland and the other team to Eldersberg, also in Maryland. One for a 12pm kick off and the other for a 1pm kick-off. The coach would never have made it on time if the fields were 10 minutes away. Unfortunately, these two locations are about 2 hours away (but in the same state).

So as the story goes, there was no one to coach the B team. The main coach has the A and B teams and the assistant has the C team. The main coach was with the A team and the second coach was with his C team, which left the B team without a coach. The process of getting carded as a coach was simple from my viewpoint since I did not have to do much other than fill out some paperwork and send in a headshot.

For the game itself, there was not much to speak of in terms of reffing except for an interesting exchange I had with the other coach. During the second half, the game was tied 0-0 still and it looked like whomever scored would win it that day. At one point, the other coach started suggesting to the referee (a young lad who was probably doing his one of his first travel centers) that he call "handball".

"Ref, that is a handball" he would say. Later, "Another handball ref". While there was contact between arm and ball, we all know there has to be some intention. Just because there is contact does not constitute handling. So after the 3rd or 4th time he ever increasingly suggests calling "handball", I tell the coach, "You do understand that there has to be some intention to actually call handling, right?" to which he answers "If the arm is in an unnatural position, it is a handball. I have an email that proves it and will show it to you after the game."

To which I just shut up, because what am I going to say to that? There are so many things wrong with the statement that it just not worth explaining. My intention in speaking to him was not really to educate him on handling vs handball. Nor was it to start talking about how one of our best female referees has stated time and time again that handling is very different in the mens game than it is in the female game. What my goal tried to achieve was to shift the conversation to me so he would not attempt to influence a very impressionable young man into making a call that could alter the course of the game. My daughter's team was dominating and I knew that eventually we would get a goal, all I had to do was avoid the coach from suggesting a bad call that might prompt a goal out of nowhere for them.

It worked, as he ceased to talk about the handballs and right after, my daughter's team scored.

Another interesting note, from this young referee was the fact that with about a minute left in the game, and with my daughter's team up 3-1, he calls a foul on the other team in the box. My daughter had gotten by the defender and was ready to shoot when the girls basically pushed her from behind. The referee called the foul and then began lining up the girls for a kick inside the box. So I ask the referee:

"Is this a direct kick?"

"Yes", he replies.

"And it is in the box, right?"

"Yes", he replies again.

"So it is a PK then instead of a direct kick, correct?"

"Oh, yes, you are right."

Then he proceeds to set up for a PK. I tell my daughter to take it and as she is running up to take the shot, he blows his whistle. She stops and looks at him as she was ready to take the PK. She takes a step back and begins running up to the ball again, and again he blows the whistle. All this time, he was indicating to her to go ahead and take the PK but was blowing the whistle at the most distracting time. He even told her to go ahead and take the shot after the second whistle. She was so confused that she missed it, not that it mattered, because the game was essentially over but it showed me that he had never had to practice a PK before.

I can now say that I have a 2-1 record as a coach for my daughter's team. It is very different being on the coaching sideline, especially because you have to manage subs and guide the girls. I had a lot of fun, but prefer reffing to coaching any day. I like to be responsible for myself and not being required to be responsible for so many girls and their results. But every once it a while it is nice to watch the game from the other sideline.