For all of you out there with kids who are referees, let me give you a tidbit of advice. Do not try to do the recert exam online at the same time as your kids are trying to do their exams. The idea I had was to have everyone sit down and take the test and when they were done, go over any questions they had so we could make sure they understood the question and what the correct answer should be. Not the case.
As we sat in our morning room, with each child on their laptop and I on mine trying to determine if headscarves could be something other than black, I would be interrupted every 30 seconds by one of the two asking a question. Not reading the question, trying to understand it, analyze it and respond. No, just read the question out loud and see what I thought. It was painful and the last time I try that method. Since the tests in Virginia are 100 questions long, it made for a long afternoon.
The funny thing was that my son, who has been reffing a couple of years more than my daughter, failed his exam with a 74 and had to take it again. My daughter, who was more methodical and didn't rush her answers, got an 84 first try. He was able to take it again and get a 94 the second go around.
I took mine with those interruptions and have to admit that the questions were quite confusing sometimes. A lot of measuring had to be done. Things like ball goes out 15 yards from the left post so is it a goalkick (retake) or a corner kick. Off the top of my head, I don't remember if the distance from the post to the end of the penalty box is more or less than 15 yards (it is). Things like that made it complicated. I was able to review all the ones that I got wrong and have to admit that I disagreed with plenty of the ones I had wrong. Oh well. I passed and I guess that is all that matters.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Recert time
This is the first time that all 3 of us referees in the family have to recert. My kids are doing it at the end of this month and I will be doing it in December. The classes are sometimes hard to come by because of the fact that the weekends that you can take the class are also the weekends when one or two of the kids are playing in a tournament. Most recently, they have been out of town to boot.
So it comes as a surprise that I am having a hard time finding the 2014/2015 Laws of the Game USSF style. I must be looking in the wrong place as I have the 2013/2014 one in PDF but cannot locate the newest version. I found the FIFA version in no time flat, but the more local version has just been hard to find. The main USSF site still has the 2013/2014 rules, which I think will be good enough to have while taking the exam.
The one thing that makes me question our process is that now we test prior to taking the class, so it assumes that there are no questions or other situation that the referee wants to cover before taking the exam. Or perhaps it just makes things easier, at least for us in the Northern VA area. I wonder how things are handled elsewhere.
Just in case you are wondering, the link to all the documentation that USSF has is here:
https://ussoccer.app.box.com/s/ruqcsf0671k1bcf6dzwf
So it comes as a surprise that I am having a hard time finding the 2014/2015 Laws of the Game USSF style. I must be looking in the wrong place as I have the 2013/2014 one in PDF but cannot locate the newest version. I found the FIFA version in no time flat, but the more local version has just been hard to find. The main USSF site still has the 2013/2014 rules, which I think will be good enough to have while taking the exam.
The one thing that makes me question our process is that now we test prior to taking the class, so it assumes that there are no questions or other situation that the referee wants to cover before taking the exam. Or perhaps it just makes things easier, at least for us in the Northern VA area. I wonder how things are handled elsewhere.
Just in case you are wondering, the link to all the documentation that USSF has is here:
https://ussoccer.app.box.com/s/ruqcsf0671k1bcf6dzwf
Monday, November 10, 2014
My way or the highway
This past weekend, my son and I worked a couple of higher level games at the U17 and U18 level. My son did not disappoint but he did say that this is the level of soccer he likes to work on, so I might have spoiled him in terms of working U8 or U10 rec games from here on out. In the first game, where I was center, it was a decent game but with one team really pushing to get the goal while the other played counter (and not very effectively).
White was the more aggressive team and should have put away their chances in the first half but the post said no 4 times in that half. On the other side, black had one play where there was a shot and the keeper bobbled it and then lost control, it was falling to the attacker and then the keeper sort of fell on her. I immediately said "no foul" and no one protested but at halftime, we discussed it and I had the nagging feeling that it should have been a PK. The lead AR, a grade 6 said that absolutely it should have been a PK because she misplayed the ball and the chances of the attacker scoring from that distance had she not had the keeper fall on her would have been close to 100% since it was at around the 6 where the collision happened.
In the second game, the State referee took charge and immediately you saw a difference in the two styles of refereeing. I think that if you were to compare my style with that of this grade 6 would be in the levels of accommodations. I think I was more accommodating to the style the girls wanted to play and what the coaches and players were expecting to have called.
In his game we had a lot of "what was that call all about?" moments in the game. Not that he called a bad game, but coaches, players and my guess is parents as well all had to think about what some of the calls were. Not that I think they were wrong per se, but he did call things "his way". In the first 10 minutes one coach yelled out his displeasure over a non call (that was called, just waiting for advantage to dissipate) and the center looked over and said "enough" very clearly. While the coach chipped away some more in terms of comments later in the half, he did not make them public enough for the center to hear, so he got away with them. I did mention to the center that he was making those comments but part of me thought that the coach was right, since I couldn't make out some of the calls or the logic myself. Since he didn't hear them, he was ok with them if I was ok with them is how we decided to measure the level of dissent.
In the second half, the other team's coach wanted to have a conversation about a perceived foul on one of his players. The center comes over and immediately states that he is not going to have a conversation. "No more", "enough" and such were stated by the center making it clear that he did not want to hear about the alleged knee in the back that the coach wanted some commentary on. After the 4th time (in a span of 30 seconds) we went from ask, tell, dismiss to almost abandoning the game. The coach could not believe that the referee did not want to hear his side of the story and kept saying "but she got kneed in the back", "you have to protect the players" and "the other coach has been talking all game". To answer to the coach (again, I can see some of his side because to call the level of refereeing erratic would have been an understatement), however, the kneeing was called with an advantage call and I think the center was going to admonish the person who committed it had the coach not asked for more attention and the protection of players was never a problem with this center and the other coach said everything he said after the first public comment loud enough for the benches to hear but not the center.
He sent him packing but then after the game, the coach came back. Big mistake. That one game suspension probably doubled or tripled when he tried to have another conversation with the referee. But it does mean more paperwork for everyone involved. Good to see my son got exposed to that without being the brunt of the problem. More to come on the fallout as I have it.
White was the more aggressive team and should have put away their chances in the first half but the post said no 4 times in that half. On the other side, black had one play where there was a shot and the keeper bobbled it and then lost control, it was falling to the attacker and then the keeper sort of fell on her. I immediately said "no foul" and no one protested but at halftime, we discussed it and I had the nagging feeling that it should have been a PK. The lead AR, a grade 6 said that absolutely it should have been a PK because she misplayed the ball and the chances of the attacker scoring from that distance had she not had the keeper fall on her would have been close to 100% since it was at around the 6 where the collision happened.
In the second game, the State referee took charge and immediately you saw a difference in the two styles of refereeing. I think that if you were to compare my style with that of this grade 6 would be in the levels of accommodations. I think I was more accommodating to the style the girls wanted to play and what the coaches and players were expecting to have called.
In his game we had a lot of "what was that call all about?" moments in the game. Not that he called a bad game, but coaches, players and my guess is parents as well all had to think about what some of the calls were. Not that I think they were wrong per se, but he did call things "his way". In the first 10 minutes one coach yelled out his displeasure over a non call (that was called, just waiting for advantage to dissipate) and the center looked over and said "enough" very clearly. While the coach chipped away some more in terms of comments later in the half, he did not make them public enough for the center to hear, so he got away with them. I did mention to the center that he was making those comments but part of me thought that the coach was right, since I couldn't make out some of the calls or the logic myself. Since he didn't hear them, he was ok with them if I was ok with them is how we decided to measure the level of dissent.
In the second half, the other team's coach wanted to have a conversation about a perceived foul on one of his players. The center comes over and immediately states that he is not going to have a conversation. "No more", "enough" and such were stated by the center making it clear that he did not want to hear about the alleged knee in the back that the coach wanted some commentary on. After the 4th time (in a span of 30 seconds) we went from ask, tell, dismiss to almost abandoning the game. The coach could not believe that the referee did not want to hear his side of the story and kept saying "but she got kneed in the back", "you have to protect the players" and "the other coach has been talking all game". To answer to the coach (again, I can see some of his side because to call the level of refereeing erratic would have been an understatement), however, the kneeing was called with an advantage call and I think the center was going to admonish the person who committed it had the coach not asked for more attention and the protection of players was never a problem with this center and the other coach said everything he said after the first public comment loud enough for the benches to hear but not the center.
He sent him packing but then after the game, the coach came back. Big mistake. That one game suspension probably doubled or tripled when he tried to have another conversation with the referee. But it does mean more paperwork for everyone involved. Good to see my son got exposed to that without being the brunt of the problem. More to come on the fallout as I have it.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Silent treatment
A week ago, I went to a Columbus Day tournament with my son as referees. We took advantage of being outsiders so we got a hotel room provided by the referee committee to referee there. My son did all ARs (8 in total) and I did a mix of centers and ARs over the weekend. It was fun and I got to try out my more quiet side of reffing since two people had recently remarked how chatty I was.
In my first game as a center, I really did not talk much at all. A lot of blowing my whistle for fouls or for admin stuff (like substitutions or the like) but no talking to players unless I absolutely had to. 10 minutes into the first half, a play in the box that the red coach goes crazy for a PK. I did not give it, did not even bellow a "NO!" which is what I normally do on a play that I am not going to call a foul on. Coach continues for a few seconds and when the ball goes out of play, I position myself close to the coach and make eye contact while doing the zipper across the lips. And I get an acknowledging nod. It worked!
For the rest of the game, it went well but I noticed something. At least for me, when I talk to players more, I am always adjusting my bar of what constitutes a foul and what doesn't as the game goes on, the tempo, the score, etc. I noticed I needed to adjust less when not talking. At least in my mind, the bar was less mobile. Maybe because I expressed less of what I was going to allow vs not allow? Not sure why.
In my other games, it was less effective and I had to walk over to coaches and tell them to pipe down in another game. I really wasn't focusing on doing the silent treatment so I didn't do it as effectively. I need to make sure that until I get it down pat and it is second nature that I really concentrate to make sure I am doing that. I just find it hard because it is not who I am truthfully. We will see if it works out in the long run, but I am going to try that, focus on not talking as much to players and coaches. It does give things a more professional vibe to my matches, but then to me it seems like it is more of a "job" and less "fun". We will see what works and what doesn't after I have had more time to work this angle.
In my first game as a center, I really did not talk much at all. A lot of blowing my whistle for fouls or for admin stuff (like substitutions or the like) but no talking to players unless I absolutely had to. 10 minutes into the first half, a play in the box that the red coach goes crazy for a PK. I did not give it, did not even bellow a "NO!" which is what I normally do on a play that I am not going to call a foul on. Coach continues for a few seconds and when the ball goes out of play, I position myself close to the coach and make eye contact while doing the zipper across the lips. And I get an acknowledging nod. It worked!
For the rest of the game, it went well but I noticed something. At least for me, when I talk to players more, I am always adjusting my bar of what constitutes a foul and what doesn't as the game goes on, the tempo, the score, etc. I noticed I needed to adjust less when not talking. At least in my mind, the bar was less mobile. Maybe because I expressed less of what I was going to allow vs not allow? Not sure why.
In my other games, it was less effective and I had to walk over to coaches and tell them to pipe down in another game. I really wasn't focusing on doing the silent treatment so I didn't do it as effectively. I need to make sure that until I get it down pat and it is second nature that I really concentrate to make sure I am doing that. I just find it hard because it is not who I am truthfully. We will see if it works out in the long run, but I am going to try that, focus on not talking as much to players and coaches. It does give things a more professional vibe to my matches, but then to me it seems like it is more of a "job" and less "fun". We will see what works and what doesn't after I have had more time to work this angle.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Public Talking
Just when you think you can no longer learn new things at one's craft, things take a turn for the better. Over the last two weekends, two senior referees gave me the same piece of advice. Essentially, don't talk so much during certain parts of the game.
In the first instance, this was a senior referee who did very high levels and was stepping down, essentially, to do a U18 girls game. First, his threshold of fouls was essentially no blood no foul. When we spoke about the levels of competition, he stated that most people's threshold was a little lower and he was fine with that. I can see a lot of injuries coming from his games if man-management is not in the cards for him.
Still, he said that when he ARed my game (which was a U16 girls game) he thought I spoke too much, like when there was a throw in, and I would sometimes say, red throw or white throw, he said to never do that. The players have been trained to look at your hand signals so no need to give them verbal instructions or to say it out loud. I can see where that makes sense.
Then this last weekend, in a U12 match, I had another AR who I respected quite well tell me the same thing. Don't say it, let them figure it out, look at your signals instead. Get them to look at you instead of hearing your voice.
I guess the problem is that I do too many different age groups. That would never fly at the U10 level, even in travel and would certainly not fly in Rec at all, since most of them still need help figuring things out. But for the older age groups, it makes sense.
So on Sunday, my daughter played and her center was a State Referee. I paid attention to how much he spoke with the girls. Zero. I don't think he spoke a word to them. He would let his whistle do the communicating. Foul, whistle. Substitution, two short tweets. I want you to take 3 steps back, whistle.
I don't think I can do it quite like that, but I will focus on making more of my presence known through the whistle and less with chatting. Don't know how it will work out, because it is in essence, not who I am, but let's see how this goes.
In the first instance, this was a senior referee who did very high levels and was stepping down, essentially, to do a U18 girls game. First, his threshold of fouls was essentially no blood no foul. When we spoke about the levels of competition, he stated that most people's threshold was a little lower and he was fine with that. I can see a lot of injuries coming from his games if man-management is not in the cards for him.
Still, he said that when he ARed my game (which was a U16 girls game) he thought I spoke too much, like when there was a throw in, and I would sometimes say, red throw or white throw, he said to never do that. The players have been trained to look at your hand signals so no need to give them verbal instructions or to say it out loud. I can see where that makes sense.
Then this last weekend, in a U12 match, I had another AR who I respected quite well tell me the same thing. Don't say it, let them figure it out, look at your signals instead. Get them to look at you instead of hearing your voice.
I guess the problem is that I do too many different age groups. That would never fly at the U10 level, even in travel and would certainly not fly in Rec at all, since most of them still need help figuring things out. But for the older age groups, it makes sense.
So on Sunday, my daughter played and her center was a State Referee. I paid attention to how much he spoke with the girls. Zero. I don't think he spoke a word to them. He would let his whistle do the communicating. Foul, whistle. Substitution, two short tweets. I want you to take 3 steps back, whistle.
I don't think I can do it quite like that, but I will focus on making more of my presence known through the whistle and less with chatting. Don't know how it will work out, because it is in essence, not who I am, but let's see how this goes.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Happiest I've been
I enjoy being out there on the field. I enjoy running around, helping the kids, trying to call good games and let things be fair. I really like that. But this weekend I had the best experience ever. My son was playing in State Cup and then also his regular league so when we started getting all these last minute game requests I figured we could get one in. He stated in no uncertain terms that he just wanted to chill.
Side note, what is up with Northern VA? I received emails asking for referees and those lists were LONG. On Friday, there were 80 some games at the travel level that had incomplete referee crews (either no center or missing ARs). More referees are needed, that is for sure.
Anyway, getting back to my story, I finally convinced my son to come out and do a game. It was a U19 Travel game. Him being almost 15 was actually two fold. He got to see soccer at slightly a higher level and he got to see what it takes to ref when getting the fouls right is not the only task and man management is more the key factor to keeping the game in check. There were about 20+ fouls, a PK, an injury to a keeper, 5 yellows and a bunch of stuff that his level of soccer doesn't do yet (like trying to take someone out and playing through hard fouls). At the end he said that he had had a blast, had not looked at his watch in the 90 minutes and that he could get used to reffing at that level. What he has realized up to now is that he doesn't like reffing the little kids where boredom sets in.
All during the match I was just smiling, because I was doing something I loved, it was a beautiful afternoon, the kids were playing hard but fair for the most part and I was doing it with someone I loved. To have him tell me that he enjoyed it was the cherry on top.
He also learned something important in the game that he had not seen before. White clears the ball and the ball travels about 40 yards. Blue tries to head the ball but does a sloppy job of it and the ball goes to an attacker in the offside position. He raises his flag and I wave him down as it was a controlled header (just a bad one) instead of a deflection. He says that the moment I waved him down, it hit him and that it was good to finally see that play in action rather than just read about it. All in all, one of my best days as a referee.
Side note, what is up with Northern VA? I received emails asking for referees and those lists were LONG. On Friday, there were 80 some games at the travel level that had incomplete referee crews (either no center or missing ARs). More referees are needed, that is for sure.
Anyway, getting back to my story, I finally convinced my son to come out and do a game. It was a U19 Travel game. Him being almost 15 was actually two fold. He got to see soccer at slightly a higher level and he got to see what it takes to ref when getting the fouls right is not the only task and man management is more the key factor to keeping the game in check. There were about 20+ fouls, a PK, an injury to a keeper, 5 yellows and a bunch of stuff that his level of soccer doesn't do yet (like trying to take someone out and playing through hard fouls). At the end he said that he had had a blast, had not looked at his watch in the 90 minutes and that he could get used to reffing at that level. What he has realized up to now is that he doesn't like reffing the little kids where boredom sets in.
All during the match I was just smiling, because I was doing something I loved, it was a beautiful afternoon, the kids were playing hard but fair for the most part and I was doing it with someone I loved. To have him tell me that he enjoyed it was the cherry on top.
He also learned something important in the game that he had not seen before. White clears the ball and the ball travels about 40 yards. Blue tries to head the ball but does a sloppy job of it and the ball goes to an attacker in the offside position. He raises his flag and I wave him down as it was a controlled header (just a bad one) instead of a deflection. He says that the moment I waved him down, it hit him and that it was good to finally see that play in action rather than just read about it. All in all, one of my best days as a referee.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Foul timing
Had an escape from the norm this past weekend. My daughter played in a tournament that was about 200 miles from home and I arranged to do a couple of games for the tournament. One as a center and one as an AR. Nothing high level, but good to run around and get some of the summer rust off.
In my center, I met with a couple of guys that were to be my ARs and we discussed what I expected in my pregame and to feel free to give me feedback should it be warranted. Game starts and the yellow team dumps the ball into the opposing team's box. Defender and attacker jostle and the defender does a very evident push. Not 30 seconds in and I call a PK. Probably my fastest PK call ever.
Blue eventually ties and takes the lead before yellow ties it again on a silly shot right before halftime. At halftime my AR tells me that I should not have called the PK at the beginning. Why I ask. Because I coach at this age group and I know that the PK could discourage the team that got the PK. Interesting, so you want me to not call a foul because it was too close to the start of the game and could be damaging to the team that committed the foul? I had to tell him that I did not agree with that logic and that fortunately for this game, they had me in center instead of him. Come on, so a PK can't be called even though I saw a foul (and the AR who questioned my strategy also said it was a foul) because it was too early in the game. Hadn't heard that one before.
In my center, I met with a couple of guys that were to be my ARs and we discussed what I expected in my pregame and to feel free to give me feedback should it be warranted. Game starts and the yellow team dumps the ball into the opposing team's box. Defender and attacker jostle and the defender does a very evident push. Not 30 seconds in and I call a PK. Probably my fastest PK call ever.
Blue eventually ties and takes the lead before yellow ties it again on a silly shot right before halftime. At halftime my AR tells me that I should not have called the PK at the beginning. Why I ask. Because I coach at this age group and I know that the PK could discourage the team that got the PK. Interesting, so you want me to not call a foul because it was too close to the start of the game and could be damaging to the team that committed the foul? I had to tell him that I did not agree with that logic and that fortunately for this game, they had me in center instead of him. Come on, so a PK can't be called even though I saw a foul (and the AR who questioned my strategy also said it was a foul) because it was too early in the game. Hadn't heard that one before.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Done with High School
I guess you could call it the end, though I think High School soccer and I just got off on the wrong foot and never really trusted each other. Well, I came to the conclusion that high school soccer is just not for me anymore and we broke it off. No more differing rules, no more silly, stop the clock criss-cross signals and no more "sportsmanship" baloney they seem to want to feed us with. At least not for me.
Perhaps it is because I am busy and have a kid who plays that level. This might have been the main reason why I disengaged with High School soccer along with the alternate rule sets. Either way, it certainly is the end of an era, until my kids are done with the sport and I have no vested interests in the outcomes of soccer at the high school level. I have about 6-7 years at the current rate before that comes true, so it might be a while before I go back to doing the "wind the clock".
Perhaps it is because I am busy and have a kid who plays that level. This might have been the main reason why I disengaged with High School soccer along with the alternate rule sets. Either way, it certainly is the end of an era, until my kids are done with the sport and I have no vested interests in the outcomes of soccer at the high school level. I have about 6-7 years at the current rate before that comes true, so it might be a while before I go back to doing the "wind the clock".
Thursday, June 19, 2014
World Cup - PKs
I imagine that you have been following along with the rest of the world what is happening in Brazil now with regards to the World Cup. I am not going to comment too much on the referees there because while some of the officiating has been wonky, it has not been controversial, except the PKs for the most part.
First, Brazil-Croatia, come on, that nudge is not a PK and I think many of us would be in serious trouble if we were to call PKs like that anytime the level of contact reached what the Japanese referee called that day. The second one is more recent. In the Australia-Netherlands game (and what a great game it was), the referee called a PK for Australia that was clearly ball to hand and not hand to ball, but it was so evident that I think he had to call it. Not sure if you saw it but I would love to be able to find out what went through his head. It was clear and there was a lot of contact, not a simple deflection. It was also the arm in a natural running position, so I have a hard time with those because there was no intention but the ball and hand clearly made contact. Does FIFA want us to call that stuff or not? I wish there were a clear yes or no from FIFA instead of having 50% of us call it and 50% of us not call it on any given day.
Finally, the amount of PKs being given is something that has surprised me this go around. And the fact that I don't think a PK has been missed yet in the WC, at least that I have seen, so my guess is that one will be missed today in the England-Uruguay match just because I mentioned it just now. Anyway, enjoy the soccer that is going on right now!
First, Brazil-Croatia, come on, that nudge is not a PK and I think many of us would be in serious trouble if we were to call PKs like that anytime the level of contact reached what the Japanese referee called that day. The second one is more recent. In the Australia-Netherlands game (and what a great game it was), the referee called a PK for Australia that was clearly ball to hand and not hand to ball, but it was so evident that I think he had to call it. Not sure if you saw it but I would love to be able to find out what went through his head. It was clear and there was a lot of contact, not a simple deflection. It was also the arm in a natural running position, so I have a hard time with those because there was no intention but the ball and hand clearly made contact. Does FIFA want us to call that stuff or not? I wish there were a clear yes or no from FIFA instead of having 50% of us call it and 50% of us not call it on any given day.
Finally, the amount of PKs being given is something that has surprised me this go around. And the fact that I don't think a PK has been missed yet in the WC, at least that I have seen, so my guess is that one will be missed today in the England-Uruguay match just because I mentioned it just now. Anyway, enjoy the soccer that is going on right now!
Friday, June 6, 2014
The other side
No, no one died, but I did end up coaching a bunch of games for my daughter's team these past couple of weekends because of coaching conflicts. While most games were fine, I did have an issue with one game. I know there are two sides to every story, but this one was extreme.
We had to drive out to the boonies (I won't say where, because apparently there aren't too many referees in that area and so the referee of this game might be able to identify themselves in this post, which is not my intention). Once we got there, the referee started off nice but fairly quickly started calling questionable calls. A lot of hands on the back calls (all on us) and creating separation calls by using arms. It was interesting because the other team was quite a lot larger so the use of arms was somewhat worthless if it was indeed happening (I did not see what he was calling).
As the game went on, we got a goal and then the center calls a PK on us (again, a weak hands on back call). At this point foul count was 6-1 or so against us, yet I had already had to go in twice onto the field to help and injured girl off the field (again they were larger and did commit fouls that he did not call).
During the execution of the PK, the AR on the coaches side who should always be on the right of the midfield line (and I am to the left) starts standing in front of me, I am almost to our defensive 18, so he is a good 25 yards on the wrong side of midfield. As I move to get a better view of the PK, he moves in front of me. I tell the STAR AR to move to midfield. He ignores me and continues to stand in my way. The PK is missed but I ask the center to get the AR away from my sideline since he should never be close to my side. The center told me that on a PK it makes sense to get close. Side note, as a trail AR, I have never had to go further up the field than midfield when PK is not on my side.
In the second half, after we are now down 2-1 thanks to quite a bit of tilting of the field the ultimate in vindictive refereeing rears its ugly head. I had gone in 2-3 times already because of injuries to my girls. Another really hard tackle, and a girl of ours is rolling on the floor in obvious pain. Parents on my team have been going ballistic for the better part of the second half due to the discrepancy in foul criteria. I come onto the field and as I am helping my girl off, I tell the referee that someone is going to get hurt if he doesn't protect the girls. He tells me that he will dismiss me if I speak to him again while on the field. And to make things worse, I am walking off with the injured girl and he restarts play without letting me put in a sub. When the ball goes out for our corner kick I tell him that I want to put in a sub. He states that not right now, and that this should teach me to talk to him when he doesn't want to hear it.
At the end of the match, we found the tying goal which was really a victory in my book. The center took off running before I could talk to him. I was going to recommend another line of work. I have reported the referee to the league but what I was told informally was that there are so few referees in that area that he is still needed. Very unfortunate.
We had to drive out to the boonies (I won't say where, because apparently there aren't too many referees in that area and so the referee of this game might be able to identify themselves in this post, which is not my intention). Once we got there, the referee started off nice but fairly quickly started calling questionable calls. A lot of hands on the back calls (all on us) and creating separation calls by using arms. It was interesting because the other team was quite a lot larger so the use of arms was somewhat worthless if it was indeed happening (I did not see what he was calling).
As the game went on, we got a goal and then the center calls a PK on us (again, a weak hands on back call). At this point foul count was 6-1 or so against us, yet I had already had to go in twice onto the field to help and injured girl off the field (again they were larger and did commit fouls that he did not call).
During the execution of the PK, the AR on the coaches side who should always be on the right of the midfield line (and I am to the left) starts standing in front of me, I am almost to our defensive 18, so he is a good 25 yards on the wrong side of midfield. As I move to get a better view of the PK, he moves in front of me. I tell the STAR AR to move to midfield. He ignores me and continues to stand in my way. The PK is missed but I ask the center to get the AR away from my sideline since he should never be close to my side. The center told me that on a PK it makes sense to get close. Side note, as a trail AR, I have never had to go further up the field than midfield when PK is not on my side.
In the second half, after we are now down 2-1 thanks to quite a bit of tilting of the field the ultimate in vindictive refereeing rears its ugly head. I had gone in 2-3 times already because of injuries to my girls. Another really hard tackle, and a girl of ours is rolling on the floor in obvious pain. Parents on my team have been going ballistic for the better part of the second half due to the discrepancy in foul criteria. I come onto the field and as I am helping my girl off, I tell the referee that someone is going to get hurt if he doesn't protect the girls. He tells me that he will dismiss me if I speak to him again while on the field. And to make things worse, I am walking off with the injured girl and he restarts play without letting me put in a sub. When the ball goes out for our corner kick I tell him that I want to put in a sub. He states that not right now, and that this should teach me to talk to him when he doesn't want to hear it.
At the end of the match, we found the tying goal which was really a victory in my book. The center took off running before I could talk to him. I was going to recommend another line of work. I have reported the referee to the league but what I was told informally was that there are so few referees in that area that he is still needed. Very unfortunate.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Fanning the flames
One thing that I envy about high level referees is the aplomb that they have sometimes when dishing out justice. Don't you love it when you see a fellow referee blow his whistle for a hard foul, run over to avoid any confrontations, and then with little fanfare or excitement, they show the perpetrator a yellow, without so much as scowl on his face?
For me, it is hard to contain the emotion sometimes when things like that happen and you just get rolled into the excitement of the situation. It is hard to be in the 85th minute of a hard fought 1-1 match when a foul is called and you run over full of emotion, because you saw the foul, you see the potential for problems, because you have to separate the fouler from the foulee and his or her teammates, and yet when you show the yellow, do it in a matter that does not show much emotion. It is hard, frankly, for me to do that since everything leading up to that call is full of emotion.
Next time you see an EPL match or if it happens to be a Howard Webb match center, take a look at how he shows a yellow or a red. It is matter of fact, that is it. Slow and methodical. When I normally show a yellow, I am angry (relatively speaking). When Howard Webb shows a yellow, he is slightly disappointed. Normally that does a great job of dissipating the situation and letting tempers simmer down.
I mention this because this past weekend, I was an AR for a high level D1 match. Late in the game with red in control in terms of the score, a red player commits a foul on the other side of the field and receives a yellow. Goes on and on with dissent but the center does not give him a red, which I was fine with, these are big kids, let them blow off a little steam. Play resumes and it comes towards my side. Same player is running to save the ball from going out to touch but the ball then crosses the line. Well beyond the touch line, the player, probably still fuming about the other call, kicks the ball even farther, over the short fence and to where the parents were stilling on a hill. So I waggle (wiggle?) my flag, call the center over (who does not come all the way over) and pat my shirt pocket indicating that he deserved a yellow. He showed him the yellow, but then it took him another couple of seconds to realize he needed to show him the red as well. In all this time, the kid was beside himself, clapping hysterically and yelling that all we wanted was to show him a red, kind of lost it. It was hard to contain myself too since emotions were running high. I just need to think of Howard Webb and see it his way. I am not angry at the situation, I am disappointed I have to show you this card. Perhaps that will help me keep my cool during those tense moments.
For me, it is hard to contain the emotion sometimes when things like that happen and you just get rolled into the excitement of the situation. It is hard to be in the 85th minute of a hard fought 1-1 match when a foul is called and you run over full of emotion, because you saw the foul, you see the potential for problems, because you have to separate the fouler from the foulee and his or her teammates, and yet when you show the yellow, do it in a matter that does not show much emotion. It is hard, frankly, for me to do that since everything leading up to that call is full of emotion.
Next time you see an EPL match or if it happens to be a Howard Webb match center, take a look at how he shows a yellow or a red. It is matter of fact, that is it. Slow and methodical. When I normally show a yellow, I am angry (relatively speaking). When Howard Webb shows a yellow, he is slightly disappointed. Normally that does a great job of dissipating the situation and letting tempers simmer down.
I mention this because this past weekend, I was an AR for a high level D1 match. Late in the game with red in control in terms of the score, a red player commits a foul on the other side of the field and receives a yellow. Goes on and on with dissent but the center does not give him a red, which I was fine with, these are big kids, let them blow off a little steam. Play resumes and it comes towards my side. Same player is running to save the ball from going out to touch but the ball then crosses the line. Well beyond the touch line, the player, probably still fuming about the other call, kicks the ball even farther, over the short fence and to where the parents were stilling on a hill. So I waggle (wiggle?) my flag, call the center over (who does not come all the way over) and pat my shirt pocket indicating that he deserved a yellow. He showed him the yellow, but then it took him another couple of seconds to realize he needed to show him the red as well. In all this time, the kid was beside himself, clapping hysterically and yelling that all we wanted was to show him a red, kind of lost it. It was hard to contain myself too since emotions were running high. I just need to think of Howard Webb and see it his way. I am not angry at the situation, I am disappointed I have to show you this card. Perhaps that will help me keep my cool during those tense moments.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Dark Arts - Club version
This weekend I did not ref much but my daughter had her first couple of games, where she was an AR for U10 rec. That was fun and interesting at the same time. At halftime I had to tell her to focus on one thing and one thing only, the 2nd to last defender. She was trying to remember to do all the things she was supposed to do and it was getting in the way of just focusing on the basics. She seemed to get things going when she was working only on one thing. Then she added one thing after that and by the second match, she was doing fine.
But that is not what this post is about. This weekend, in my daughter's game, we were playing at home and I was just a parent for this one, no ref garb. We were setting up the the field when the team manager comes over and asks me if at U12 teams can still use guest players. I immediately thought that they couldn't in WAGS because the results matter now. It is not a seeding season, it is the season where results count, so stacking kids is sort of a no-no, I thought. Just to be sure, I called a person who happened to be in front of a PC, brought up the rules of the competition and we found out that indeed, you can have guest players at U12, but only from a lower seeded team at the same club (so if you have a Division 1 team, and Division 3 team and a Division 5 team, the D5 players can guest on the D3 or D1 team and D3 can guest for D1 but D1 players cannot guest down to D3 or D5).
The other rule is that they can only play in one WAGS game per day, so if they played in their own team's game that day, they may not participate in another game regardless. So you might ask, how did you know whether these players that were coming in as guests were from the higher or lower ranked teams on the same club? Quite simple actually, most teams allocate jersey numbers to teams when they are created. Something like this: A team gets 01-20, B team gets 21-40 and C team gets 41-60 for example. We knew that this team was their B team. Well, all the girls who were on the official roster (not the ones written in at the last minute) played with numbers in the 20s and 30s. The 3 guest players? You guessed it, 8, 10 and 2.
We had caught them trying to cheat and add A team players to a B team match. A clear violation of the rules. This is where the team manager and I disagreed on how to proceed. I was of the idea to let them play and then we are declared the winners (but you have to file a protest), she wanted to confront the manager prior to the start of the game. She decided to confront the manager, who initially pulled out an edited version of the rules of the league that did not contain the verbiage in question (about A team players not being allowed to play down, so they knew they were cheating) and when our manager showed her on her cell phone the correct verbiage, she backed down and scratched the players out.
The game ended 2-2 and that tells you that the three guest players were there to pad the B team. I really hope that we can come down hard on cheating like this because it stinks that people try to cheat and it is something that referees need to know about because it goes on more than we know. We normally arrive at the time of the game and handle the things within the field, but since they ask us to certify we saw a roster and player cards as well, we probably need to know in more detail under what circumstances players can or cannot play. What this team was hoping for was that the other manager wouldn't notice or the referee know the rules behind guest playing in a certain age group and then hoping that when the results are sent, that whether a player actually played or not would be lost in the details.
But that is not what this post is about. This weekend, in my daughter's game, we were playing at home and I was just a parent for this one, no ref garb. We were setting up the the field when the team manager comes over and asks me if at U12 teams can still use guest players. I immediately thought that they couldn't in WAGS because the results matter now. It is not a seeding season, it is the season where results count, so stacking kids is sort of a no-no, I thought. Just to be sure, I called a person who happened to be in front of a PC, brought up the rules of the competition and we found out that indeed, you can have guest players at U12, but only from a lower seeded team at the same club (so if you have a Division 1 team, and Division 3 team and a Division 5 team, the D5 players can guest on the D3 or D1 team and D3 can guest for D1 but D1 players cannot guest down to D3 or D5).
The other rule is that they can only play in one WAGS game per day, so if they played in their own team's game that day, they may not participate in another game regardless. So you might ask, how did you know whether these players that were coming in as guests were from the higher or lower ranked teams on the same club? Quite simple actually, most teams allocate jersey numbers to teams when they are created. Something like this: A team gets 01-20, B team gets 21-40 and C team gets 41-60 for example. We knew that this team was their B team. Well, all the girls who were on the official roster (not the ones written in at the last minute) played with numbers in the 20s and 30s. The 3 guest players? You guessed it, 8, 10 and 2.
We had caught them trying to cheat and add A team players to a B team match. A clear violation of the rules. This is where the team manager and I disagreed on how to proceed. I was of the idea to let them play and then we are declared the winners (but you have to file a protest), she wanted to confront the manager prior to the start of the game. She decided to confront the manager, who initially pulled out an edited version of the rules of the league that did not contain the verbiage in question (about A team players not being allowed to play down, so they knew they were cheating) and when our manager showed her on her cell phone the correct verbiage, she backed down and scratched the players out.
The game ended 2-2 and that tells you that the three guest players were there to pad the B team. I really hope that we can come down hard on cheating like this because it stinks that people try to cheat and it is something that referees need to know about because it goes on more than we know. We normally arrive at the time of the game and handle the things within the field, but since they ask us to certify we saw a roster and player cards as well, we probably need to know in more detail under what circumstances players can or cannot play. What this team was hoping for was that the other manager wouldn't notice or the referee know the rules behind guest playing in a certain age group and then hoping that when the results are sent, that whether a player actually played or not would be lost in the details.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Starburst and referees
Totally a lighter side post here, but I just cracked open a Starburst candy and decided that as a referee, the below was just perfect.
Of course, you have to eat the yellow first.
Of course, you have to eat the yellow first.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Emergency Rations and nutrition
One side of refereeing that I don't think I have covered well up to now is what to eat while at the games. When you have a 4 game set or something like that, you are bound to get hungry. While I try my best to arrange to have a cooler with a sandwich and such, many times I have come to a field and don't have enough to eat so I had been racking my brain to figure out something that can stay in the trunk of my car for a long time in case I need something to eat and drink and don't have enough with me. Kind of like an emergency stash of some sorts.
The other requirement is that it has to be able to withstand cold and heat. Originally I had energy bars. And they worked fine if it was 70 degrees and cloudy, but would become rock solid if it was 40 degrees out and would melt if it was 90 degrees out.
So this is what I have come up with as emergency rations to have in the trunk of a car for those days when you just need something in your tummy:
-Bottled water (duh!) - Even though experts do not recommend plastic bottles that have been heated up by the sun too much because of the toxins that can seep from plastic to water, it still makes the most sense to have a case of water.
- Canned nuts - They don't seem to be affected too much from cold or heat and provide some nutrition like the energy bars but without the melting factor. I found cans of peanuts at Walmart for $1 each. They are perfect because they fill you up with just a couple.
- Saltines - For when you need something else other than peanuts. They shouldn't go bad too easily, or stale that quickly if they are in the stay-fresh packs.
As a side benefit, both salted peanuts and saltines have some sodium that you are losing via sweat, so it compliments water quite well. This mini list works well for me in this region of the country, where there is cold and heat to deal with. Those in Florida or Barrow, AK might have other recommendations.
What do you have as emergency rations should you be called at the last minute to a field?
The other requirement is that it has to be able to withstand cold and heat. Originally I had energy bars. And they worked fine if it was 70 degrees and cloudy, but would become rock solid if it was 40 degrees out and would melt if it was 90 degrees out.
So this is what I have come up with as emergency rations to have in the trunk of a car for those days when you just need something in your tummy:
-Bottled water (duh!) - Even though experts do not recommend plastic bottles that have been heated up by the sun too much because of the toxins that can seep from plastic to water, it still makes the most sense to have a case of water.
- Canned nuts - They don't seem to be affected too much from cold or heat and provide some nutrition like the energy bars but without the melting factor. I found cans of peanuts at Walmart for $1 each. They are perfect because they fill you up with just a couple.
- Saltines - For when you need something else other than peanuts. They shouldn't go bad too easily, or stale that quickly if they are in the stay-fresh packs.
As a side benefit, both salted peanuts and saltines have some sodium that you are losing via sweat, so it compliments water quite well. This mini list works well for me in this region of the country, where there is cold and heat to deal with. Those in Florida or Barrow, AK might have other recommendations.
What do you have as emergency rations should you be called at the last minute to a field?
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Whose game is it anyway?
This March soccer tournament season has generated a lot of material for me to write about. I had forgotten to mention previously something that happened during a small tournament I worked a couple of weeks ago.
I had reached out, last minute, to an assignor to see if he needed help and told him where my daughter was going to be playing, in case he needed help at those fields around the time I would be there anyway with my child. Sure enough, he sends me a "standby" assignment later that day. It is basically an assignment that requires you be at a site and see if anyone else doesn't show or gets hurt. Then you step in.
The week before this tournament, I was working another tournament and while en route to that tournament, there was a huge traffic accident. I called the assignor as well as the other two people I was working with to let them know that with the accident, I would probably not make it for kick off. Indeed, I arrived about 5 minutes after kick off. They had a standby referee and he took my spot for that game. These things happen and I was fine with it as I was not there at kick off. What was interesting there is that the center for that match told me that the spare stated that if he took the spot, it would be his for that game, that if I arrived, he would not "switch out" or be replaced. Again it makes sense to me, since he was there and I was not.
So fast forward to the weekend where I was the standby again, and 8am rolls around and there are 2 referees for one crew and the third is nowhere to be found, so I am asked to step in. 5 minutes before half time, the 3rd referee shows up. He walks over to me and askes me to swap right then and there, while ball is in play. I said not to worry, that we can talk at halftime. He takes a couple of steps back and just stands there for the remainder of the half.
At halftime, he insists that it is his game and that I need to go back to being a standby. I frankly did not care as this was not a high level assignment so I hand him my flag. Then I notice his badge. It did not say "Referee", it said "National Emeritus Referee". So at some moment, this guy was high level. I would have thought that he would have had more idea of what to do and what not to do with regards to missing an appointment. My feeling is that he should have backed off just like I had the week before, but I was not going to cause a stink like the guy who replaced me apparently did.
I don't know, whose game is it? The one who was originally assigned, regardless if they arrive late or the guy who is stepping into their shoes because the original person was not there at the start of the game? Let me know in your comments.
I had reached out, last minute, to an assignor to see if he needed help and told him where my daughter was going to be playing, in case he needed help at those fields around the time I would be there anyway with my child. Sure enough, he sends me a "standby" assignment later that day. It is basically an assignment that requires you be at a site and see if anyone else doesn't show or gets hurt. Then you step in.
The week before this tournament, I was working another tournament and while en route to that tournament, there was a huge traffic accident. I called the assignor as well as the other two people I was working with to let them know that with the accident, I would probably not make it for kick off. Indeed, I arrived about 5 minutes after kick off. They had a standby referee and he took my spot for that game. These things happen and I was fine with it as I was not there at kick off. What was interesting there is that the center for that match told me that the spare stated that if he took the spot, it would be his for that game, that if I arrived, he would not "switch out" or be replaced. Again it makes sense to me, since he was there and I was not.
So fast forward to the weekend where I was the standby again, and 8am rolls around and there are 2 referees for one crew and the third is nowhere to be found, so I am asked to step in. 5 minutes before half time, the 3rd referee shows up. He walks over to me and askes me to swap right then and there, while ball is in play. I said not to worry, that we can talk at halftime. He takes a couple of steps back and just stands there for the remainder of the half.
At halftime, he insists that it is his game and that I need to go back to being a standby. I frankly did not care as this was not a high level assignment so I hand him my flag. Then I notice his badge. It did not say "Referee", it said "National Emeritus Referee". So at some moment, this guy was high level. I would have thought that he would have had more idea of what to do and what not to do with regards to missing an appointment. My feeling is that he should have backed off just like I had the week before, but I was not going to cause a stink like the guy who replaced me apparently did.
I don't know, whose game is it? The one who was originally assigned, regardless if they arrive late or the guy who is stepping into their shoes because the original person was not there at the start of the game? Let me know in your comments.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Brain Farts Part 2
I thought I would not have time, but I guess I am inspired. The second brain fart scenario was during the cold, windy and miserably wet game that was played this weekend where I was the center and should have suspended it due to the deplorable weather conditions.
During the game, a sub for the red team was waiting at midfield. The ball is rolling down the line near him and is clearly going to go out of bounds shortly. The kid, I guess, decided that he could save some time by not letting the ball roll down the hill behind him but he did not wait until the ball left the field of play. He basically stopped it while the ball was still "in". My AR who was right there, waggles his flag and I blow the whistle.
The kid realizes his mistake and since it was right there by both coaches, I try to find an amicable solution since this was just a young kid and a true brain fart. There was no intention to delay, to cheat, to do anything other than not let the ball roll down the hill. It would have been red's throw in but I suggested to both coaches if we had an uncontested drop ball for white since red touched the ball. The red coach said no, he did not think that was fair.
Since I had had just about enough from that coach by that time, I said "Fine". I called the kid over, issued a yellow card and said we were going to restart with an indirect free kick for white. Coach realized he probably should have accepted my initial offer. I did not feel like I had to explain to him that his not accepting my first offer was going to generate harsher consequences. He thought I should just give his team the throw in. Oh well. Hopefully the next referee that deals with him will have an easier time with him since he didn't get what he wanted just by protesting.
One of my pet peeves in soccer is when a coach demands that I do something that I would do anyway. Most commonly it is that a player has committed 3-4 fouls and they want a yellow card. Well, if they yell and scream to give the person a yellow, I have a hard time with that because of the fact that it "looks" like I am taking orders or just going along with what the coach says and that is rarely good for business. In this case, it was the coach not wanting to go along with an uncommon situation and forcing my hand to actually apply the rules even though I think no one thought the punishment fit the crime.
During the game, a sub for the red team was waiting at midfield. The ball is rolling down the line near him and is clearly going to go out of bounds shortly. The kid, I guess, decided that he could save some time by not letting the ball roll down the hill behind him but he did not wait until the ball left the field of play. He basically stopped it while the ball was still "in". My AR who was right there, waggles his flag and I blow the whistle.
The kid realizes his mistake and since it was right there by both coaches, I try to find an amicable solution since this was just a young kid and a true brain fart. There was no intention to delay, to cheat, to do anything other than not let the ball roll down the hill. It would have been red's throw in but I suggested to both coaches if we had an uncontested drop ball for white since red touched the ball. The red coach said no, he did not think that was fair.
Since I had had just about enough from that coach by that time, I said "Fine". I called the kid over, issued a yellow card and said we were going to restart with an indirect free kick for white. Coach realized he probably should have accepted my initial offer. I did not feel like I had to explain to him that his not accepting my first offer was going to generate harsher consequences. He thought I should just give his team the throw in. Oh well. Hopefully the next referee that deals with him will have an easier time with him since he didn't get what he wanted just by protesting.
One of my pet peeves in soccer is when a coach demands that I do something that I would do anyway. Most commonly it is that a player has committed 3-4 fouls and they want a yellow card. Well, if they yell and scream to give the person a yellow, I have a hard time with that because of the fact that it "looks" like I am taking orders or just going along with what the coach says and that is rarely good for business. In this case, it was the coach not wanting to go along with an uncommon situation and forcing my hand to actually apply the rules even though I think no one thought the punishment fit the crime.
Brain Farts
Wild weather weekend this one. It was supposed to be around 45 and rainy for Saturday and Sunday this past weekend, but it was more like 20 and with freezing rain or tidbits of hail.
This post's title is because in the only game I did this weekend, I had a mental lapse that I realized after the fact and so did one of the kids in the game. First my shortcoming.
It was cold, it was miserable. I have my Under Armor compression shirt, my black, blue and yellow long sleeve ref shirts and a USSF Track jacket to ref the game and I was still cold. I had my long pants and two pairs of socks, and I was still cold. And when it started to rain, I thought it could not get worse, then it started to cool some more and the rain turned to frozen daggers. It stung when it hit my face and yet at no moment did my brain think the following statement, "I am the center referee for this match, I can suspend the game since it is so darn cold and the kids are complaining that it hurts and it could hit someone in the eyes."
It was silly of me, my ARs didn't say anything. I did not think about it and I should have. It was just too darn miserable and while some kids didn't seem to mind, most were just ready to leave and go to their cars. I should have suspended the match after talking to my ARs and to the coaches. It made no sense to put everyone through that. I guess you live and you learn, but even though we could play, we probably should not have played in those conditions.
The next game is where it got interesting as my son was playing in that. The weather got worse still (harder sleet/freezing rain and more wind) and the AR on the parent's side went to the center and said that he should suspend the match because he (the AR) could not see well because his glasses were covered in sleet and they were fogging up.
Sure enough, the center played the game and in the last minute the AR who could not see well was called upon to make an offside/no offside call that was a instrumental in the result of the match. Poor AR did not get it right and it was due to him not being able to see the field due to the conditions. I felt bad for the AR since he got put in a situation where he couldn't make the call because of the conditions they were playing in. It happens, but as a center referee, it is our call to make sure the kids are safe and the ARs can make game critical calls.
This went a little too long, so I will leave Brain Farts part 2 for next time. Till then.
This post's title is because in the only game I did this weekend, I had a mental lapse that I realized after the fact and so did one of the kids in the game. First my shortcoming.
It was cold, it was miserable. I have my Under Armor compression shirt, my black, blue and yellow long sleeve ref shirts and a USSF Track jacket to ref the game and I was still cold. I had my long pants and two pairs of socks, and I was still cold. And when it started to rain, I thought it could not get worse, then it started to cool some more and the rain turned to frozen daggers. It stung when it hit my face and yet at no moment did my brain think the following statement, "I am the center referee for this match, I can suspend the game since it is so darn cold and the kids are complaining that it hurts and it could hit someone in the eyes."
It was silly of me, my ARs didn't say anything. I did not think about it and I should have. It was just too darn miserable and while some kids didn't seem to mind, most were just ready to leave and go to their cars. I should have suspended the match after talking to my ARs and to the coaches. It made no sense to put everyone through that. I guess you live and you learn, but even though we could play, we probably should not have played in those conditions.
The next game is where it got interesting as my son was playing in that. The weather got worse still (harder sleet/freezing rain and more wind) and the AR on the parent's side went to the center and said that he should suspend the match because he (the AR) could not see well because his glasses were covered in sleet and they were fogging up.
Sure enough, the center played the game and in the last minute the AR who could not see well was called upon to make an offside/no offside call that was a instrumental in the result of the match. Poor AR did not get it right and it was due to him not being able to see the field due to the conditions. I felt bad for the AR since he got put in a situation where he couldn't make the call because of the conditions they were playing in. It happens, but as a center referee, it is our call to make sure the kids are safe and the ARs can make game critical calls.
This went a little too long, so I will leave Brain Farts part 2 for next time. Till then.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Locking up and my own crew
Two distinct things to discuss today. First, this weekend, my son played in a tournament down in Richmond. Since the weather has been a major issue, it was until the last minute that they confirmed that his team's bracket was going to be playing.
In the second game that they were playing in, we had an older referee who seemed nice, knew what he was doing but had a lot of trouble keeping up with 14 year old boys who play an advanced level of soccer. In one play towards the middle of the second half and with the game 2-2 a series of calls showed that perhaps he needed to be closer to see the action. My son's team is defending and the other team creates an attack close to the AR's side, player goes down hard. Referee blows his whistle and then jogs, and jogs, and then jogs some more to the spot of the foul. 40 yards away and he called the foul. He asked the AR to confirm who committed the foul so he could card him. AR replies that there was no foul, attacker tripped on his own legs and the defender cleared the ball to a corner. Referee then states that he saw a foul but did not see who did the crime. AR walked up to him and basically talked to him quietly and said something that talked him out of calling the foul.
Then my son walks over to the referee and says something snarky "Fouls are kind of hard to call from the center circle unless they happen at the center circle". He earned a yellow for that comment and he deserved it, but he was also right.
5 minutes later our referee is again in his favorite spot on the field and a passback offense happens. He is at midfield and not wide, so there are probably 5-6 kids in his line of sight. I doubt he saw it at all. AR (not the one who talked him out of the foul) clearly sees it but I guess he locked up, he looked at the center and the center did not appear to be wavering to call anything so he did not flag it. What made it frustrating is that the keeper did not actually pick up the ball but rather slid and bobbled it. The attacker instead of just popping it into the wide open goal started complaining to the referee and so the chance was lost.
On another note, my daughter just got certified, so now we are 3 certified referees in the family. I will give her a year to do the rec level before we attempt to do some low level tournaments, but I am thinking that for an assignor, this has to be good, knowing that he can have a crew of 3 referees. 2 of them would be good in the center of most U12 or U13 matches. Something to think about to see how I can use this to help both of the kids get more experience.
In the second game that they were playing in, we had an older referee who seemed nice, knew what he was doing but had a lot of trouble keeping up with 14 year old boys who play an advanced level of soccer. In one play towards the middle of the second half and with the game 2-2 a series of calls showed that perhaps he needed to be closer to see the action. My son's team is defending and the other team creates an attack close to the AR's side, player goes down hard. Referee blows his whistle and then jogs, and jogs, and then jogs some more to the spot of the foul. 40 yards away and he called the foul. He asked the AR to confirm who committed the foul so he could card him. AR replies that there was no foul, attacker tripped on his own legs and the defender cleared the ball to a corner. Referee then states that he saw a foul but did not see who did the crime. AR walked up to him and basically talked to him quietly and said something that talked him out of calling the foul.
Then my son walks over to the referee and says something snarky "Fouls are kind of hard to call from the center circle unless they happen at the center circle". He earned a yellow for that comment and he deserved it, but he was also right.
5 minutes later our referee is again in his favorite spot on the field and a passback offense happens. He is at midfield and not wide, so there are probably 5-6 kids in his line of sight. I doubt he saw it at all. AR (not the one who talked him out of the foul) clearly sees it but I guess he locked up, he looked at the center and the center did not appear to be wavering to call anything so he did not flag it. What made it frustrating is that the keeper did not actually pick up the ball but rather slid and bobbled it. The attacker instead of just popping it into the wide open goal started complaining to the referee and so the chance was lost.
On another note, my daughter just got certified, so now we are 3 certified referees in the family. I will give her a year to do the rec level before we attempt to do some low level tournaments, but I am thinking that for an assignor, this has to be good, knowing that he can have a crew of 3 referees. 2 of them would be good in the center of most U12 or U13 matches. Something to think about to see how I can use this to help both of the kids get more experience.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Offside or Goal?
Pass to what seems like an offside player, but the defender who instead of playing the ball, looks at the AR. Since he loses sight of the ball and the ball never reaches the offside player and instead deflects off the back of the defender, I have to agree with the AR and Center that this is not an offside offense, just offside position. Still, it could have been called and we wouldn't have said anything either way, other than perhaps the AR was a little too quick to call offsides. What do you think of the video? And if there are others, that qualify as strange, or weird, I would love to see them as well.
Hopefully, I can set up some sort of Video link, though web design is not my thing.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Too cold to do much
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!
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!
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