RefBlog

JV Scrimmage

I did a Junior-Varsity scrimmage game last night, and there were only two things of consequence:

First, the only reason it didn't become kickball instead of soccer is that while neither team were outstanding in the skills department (they're JV after all, still learning - although there was a single exception on each team), one was far better organized. Knowing where your teammates are can be a huge advantage, even if your opponents have more individual skills.

Second, I ran into a large positioning problem with the team that wasn't as well organized - too many balls whizzed by me when I thought I was in good position. Maybe it wasn't me, but the kickball that I was talking about, because I didn't have that problem with the other side. Hard to say, and since it was a solo effort, it's hard to garner other's opinions.

31 August '04 - 22:04 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

The calmest game of the night doesn't mean much

More adult playoffs, still first round (I think, based on the center referee, that it was the top division), and man where they emotional. Things were pretty straight-forward from my side, no big controversies, a lot of running, no complaints of "missed" offside calls (from either direction). But at half-time, we were talking about how to keep the game under control. The center had much the same problem I did in my last center: an early handball call in the penalty area; I couldn't tell you if it was justified or not, because it was on the far side of the the penalty area - but I know the ref's experience level enough that I trust his judgement - however, that didn't apply t the team who just gave up a penalty kick. The player he called the PK first went nuts, then went into the center's face and nearly got himself ejected; after picking up the yellow and being microseconds away from getting another, he turned his attention to me to vent (like I could do anything even if I wanted to - and I didn't).

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it every time it happens again, but no matter how justified the call is, the PK for handling is sure to make a referee's life difficult; while the referee may have a high bar to pass before making such a call, the players will immediately now cry that any little contact (real or imaginary) should garner the same consequences. Maybe referees should start carrying foam cluebats around to biff players upon the head with when this type of thing happens.

It was also amusing that both teams were claiming that the refereeing was one-sided, against them. If you ever wonder why referees don't take your complaints seriously, that's why.

30 August '04 - 23:15 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Varsity Scrimmage

I haven't done this type of thing before: a pre-season game between high school varsity sides; but as I'm using this thing for income (which on one hand I hate, but on the other at least I'm making some money doing something I love), it's a pretty easy call to make.

High school's a odd thing - I used to do some non-profit work doing presentations for school and other institutions. You can have the greatest program in the world, but if you're generous enough to make it free, you'll never get into the public school system; heck, the public school system will not give you the time of day unless you charge them some exorbitant fee. I know this from experience: I was involved in two programs in different states that did the same thing with similar credentials, one charged $1500 per engagement, one nothing. Guess which had a backlog of high and middle school events, and guess which was sometimes not-so-politely told no, even by money-strapped school districts (do I even need to dignify this with a hint?)?

Reffing high school is much the same way. The general consensus is that the level of play is lower than similarly aged club teams, the games are shorter, yet you get paid more. I'm making $40 a game doing adult league games (including playoffs); but make over $50 per varsity match, and even $45 for a pre-season scrimmage where I'm the only referee. College apparently pays between $65-100, but I'm not doing that this year (perhaps next, if I feel I'm up to it), so I can't say for certain.

The scrimmage itself was pretty tame - a few fouls, a couple deep, but nothing serious. It was a good chance to get used to the narrower confines of a typical high school pitch, which usually also includes it being heavily crowned, with drainage grates where the ARs would run (lovely). In this case, one of the goal areas was too large by two yards - good thing it was caught before a real game.

28 August '04 - 17:55 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

"You'll get a second if you don't let go! One... two..."

My first center in a men's playoff game, and I was tested for a bit; but I think I had a good game. For most of the first half, the visiting team had dominated play (and would continue for the rest of the half) - their passing was decent, but what kept them in control was their ability to, once they lost possession, to quickly regain it before the ball crossed into their half of the field; this led to the home side playing a bit of boom ball (my favorite, because not being a terribly fast runner, I have a tough time keeping up with the quick changes in fields).

The first test, which set the stage for the rest of the game, came a mere eighteen minutes into the match. The visitors had taken a number of outside shots already, but were trying to press in on the flanks, and were starting to successfully beat their marks; after a run down the right flank, the ball was sent back to the upper-right corner of the penalty area for a shot that skidded past the goalkeeper who was off his line. However, a member of the home side was on the line, kneeled down and swatted the ball off the line. My first instinct was, "It's got to be a red," and blew the whistle for the foul. However, I took an extra second to see if any of the criteria for Denying an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity had been missed, and it came down to his swatting the ball off the goal line, when it clearly had the momentum to continue into the net - I used the delay to get his number before showing him the red card and sending him off early.

I hate making handling calls early. It almost always sets the tone for lots of dissent, because the team that just got burned for it, will now want every little contact called; and I could only imagine, this one being a doozy of a handling call (PK and a red card, it can't get much worse than that), how it would set off the other team should normal, inadvertent contact happen with the other team. Which of course, it did - which lead inevitably to the screaming not only for the PK, but another send-off, because it was obviously just like the one where I sent the last guy packing (see The Consistency Myth for my thoughts on that argument). Of course, the one they wanted was contact after having the ball kicked into him on a follow-up from a corner kick, and the send-off was for a guy moving unmolested across the goal-mouth directly toward the goal-bound ball - but other than that puny little detail, it's exactly the same!

Truth be told, I didn't see the second one that well, and if you can't see it, you can't call it (at least in this case) - but when the ball is sent into a mass of 5-8 people, you're just not going to get all the details unless you're lucky. But chances are, considering the congestion, and the velocity of the ball sent into that mass, it's quite unlikely that there was deliberate handling. The cynical side of me would like to point out that I know some players who would deliberately forgo the best shot on goal, to instead test the referee into another PK and hopefully (for them) a send-off; one would hope it wasn't the case, but I've seen it happen before.

The best cases for additional penalty kicks would have actually been in favor of the visitors, and not an equalizer like the home team wanted. Their defense played aggressively, and they knocked down their share of attackers, but I wanted something very clear-cut, and while they pushed the envelope, they didn't quite break the line for that second PK.

The second half, despite being down a man, was controlled by the home team for much of the game. They did a great job of adjusting, and came out far more organized than before. Gone was the long-ball, and they settled in, putting good pressure on the visitors for the entire half. However, against the run of play, the visitors counter-attacked, with a break away and a pretty goal past a charging goalkeeper (nobody on the line to grab hold of it this time).

One thing to keep in mind is that this was a playoff game, and tensions tend to rise, especially when it's becoming clear that this may be your last game of the season, tensions rise, and players start becoming more aggressive - sometimes violently, sometimes just in pressing past your usual role. In the last ten minutes, the home goalkeeper had tried to open up some offense by dribbling the ball upfield instead of throwing or punting it - I suppose the idea was, if he could draw off some of the opposing team, it would open up additional space for his offense. In the 84th minute, however, it backfired, and he was dispossessed by the same guy who scored their second goal about 30 yards from goal, along the left side; the striker turned the shield the ball, looking to turn on the now open goal, and the goalkeeper decided to just push him down and take the foul instead of risking the shot. I blow the whistle and immediately reach into my pocket for my yellow card (this was clearly a professional foul), but the striker turns around immediately, he didn't fall down, and grabs the goalkeeper's jersey up by the collar.

"Let go of him! You've already got a card, "he hadn't been booked at this point, so I was referring to the one he just earned by the retaliation, "you'll get a second if you don't let go!" Both players were bigger than me, so I wasn't going to physically intimidate them into complying, so all I could do was make very clear I meant business, so I counted: "One... Two..." He let go after two, fortunately the keeper kept a cool head and tried to back off - so I ended up booking the pair of them. I doesn't go on the report (other than "Unsporting Behavior" for each of them), but the keeper was for the professional foul, the striker for grabbing hold. It was very close to being a red card, but I didn't think the action in and of itself was, and wanted to make clear what would change it to a sending-off offense. I'm unsure how I would write it up if it went that far, while I did tell him he had a yellow card in the skirmish, technically I can correct myself as long as it's done before the restart of play - there's not really a procedure for giving a player two simultaneous cards (and from what I've gathered from other high level referees, it's frowned upon), so I'm fortunate I didn't have to figure it out. He would have gotten a longer suspension if sent-off for Violent Conduct as opposed to a second caution, so in retrospect I should not have said that he earned a card, and just say I would send him off if he didn't release before commencing my count-down.

Fortunately still, his teammates were of a calmer disposition, and ordered him to sub out (which he did for the remainder of the game). I had a chat with the guy taking the free kick (because the goalkeeper did foul him, it was still a direct kick for the visitors, despite the fracas), explaining that they need to keep their heads, because they'll have another game later, while their opponents were essentially done. He agreed, and I didn't have any issues for the rest of the game.

Some people think that whenever there's a scuffle that the referee has automatically lost control of the game - I certainly didn't think so here. Stakes were high, and thus so were the emotions. The send-off was pretty obvious (and, now that I think of it, pretty amusing, because when I went for my back pocket, that player knew immediately what card I was pulling - he's either refereed himself, or had a few glimpses of that motion before); and the retaliation a bit over-the-top - but in each case the players knew, even if they disagreed with them, where my limits were. I think that is the definition of control, and I think I did pretty well.

27 August '04 - 13:00 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Men's "Rec" Playoffs

There are only a few things that separates a men's recreational league from an explicitly competitive league. Some are pretty basic, like that the rec league has subs like youth games (unlimited substitutions). Others are merely behavioral: rec league players, if they change, do not strip down to their underwear (or less) in the parking lot. Last year I was at a field that was double-booked with a competitive amateur team, and five or six of them were showing off their well-muscled hineys to anyone who happened to drive by as they were changing - I've since seen the same behavior twice. Rec teams are less likely to have a coach or formal structure for the team; rec teams are also more likely to break out a grill and cases of beer immediately following the game.

The other major difference is skill level - but certainly not the desire to win. As the season winds down, we've entered the men's league playoffs, and I had lines on two games. The first game was interesting, because one team fought and argued with themselves as much as they did with the officials or other team (meaning a lot). The game had five cards, a mixture of persistent infringement and corrective behavior - but the team that had the most behavior issues also had the lightest attitudes at times, to. We actually had a player go down on his knees pleading, prior to getting a card everyone knew was coming. I had a player, who was just having fun, try to shield my offside flag (after the whistle had already been blown) with an exaggerated pose. It was an intense game, but it was also very funny from time-to-time.

Maybe it's another difference.

26 August '04 - 11:53 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

High Schools Rules Meeting

I actually learned a few things at the rules meeting for the upcoming high school season - unfortunately what I learned had nothing to do with the game or what I'd do on field. Strangely enough, while last year I registered a count of cheap shots aimed at refs at seven (versus two to coaches), this year was much much lower: three to refs, one to coaches, and one that was self-deprecating.

Maybe it was because there were only a handful of coaches at the meeting this year, maybe others complained, maybe last year it was just a fluke, I don't know. But I didn't leave seething like last year... just sort of wondering the point of it.

Actually, the point is that you don't have to be a USSF ref to ref high school, so the two hour lecture in how to go over procedures (such as ejections, applying to the state tournament, pre-game conferences, etc) might be new stuff to some people. And the rule changes new to anyone who hadn't read the rule book for this year.

I still have a lot of problems with the high school system - the rating system is still heavily dependent on not pissing off coaches; and if you try to do that, you'll call a very different game than what you're supposed to. For instance, the non-call for handling I made a couple of entries ago: it's the absolute correct call, no question in my mind whatsoever - but I also know far too many coaches that will rate me at failure if I make it at that game. It's the reason in the USSF that referee's rate other referees (most, if not all assessors are current or former referees). But I find it pretty sad that, while the NFHS is determined to ignore FIFA and the USSF, they're dependent on USSF referees, because the total of their training program is a take-home test.

But nonetheless, I'm looking forward to the season, just so I can start doing games; it'll be slow for a bit before they get started (even if the politics behind the system isn't a high point).

25 August '04 - 22:45 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

End-of-Season blowout

The adult men's league I'm in is wrapping up, and I finished my last regular season game on the line in what turned out a pretty easy match. Good thing, because I really had a poor game. I misread two of the center's calls, and he had a tough time reading me (there was a last-second offside that the center parsed as a throw-in), as well as a foul-throw that I took as a foul (he threw into into an opponent). Good thing the teams were good natured, and the game didn't mean much (it finished 8-0). I only expect to get lines in the playoffs (as they bring in the States and Nationals to center), so maybe it was good to get these goofs out of my system.

24 August '04 - 23:43 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

I'd love to hear some comments

I had an interesting situation in my last game - a real case of soccer refereeing meeting moral relativism. Let me give you the actual situation first, and then some more background (just because there were other interesting things in the game), and then I'd love to hear what you think (especially other referees) - mainly because I'm unconvinced that I did the correct thing.

The item in question: In a low-division men's game, where a score of 3-0, and the losing team not terribly happy with a couple of my recent calls (I'll provide more background on why later), I get what looked like an "I dare you to call this moment", a defender slipped, then grabbed the ankle of the striker, in the penalty area. However, nobody was moving toward the pair, the striker didn't fall over or lose position, and the defender quickly let go. I made no call.

Interesting? I thought so. Maybe it hindsight it became more of a game of "Chicken" would the defender release before it became obvious he was doing something stupid? Or would I give in and call the PK, risking what I thought would be a blow-up? How different is this from a situation where you tell a player to let go of the jersey, and he does?

Here's some more of the background, now that we're past the good stuff: The team up 3-0 (and the one I didn't call the PK for) was shorthanded, versus a team with a well-staffed bench, and really out-playing them. A pair of cards had been issued for late challenges, but otherwise the teams were pretty much as I expected for this division: a bit hack-and-slash, a bit mouthy, a bit ignorant of the game, but nothing uncontrollable. What ticked off the team that was down was that old chestnut of the hand-ball call; simply put, they wanted every little contact, and I wasn't going to call it unless it was deliberate - even if inside the six. And there was contact with the arm side the six, when the score was only 1-0, but it was clearly kicked, by the defender, right into the arm of the striker; not only that, the arm was flat against his body - he was leaning in, but he's allowed to do that, and the leaning in was for position, not to control a ball smacked into his body point-blank.

As you would imagine, the defense started complain, but the ball was still in play... but the strikers didn't score, they knocked it in themselves for an own goal. It didn't stop them complaining - or even more when there was some more contact later in the penalty area, but as refs we just get used to this thing. I'm convinced that I made the correct (even if not the popular) call - but sometimes the correct call can unbalance the emotions of a team - they couldn't do a whole lot, because they were being out run and out-played, but then the chicken game started.

As a post-script, for the most part, my tactic worked. They complained after the game (again) about the non-call - the other team had a few players that griped about not getting a PK (although, strangely enough, not the player who was held). But it settled things down a bit. It seemed that, when the ankle was grabbed, the defense decided not to take advantage of it, and just played on when it was released - and for 9 out of 10 players on the winning side, my called, "Keep playing! Keep playing! It's not worth it!" was well heeded. But did I start dancing around a slipper slope?

23 August '04 - 18:27 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

I missed two (good) things!

I missed two important things that have little, if anything to do with reffing. First, and foremost, I forgot that I started writing on this site in June of 2003, meaning I've done this for more than a year! Not bad for something I thought I might start then forget in a few weeks!

The other thing I missed, which might have made my first omission a little easier, was this is my three-hundredth and second entry. I forgot to celebrate that third century mark.

Still, even a little belated, I have to admit that I'm surprised, and dare I say, pleased, that I'm still writing here, and as much as I am. Refblog started as a place to vent, and it still is, but has become a way for myself to also self-evaluate my own games; even more surprising, I think I've become a better referee because of those two premises. Hopefully, for you the reader, I've shed a little light on the mindset of what are probably the least known people on the sports field (in as much as my mind comes close to matching any others).

So far, this has been a very good year, at least when it comes to the whistle. Don't ask about the job hunt - last week I had three simultaneous job offers, I picked one and then the next day it was pulled because of "budget reasons"; and then the other two will filled, leaving me with nothing. Did I mention that because I'm reffing (and paid for it), I can't collect unemployment? Aaaaanyway, it's been a good year so far for me as a referee - I've been happy with my games, was invited to Regionals, and was even upgraded for next year. Soon, high school with start, and it'll be like all the good from the USSF will be thrown out the window!

Here's to some more self-review... and a little venting.

22 August '04 - 20:56 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

We're not the only Refblog, you know

Looks like I get to share some of my blogging glory (baaa hahahaha!) with US FIFA Referee Kari Seitz! Of course, when I start being considered for my FIFA badge (more howls of laughter), I'll have to drop this little project, of course, as I'll be too visible,and won't be able to talk about the down-and-dirty stuff like I do now.

Kari's blog is a nice look at what it takes, and how one experiences, the second most important tournament in women's soccer. Hopefully she'll get a plumb assignment in the Semi's, so she'll keep writing.

19 August '04 - 14:59 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Improvisation

I hope to learn something new from every game - and for the most part, there should be, but there wasn't a whole lot to do in this game. For a top level adult game (albeit in the "recreational" as opposed to amateur league) it was awfully slow. There was stuff on the line, too - the home team needed to win or tie to be assured of a playoff spot.

Maybe slow was their style - I don't know. But the center, who did a fine job in the middle, remarked on this, too. Ehh.

One amusing thing though: the field we were on is one of the nicest I know, but it has one downfall - the sprinkler-heads are sunk rather deep (normally you just play through them, and it's unfortunately, not too uncommon an issue). Well, I thought only one issue - but the field also has one of those plastic drainage holes - about the size of a shoe with a plastic cover on it... and it was cracked. So what to do? The home team "dug" out a piece of sod from outside the playing area via their cleats to place over the cover, and the visiting team used one of their spare balls to prop up the cover! Not a perfect solution, but pretty nifty nonetheless.

18 August '04 - 12:44 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Ignoring the Laws for the common good

I've found that there are some games that, while you go over them in your head for hours on end, there's no real solution on what you can do, and what you can't. I had a rather difficult men's league game today, and I'm not sure if there was much more I could have done. Fortunately, I had an experienced State Referee on one of the lines, so I was able to bounce some stuff off of him.

I've done the teams playing each other before this summer, and the first time it was a blowout, the second time seemed to pick up where the first left off. The first problem was one player wanting little calls, then blowing up when he ran at full-tilt into an opponent that was reaching back to play the ball. The collision was hard, but in my opinion not a foul - in truth the other guy had no idea he was coming; but blow up he did, and I decided to keep my cards in my pocket. It's an interesting scenario, given that I just sent off a guy for two dissent cards yesterday - what was the difference? Today, I thought that giving the card was not going to help - his teammates were working to calm him down, as was the player who was unfortunate enough to have contact with him. He really thought he was fouled, as opposed to the useless whining from the other day. There was also a difference in how the team reacted - in this game, while he was certainly a team leader, leadership was spread around the team, and they worked as a team to keep situations under control; yesterday the player was a leader among followers - since nobody could restrain the comments, the next option has to be used. Another major factor was that one player was actively involved in the action, and the other (the one sent off) just spouted off willy nilly. Ultimately, though, it was a tactical choice by me - I pulled back the line he needed to cross because, while I disagreed, I understood his position; the position from the other day was pure rubbish.

The second problem was the doozy, and it was compounded by the visiting team being ahead by seven goals with 25 minutes left in the second half. For much of the game, the visiting team had dominated by using both the long-ball, and with extraordinary ball-control. When running down-field at top speed (which they frequently did), they scored almost equally via beating the defender one-on-one to an easy shot on goal, to deft touches to either side to follow-up strikers that. because the focus was on the ball carrier, we left unmarked. The home side was pretty well screwed: their opponents were too fast for them to mount any type of attack without being burned by the counter; furthermore, their opponents had a good mix of selfishness and selflessness, enough so that it kept their back line guessing - if they chose to commit one way, their opponents were speedy enough to take the other, very often successfully.

On another one of these runs, the striker and home defender were sprinting toward a loose ball that was chipped into the penalty area - there were no other players nearby, just the striker, the defender, and the goalkeeper. The ball was in the air, right around the top of the six, the two field players right behind, and then the goalkeeper decides to charge off his line; the defender dives and heads the ball out-of-play, but not in time to avoid a three-man collision - the defender, who just made the extra effort for the header, and goalkeeper took the brunt of the collision, with the striker just adding to the damage. And when I say damage, I mean it - both the goalkeeper and defender took cuts to the head, and the defender had a nasty gash on his lip, probably from his teeth. I don't know how I can describe it better than, it was ugly - but there wasn't a foul anywhere near.

The striker, who would have taken the collision if it wasn't for the defender (I'm sure it wasn't heroic - I think he committed to the header before the keeper committed to his run - I think his reasoning was that, if the keeper was going to make a run for it it would have happened already), was the first up, and after assessing the damage (it didn't take long), I called him over and had a chat. He was adamant that there was no way I could call a foul or card him for it - I didn't disagree, it wasn't even my purpose. "I'm not going to card you, I'm not going to foul you. I'm here for a bit of a show - the defender is hurt pretty badly, and I want to make sure they see me talking to you, so they don't come out nasty." He took my point, and my reason for it, but I did interject one thing: "You are up by seven, you don't need to go in that hard, even if it is clean."

I've had high schoolers reject that plea, but this guy was older, wiser, and didn't have to suck up for a spot on the team, so he accepted it. This was also where I decided to break Law 17, under the guise of Law 18 (if you open your textbooks, you'll find there is no Law 18 - unofficially it's known as "The Spirit of the Game" or merely "Common Sense." While the players were being tended to, I chatted with a couple of the home players, the ones that were calm, who agreed that it was just unfortunate - but a couple of them weren't so calm, and I decided that I wanted to appease them a bit (but without making a show of it). So I talked to a few players from the visiting side, who didn't seem to mind giving up a corner kick if it meant injecting a bit of good will to the game - considering that the home team was setting up for it (hense my chat with the vistors), and that we were still talking about a seven goal difference, it seemed the right thing to do (as was not stopping the clock for the injury). It would be a totally different situation if the goal difference was one or two, but it was nice to see that the visitors were good winners, toned down the game a bit (although they still did have a few good runs), and then allowed the referees to get out of dodge without major incident. It kept a tense situations from getting worse, and for that, I thank them.

The thing that has me thinking, and the thing I asked my assistants was (aside from asking was I out of my mind and missing things I shouldn't have done - there was a little disagreement with the collision, but it was 2-1 to my favor, for what it's worth), was there a place, and for that matter, a method, of slowing down the game? Should that collision have happened with a seven goal differential? No, it shouldn't have. On one hand, the visitors should not have been pressing so hard (although they only scored one goal in the second half, so it was clear that they did indeed tone things down, without the indignity of playing keep-away for 45 minutes), but on the other, there's nothing in the Laws that says they have to. The State Referee says no, in those situations you can react, but you can't try to pre-empt aggressive play like you can with misconducts. Most of the time with fouls and misconduct, the behavior is happening and you're able to talk it down - but how to you tell a player to turn down their offense? To not play the game? To give up the break-away?

Coaches and players can institute rules in blow-out situations - put defenders up top, require so many passes before shots, etc. But most would agree that such suggestions is not part of the referee's pervue, nor should it be. These types of injuries happen - it's part of playing a contact sport - but you hate to see it happen, and you wonder what could have been done.

17 August '04 - 17:35 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

The consistency myth (aka boo freakin' hoo)

I had a really fun series of games recently - although for almost all of the wrong reasons. I picked up four games from the local unaffiliated league (the one I do during the winter) because I had a free day, and could use the money while looking for work (The sad, sad irony is that I had two really good interviews this week for places I would really like to work - so much so that I think I'll get an offer from at least one of them - but I was also offered two contracting positions that needed an offer the same day. Unable to get in touch with the people who interviewed me at the two permanent positions, I decided to take a risk, and turn down the contracting positions, telling them why, and that I didn't want to quit on them one week into the job).

Over the years, I've found that the temperaments of the teams in that league tend to cause one out of every four games to be difficult - where even if the red card isn't shown, the potential is very much out there. Unfortunately, the changes with yellow and red cards that we implemented over the winter (and really settled people down) have gone by the wayside with the new soccer coordinator, so things are back to their old wild, wacky, and chaotic ways.

I titled this entry the consistency myth, because I've decided that most players don't know what consistency is. Players see two similar incidents, and expect the same calls - but the problem is that the devil is in the details, making those similar events completely different in how they're interpreted by the referee, and thus have two different decisions. This ticks off the players to varying degrees, and then the charge of consistency comes forth - you can count on it like you can count on the sun coming up the next morning. Let me tell you something: the charge is almost absolutely bogus - you're talking out of your butts. I'll use this game as an example, because it led to the players acting like twits, and bringing my red card out twice against the same team.

Incident #1: (more)

16 August '04 - 15:49 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

John Runk Update!

Over the past year, we've tracked the woeful storyof Baltimore youth soccer coach John Runk. How youthful was the soccer? He coached eight-year-olds. Oh, and did I mention that he's so involved in a game, that he physically assaulted a referee in one of the U8 games?

Despite a large crowd of people, and video evidence of his refusing to leave (if there was more, it wasn't shown by the television station that put it on the web), our favorite, mild-mannered coach was acquitted (note: this is the new link). He did get a $250 fine, a requirement to take an anger-management course, and two years unsupervised probation.

What the hell is unsupervised probation? By it's own title, it means nobody is going to keep track of him. I can imagine the court explaining what it is: "It means, Mr. Runk, that the next time you assault a referee, don't do it in front of a video camera!"

Hopefully the clubs around him will have more sense and at least prohibit him from going near a soccer field ever, ever again.

14 August '04 - 17:10 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Sometimes life is unfair

I had back-to-back games in local adult women's league the other day with a referee who went to Regionals with me, and it became apparent that life is inherently unfair.

I've mentioned before that sometimes players go into a game just being nasty, some even planning on receiving a card (I've had one admit to going into a game wanting a red card!) - sometimes that applies for an entire team as well. Sometimes the general disposition of a team is well... in this case, it was "Pissy."

But to get back to the point, sometimes life is unfair - in this case, in my favor because my game was a breeze, and my friend's game had the teams that were pissy right from the opening whistle. They complained, moaned, and whined about every little thing. They wanted really trivial stuff called when it was done by the other team, and then complained about letting too much go when it was the other way around (and there was clearly no foul). As a referee, it's easy to take these things too seriously - you start thinking, "Did I miss stuff?" "Did I misread the game that badly", and then, to make matters worse, you start over-analyzing the mistakes you did make (because every referee makes mistakes on every game - it's part of being human - it's just if you're lucky, it happens on a throw-in near the middle of the field"). At that point, the most important job of the AR is to prop up the referee, assure them that they did go a good job (and it's true, that ref DID do a good job!), and point out that the teams were being just as nasty to their own teammates.

Some referees become cynical bastards with really thick skin (I've gone this way many, many times), but the danger is that you fail to understand the mistakes that you can learn from (as opposed to the brain farts and flukes that just come from such a game). But too often, when trying to open up and be empathetic, it gets shoved back in our faces, and then the job of the assistants (and other friends) are to mop up the pieces.

Fortunately, this person is a good referee - I know it, she knows it, and a whole lot of other people know it, too. But sometimes teams, like players, just come out nasty - and we have to learn to, as much as it sometimes makes them nastier, ignore them.

12 August '04 - 23:46 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Last youth games for the year

Today was the last youth games of the year - the finals in the state tournament. One of the great things this state tournament was the number of assessors there; although most did not get full assessments like I did yesterday, there wasn't a day where at least one of the games had an assessor for half a game to help coach us. It was great, because you're able to get feedback from multiple perspectives, and see if there was any improvement over time. As far as the number and amount of people out there just to help the referees, it was better than Regionals.

The center I had was the 2nd division final for the 13-year-old boys; the game was pretty clean, very fast, and moderately physical. The winner was definitely ready for the first division. I hate to say that it wasn't terribly challenging, but honestly, it wasn't. I didn't slough off (it's hard to at the age, because even if they didn't play "boom ball" by the strictest sense, there still wasn't a whole lot of midfield play - so I was moving pretty constantly), but there was nothing that caught me off-guard, nobody was pissed off after the game - we just moved onto the second game (where I was the fourth official).

I did learn something though, which is the important part. It was suggested that I move more toward center when there are substitutions, that I'm cutting off part of the field from my vision - and while it didn't matter in this game, it would in harder games.

Something to remember when high school games come up, or in one of the few remaining adult games left.

11 August '04 - 15:51 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

38 minutes of stoppage time

The day started out pretty normal, if a bit evil. I looked at my schedule for the morning, and it read:

18
18
18

Ack! I had two 18 boys lines, followed by an 18 girls center, which would be my now newly required maintenance assessment. Fortunately, it turned out the assignor was no sadist, and the lines turned out pretty stress-free.

The first game was the more intense one in the bunch (more)

10 August '04 - 14:16 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

You gotta have heart - but sometimes it isn't enough

I feel bad for these guys - I've had them two days in a row (I was an AR for them yesterday in my first game, which was also a repeat for another team), and in both cases, they was overmatched, but played hard every minute, put up a good fight, but in the end was blanked on both occasions. While I felt bad that they didn't manage a goal in either game, I have plenty of admiration for the kids.

I think the tournament is alternating between younger and older, and between boys and girls. At least I hope so - I know the plan is to get a game worthy of a now suddenly necessary assessment tomorrow.

09 August '04 - 16:10 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

"Hold on, guys, I need someone to witness this!"

More of the state tournament, and a few more 14-boys games to go with it. The first was a line with a team I reffed on the first day. Again, I was the first to arrive, so I began checkin in the teams, and announced to that one team that I wasn't going to be their center - and the response was nice, it even had a few "Awwws" thrown in. I said it tongue-in-cheek, but later a parent said that the kids liked my job in that game. Well, what the heck, I'll accept it. The game itself was very lopsided, although in the second half, the home team had a few more chances at goal (but not very good ones). We got close to double-digits to zero by the time the game ended.

The second game I was in the middle - and it would be the first one where I wrote down that I was a grade seven on the game report. Yes, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it; it was unexpected (I just hope I can keep it!). The game was pretty much uneventful, only a handful of fouls - although the better skilled team lost, because it lacked one important skill: it couldn't deal with the counter-attack. They were down by one, with ten minutes later, when the coach decided to risk everything, by putting his keeper (his tallest and fastest player) on the field, and replaced him in net with a former field player - they wanted (probably needed) to press for the goal, and while they got one, it ended up costing them two more before they tallied - two the former keeper probably would have saved. Oh well, it was a tactical choice, and one you can't fault the coach for making.

There was one play in the penalty area by the junior assistant that I thought might have been a penalty, but just wasn't sure - after calling out and saying it was his call (which he didn't make), I let the play go on. Risky, to be sure - but since the players didn't complain, and just kept going on, I think it was the right thing. Whew!

07 August '04 - 21:13 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

The most bizarre reffing moment I've ever had... and it's not on the field

I came back last night, and had a message on my answering machine that was asking about maintenance assessments. I stopped the machine, because it was late, I was tired, and I really needed to ice my leg. I didn't bother to check on the machine until this morning.

So, this morning, as you might imagine, I go back to the answering machine, get the information on who called, and called in, rather confused. I said, while I attempted to upgrade last year, I failed the physical, and made no attempt to upgrade this year (I wasn't happy with my running, and decided to wait a year before making a second attempt). She said OK, her records show me as a seven, and she'll look into it. To me, not a big deal. I'd rather be honest; plus I'm getting games I want so - it wasn't that big a deal to me (would I rather have passed? Heck yes, but apparently even the partial attempt earned some benefits (I did pass the assessment)).

So, after the call, I went back to my life. I had to run to the bank, to the store for some contact solutions, pay some bills. I tend to just stack all my mail in a single pile until I actually go through them; so as I was sorting out the pile that built-up, I found that one of them was an envelope from the USSF... that contained another registration card... saying I was a grade seven. I stared at this for quite some time, wondering what the heck was going on. I *knew* I failed the physical, and I knew I hadn't taken one this year. So, about the only thing I could do was call up the SRA's office again, and be honest: that I was mightily confused, and was probably going to make whoever worked on this confused as well.

Well, I received the official word today regarding my status as a grade seven: "Yes." This is just way too frickin' odd for me. All year long, I've signed all my game sheets, registered for USA Cup, and for Regionals, as a grade eight. I could have gotten better games at Regionals, I could have gotten more centers at USA Cup. But you know what, I think that was probably for the best. As far as I'm concerned, that's probably the way it should have been, because that's what I felt like I earned. When it comes to league games, my assignors knows me quite well, and I'm comfortable with their judgments, both for myself and the teams they're assigning for - that's not the case with these higher-level tournaments. OK, it would have been nice to get a couple extra bucks a game from the USA Cup (they have different pay scales based on the grade level of the referee), especially since it's been my sole form of income for a bit, now, but it's nothing I'm going to grumble over.

I'm going to try to take this for what it is: The USSF season is almost done (and the adult leagues I ref in don't care about your grade), so my "grade" really doesn't matter. What this really does is give me the opportunity to do a "real" upgrade in time for next year. I'm going to take it as a vote of confidence, and an incentive and opportunity to work harder at getting my rear in gear (literally and physically) - just at a faster timeframe than I anticipated.

I'm going to try. But right now, I still can't wrap my head around it.

06 August '04 - 10:37 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Second day, third assessment

Apparently it was just my week to get assessments - although this wasn't a full assessment, like in the last two games where I was on the line.

I had a pair of 13-girls games; and I was pretty thankful, as the tendon I twisted yesterday was still bothering me. Thankfully, both games were pretty slow - although the first game was, dare I say it? Boring. It was merely a step-up from bumblebee ball - but yet they were trying to advance to the 1st division. Something strange was happening at the Circle K.

The center was a little more interesting, even though it finished in a scoreless tie. I think I had three fouls in the entire game. A goalkeeper did get hurt in a collision with a striker - they both went in for a loose ball legs first, and the keeper's knee got banged on the leg of the attacker; looked clean to me, and to the AR - just one of those unfortunate things that can happen in a contact sport. You still don't want to see that happen in your game, though. The assessment, for that center, was very positive (it's more of a mentoring session, because unlike a full assessment, they don't watch the full game). He thought we had all worked together before (the senior AR and I had worked together once in a regional tournament), because the communication was excellent, close to even being too much (!). I wonder how often he's had to say that! Positioning was good, but I needed to better anticipate where the play would be going (that'll be the hardest one, because these girls are still playing at a much higher level than I ever have - so I don't have any good instincts for that yet). He also suggested some better positioning on where to go the next time there's an injury like the one in this game.

He wants to see me again in a more challenging game. I would say that's a positive - hopefully my leg will be up to the task.

05 August '04 - 15:34 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Two lines, two assessments

I had two 18-boys lines, and in both cases, the centers, both with State badges, were getting their maintenance assessments. The first game had the potential to be explosive: one team lost three players to red cards, and the other team knew of it. Even without the red cards, it was known that one team was "temperamentally challenged" - and when the other teams also knows this, there's a good chance that they might ramp up their emotions as well. The game itself went pretty well, although I started out poorly right from the beginning: the first thing I did was twist my ankle while running out to check the nets - that slowed me down for a bit until it worked itself loose again (apparently I did a really good job, because it's still playing me up today). The second was an advantage call that I totally blew - attacker was tripped right in front of me, and I flagged it, not thinking that he'd get up in time make an advantage of it. Egads, did that suck. But after that rather inauspicious start, the game seemed to go well.

As did the second game, which was pretty easy all-around. It was actually one of the few times where the losing team started chuckling about goals scored against them - when the freak ricochet bounces straight back into the net, they just realized that it wasn't their day, and started having fun with positions. It was pretty darn refreshing for boys of that age.

As for the second assessment? I was told that, when doing two lines, often the second assessment is pretty, well... Well, how about this: in the section titled "Alternative Practices to Employ or New Skills to Develop" it simply read "nothing in this game". In other words, nothing that wasn't covered the first time

04 August '04 - 08:52 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Refs in the News

I hvaen't done this in a while, and when I decided to have some quiet time at home, I started looking up news articles.

And when you talk about referees in the news lately, you can't miss this Man Bites Dog story, or in this case Referee Shoots Coach. I've heard that some referees would like to outfit coaches with shock collars, but this is ridiculous

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On the positive side, in an article that I'm shortly going to put in the links list for Articles of Note, is a nice profile of US FIFA referee Kari Seitz, in preparation for her trip to the Olympics.

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From the "Coach needs to learn the rules" department (and subsection "Owner needs to take a valium"), we have a USL team that doesn't realize that if you foul in the penalty area - even if there's no immediate chance for a goal... it's still a penalty kick. As much as I don't wish to make light of the murder above, there are times when you can't help but understand why a referee would pack a weapon, when even the owner starts screaming at you.

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If you're going to have the balls to complain about a ball out-of-play, and then punch the referee (and knock him unconscious), at least have the guts to stick around and take what's coming to you. And while the guy is wanted for assault, the police won't identify him, because "he had not been arrested" yet. So when has that stopped the cops before?

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Still labeled as a "Controversial decision", although it was certainly the right one. I admire the Martin Reid's (a defender) pluck though. On a free kick, often it's the offense that asks for ten yards, which means that they've given up their right for a quick free kick, making it cerimonial (normally restarted with a whistle, although other methods are acceptable). But in this case, it was the defender Reid asking for the cerimonial restart! If Reid hadn't taken it so seriouisly as to get a caution for dissent, I could see the referee and him joking about it, saying something along the lines of, "It couldn't hurt to try."

Just to make it clear. The team that fouled cannot ask for a cerimonial restart.

Oh, I'm still giggling.

03 August '04 - 08:04 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

State Tournament Begins

Now, all the sudden the State Tournament begins - where teams are fighting to get promotion to the next level of play (the top division has already had their championships). I started out pretty easy, a pair of U14 girls games, one center, one line... except the center doesn't start out so easily. Not on the field, the game was fine (no issues in either game - in fact the second center did a nice job, recognizing when a player was injured, and asked the coach to give her the honorable out when she said, while continuing to limp, that she was fine) - but the field itself. There was a huge trench that went from the top of the penalty area, diagonally across to the bottom, as much as two inches deep. Both coaches expressed concerns, and I agreed. Fortunately, there was another field nearby, with a hill on one corner, but at least it was safe.

I had another center, a 14 boys game where the kids were trying to win promotion to the second division. I ended up doing a lot of talking, a lot of running, but no cards. Which was funny, because I saw a league official who remarked that I threw out more people in one game than the rest of the tournament; fortunately me mixed me up with someone else (I don't know what to make of that mistake - especially considering I hadn't sent anyone off since the middle of winter). The home side had a couple of big players who could easily play through most fouls, and so I let them, only calling the really serious stuff (of which there was little). Still, it was a tight game, and a lot of fun to be involved with. I did come close to tossing a coach, though (and of course I thought that my conversation about a mistaken identity just jinxed me); a very good offside call by the team-side AR drew howls of protest from the coaches, who then both converged on the official. I ran straight over to deflect their attention. I don't care if they think it was a terrible call (it wasn't), and if they get the last word - as long as they back off the kid who was doing a good job.

02 August '04 - 21:07 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Visualize the red card

I was so close to pulling out a red last night; I saw the play develop and started visualizing myself reaching for the back pocket. Luckily for the player who was about to get the card, her teammates saved her bacon.

It's hard to believe, but I haven't given out a red all season - not since the middle of the winter, in the co-ed indoor league. I've had a couple times where players have pushed getting a second yellow, but gone shy - but not anything even close to pulling out a straight red. I suppose I should be encouraged by this, but there's something that's been nagging at me, wondering if I'll know a red card offense when I'll see it.

First division adult women's league match, and I was put into the middle after an assignor switch just a few hours prior to the start. In these games, I follow the classical advice to womens' games, and run wider than normal but not as deep. I made, especially after working the district tournament, a mental note to avoid being lazy, and get down the field and into the corners when needed; and while my sprinting wasn't where I wanted it to be (or even where it was), I was able to get that done, and was pretty happy with my positioning.

Traditionally, the white team was the stronger of the two - and they certainly had the better ball control (and a fan club that attended - this is one of the few clubs that play youth to adult, something I wish more clubs would do, and they brought one of the youth teams in tow), but fell behind 1-0 at half with a defensive blunder that led to a breakaway goal. Early in the second half, the lead was extended to 2-0, when the striker, after seeing she had no support on her run, lofted a ball from the left flank 35-40 yards out, over the keeper who was off her line. Things looked pretty well sussed.

But white didn't back down, taking one goal back on a nice shot from an extreme angle that burned the visiting keeper. Shortly after, the first difficult call had to be made.

The visitors played with a single striker, who was fast, agile, and had decent ball control. She scored both of their goals, and had a one-on-one situation for a ball that had dropped on the right side of the penalty area; the home defender made a desperate slide to clear the ball away, as she was not going to match the striker for speed, and was not going to make up the ground. The slide missed the ball, but the striker was still a step-and-a-half away... and ran into the tackle and tumbled to the ground. Foul? Penalty Kick? My immediate thought (and one that the rest of the crew and I discussed with a good natured, and polite, fan who was curious of our thought process) was that the striker was too good, and had too many steps to get caught in the tackle - that it had to be a tactical thought on her part that it would be easier to take the penalty kick than to scoop up the ball near the goal line and make a real attempt at scoring: no call.

It turned out to be a big no-call, as the home side evened up the score ten minutes later after packing the penalty area and squeezing the ball past the goalkeeper. A few minutes later, we went into stoppage time, and a mere seconds before I thought to blow the whistle, home had a full fledged breakaway of their own. The keeper charged out of her penalty area to challenge the striker. As soon as I saw the goalkeeper come out, I knew it would either be a goal or a red card.

Players, and specifically defenders, if you are reading this, pay close attention - because the defenders saved the goalkeeper from getting a red card and a game suspension, because the keeper didn't stop the attack and ended up fouling the forward in an attempt to deflect the ball away.

To earn a red card for Denial Of a Goal Scoring Opportunity (or DOGSO, as it's known) has four requirements:

1. There can be no more than one defender (not counting the one that committed the foul) between the attacker and the goal.
   
2. The distance of the attacker to the goal must be close enough that you think a goal is likely (in other words, DOGSO from the attacker's defensive third isn't going to happen).
   
3. The fouled player must be close enough to the ball to be able to continue playing it.
   
4. The attacker much have been moving toward the goal when fouled

In this case, when the keeper ran out to challenge the attacker, she caused that attacker to slow down a bit, allowing the defenders who had been burned to continue behind the goalkeeper - taking requirement #1 out of the picture, and reducing an almost certain red card to a mere yellow (one the keeper was happy to take - even happier after learning what she might have recieved when we talked after the game). The free kick sailed over the cross-bar and the game ended tied at two.

I hope the keeper bought her defenders a drink or something - she owes them one.

01 August '04 - 20:58 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶