RefBlog

Update to How to Become a Referee

I decided to go through my very early article on How to Become a Referee - I updated some of the links, took some things out that I thought may not be appropriate for a brand new official, and added some additional bits (like what to buy). Feel free to comment and add to it.

28 January '07 - 21:09 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Best of 2006: More adults behaving badly

As I'm about to start my eighth year reffing (I had to look at my first entry here to double-check), I found myself changing how I looked at the youth game. The USA Cup brought this into sharp focus, when I started being put into officiating teams where I was the most experienced person; I had to become more of a mentor, not just on the field (mechanics, foul recognition, and whatnot), but also off the field, in how other people deal with inexperienced officials. I can say without a doubt, I'm glad I never reffed when I was a kid, because parents are just awful. As an adult, I can laugh them off, but if I was a teen, unsure of myself, being screamed at by someone a foot or more taller than me, and a beer-gut that could squish me like a bug?

I don't know about the rest of their job, but when it comes to soccer, they lie a lot. Their yelling about a game they know nothing about vicious ignorance at best, outright abusive at worst, and only a lie in the middle; we also get people who claim to be a referee (of this sport? at this level? of how many games? in this decade?), or worse. If I pass my physical, I'll be doing far fewer youth games this year - I'll need as many adult games as I can to make sure I have enough for my State badge, and it'll be good to take a bit of time off from ignorant and loud parents.

I want to back-track a little bit, before I start reposting the article, though - as much as referees need training and building-up; parents need mentors, too. They need to be trained in just enjoying the game, not abusing the officials, because it only means the officiating pool gets smaller. I wish I could stop writing that someday.

USA Cup 2006 Diary, Day Nine: More adults behaving badly

I realized that with semi-finals and finals being on the same day, there was something missing: squirt guns (those referees who didn't get games on the last day, so I'm told because I've never actually seen it, would squirt those who did on their way to the Sports Hall). There was something else that was missing: more referees. Despite the even fewer number of games today, there were still missing officials; not as bad as yesterday, which were short 40 people for the 7:50 am time-slot, but I was still advised to start my final - a final - with a club line.

To put it simply, the pool of referees is not keeping up with the growth of the player and team pools, and one only had to look at the games today to find out why.

Actually, my first two games were fine. I was put on a 17-girls semi-final in the middle (the oldest I'd ever worked at the USA Cup, let alone on a playoff game), and then lined a 16-boys semi in the Trophy "A" bracket that was fast-and-furious. The center had one of the teams before, where there was a fight that happened behind him, but because there was a club line and not a real referee in the trail position, nothing could be reported, no instigator fingered, and ultimately nobody punished; but this game was very clean, with a single yellow card, although it went scoreless into kicks from the mark.

After a three-hour break, I had my final, a 15-boys Medal Flight, and my first final center in the seven years I've worked the tournament - I felt good about getting it, but had to wonder if it was because of a greater faith in the assignors (and their input into the computer), or because of the massively dearth of refs. But all around me, there were more adults behaving badly - one very experienced State Referee was about to toss a coach who didn't have an assistant, unless he shaped up. I can only imagine he did, since the game did complete without a termination, although at least one player was handed a red - she said the biggest problem is that the teams both knew there were no consequences beyond this game for cards - their states wouldn't suspend players sent-off in the tournament. On another field, a coach was tossed, then tried coming back to the field, and the referees had to call for security.

On my field, a Columbian coach (one I had worked with before, on a game he lost) went as far as screaming national insults: "This is how you call it in this county, huh?" Was it any surprise that his players behaved badly after the game was over? One, in the sports hall, did the dissing handshake (offer to shake your hand and then pull it away) to me. You can't blame me for a 6-2 loss my friend. But I can blame the adults in this tournament: your children are learning from your examples.

I'm becoming more inclined that referees in this country needs to start banding together, not to complete with or challenge the USSF, but to deal with what we deal with on the field. I know of several referees that refuse to work certain high schools. If we could actually have an honest-to-goodness referee association (and I know several regions have them in the US, mine unfortunately, does not), we could start black-listing clubs that treat us badly, saving them from abusing new referees and making the situation worse for everyone else.

The more I think about the behavior in the youth game, be it USSF, High School, or this tournament, the more I want to back away from the youth game. I think my plan is to seriously ratchet down the number of youth games I do, partially because I need more adult games if I want to upgrade again, but there's also a bit that's sick of dealing with the abusive nature that comes with these ignorant cretins.

24 January '07 - 20:06 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Off-season referee meeting

There was a meeting of the local high school referees last night, to go over issues over the previous season and of the next. Most of the stuff are things I've gone on about, when it comes to how the high school league handles its relationships with referees: ratings from coaches suck (and "boy isn't it strange that the only two games I get rated '0' are the ones where I issued red cards" - not referring to me as I didn't have any send-offs in high school this year, which was pretty amazing), a bit of an explanation into the politics of who gets selected for the state tournament, and fees.

Apparently fees are just handed down from the athletic directors into this region. Apparently in other regions there are negotiations with the referee associations, but after a spat six years ago, where the association essentially went on-strike (and I guess ended up caving in), they get them thrown into them by fiat. In the short-term, they won about $10 more a game, but this year, they only get a $1 raise per game, and the schools don't pay full-fee for double-headers (apparently soccer is the only varsity sport that has double-headers scheduled). When it started, I was involved in the whole hullabaloo, although I didn't know the details of it all. At the time the association handled 90% of the games in the region, but when negotiations (if you want to call them that) broke down, a bunch of refs broke ranks and schools started assigning on their own. It was also my first year reffing and I wanted to do high school, and not being familiar with the situation, I just asked how to get into it, and was pointed to another group of refs who broke away, and did games with them. Would I have taken the games had I known? I don't know. I still don't have both sides, and it's still very difficult to find out how to get involved in the association without knowing someone else in it (even after my own time in the trenches, it took a lot of work to find a contact) - so I can't say. I can say that I had no business reffing varsity high school in my first year with the whistle, and those I was working with never told me otherwise (who knows if the association would). But in any event, the association has fewer conferences than they used to, and much less bargaining power. There's no negotiation anymore, either: they just get a letter from the committee that determines how much they'll pay, and they say, "Sign this" (because it's required for their non-profit status). If they don't, they know what'll happen - but the power-play by the athletic directors have also ensured that referees treat high school as second tier, and if they can work college, they will. I would.

21 January '07 - 11:07 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Best of 2006: Following through on a threat

Something players, at least in the US, don't realize is that referees are supposed to change how we referee according to the game. The most obvious example is handling the ball: at a MLS or higher-level game, referees will frequently assume a higher level of self and area-awareness, and if the ball and an arm make contact, you're likely to see a foul; contrast that with a low-level youth game in the same circumstances, and the chances of a foul should be much lower. Same applies to misconduct: what's a foul in one game could be a card in another, because of the differences in skill and expectations.

We are taught this. We're also taught that this same slider can be applied during a game - if the game is getting out of control, tighten it up; fouls are more than the physical action, the Laws include "or attempt to" in most of its infractions. With that in mind, let's take an example where Player A does (and this never happens) the same exact missed tackle three times. The first time was a legitimate attempt and misses both the ball and Player B - no call. The second he knew he wouldn't make the ball, but attempted the tackle anyway - since we're running the mythical "same exact action" scenario, we have an attempted trip and a foul; if the foul is whistled, labeled trifling and ignored, or ruled a foul and allowed to play through the Advantage Clause. Finally, in the third attempt is much like the second in that Player A is not interested in the ball, but tensions have risen in the game and there is now bad blood between the players or teams, for good measure lets assume that Player A is trying to provoke something - while we may still have an Advantage situation, a card is more than justified for a reckless challenge, general unsporting behavior, or even persistent infringement.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of why a referee may start coming down harder on challenges at different points in the game. Hopefully that referee will communicate why (or just communicate) - I know I try to. (more)

13 January '07 - 09:49 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Best of 2006: More reasons I hate the NFHS

Somewhere, somehow, the NFHS and its state representation really rubbed me the wrong way; but if you want to referee in this state, and if you're not fortunate enough to be able to work college games, it's high school ball or nothing. It was so bad that in 2005, I decided to take the year off from high school soccer entirely, and while my wedding and my future wife's ACL tear were good excuses, the time off was going to be inevitable - if not last year, than this year. As it turned out, the year off did my attitude a world of good, although the ugliness of the high school game eventually reared it's rather greasy head.

And even after a season I skipped, they found a way to piss me off. Not that what they did was anything new, but the reinforcement of it just leant itself to, well, a rant. This country has a love-affair with coaches (OK, sometimes they hate them, but if they have results, they can do anything, look at Bobby Knight. The USSF isn't much different than the NFHS, as far as organizations go (and neither is FIFA, if you take Sepp Blatter out of the picture), but unlike the NFHS, referees are members of the USSF, and it shows. The USSF actively trains its referees, they have a say in how the organization is run, how misconduct (in a game or by officials) is handled, and provide a support system (by assessors, and state referee committees) for officials as well. the NFHS does squat.

Unfortunately, that also applies to sportsmanship. I've heard our youth soccer league (USSF-affiliated) deny teams a trip to Regionals because of poor sportsmanship. I've heard the local adult recreational league (also affiliated with the USSF) give out lifetime bans on players and forcibly dismantle problem teams. Sportsmanship is more than how you treat your teammates, your coaches, and your opponents, but it's also us: we're there to make the correct call, not the popular call, not the desired call. The correct one. The USSF referee program understands this; I don't think the same applies to the NFHS.

This article was also heavily commented on, (more)

04 January '07 - 16:30 - - default| three comments, already - § ¶