The annual the physical embarrassment article
Eh, what can I say, other than what I've said in previous years pretty much confirms what I've been saying for a while now: my body seems to want to stay at this weight and at this level. Trainer, no trainer. Better eating habits, worse ones. It's the same. This year I sloughed off the winter running regimen in favor of playing other sports and staying busy. It didn't help that I went through two trainers this winter (after my trainer of two years quit, her replacement quit just before I was going to fire him; I spent some time at a sports-specific training place with a group of people who I enjoyed going with - but then they all quit once their season ended), but I didn't do any better or worse than I did the year before. I passed and the USSF will let me keep my grade; a seven with no plans for a six. As I said, "Eh."Actually, I talked to a couple guys who were older than I was about the plans of having a kid in the next year or two, and their response was the same: you won't have time when you have a kid. If you want a State badge, do it after the kid is a bit more independent.
Sorry, not buying it. If you are passionate about giving the game what it deserves, you are fit. If you are fit, the USSF physical is not even a warm up. Fitness is a key part of the foundation. You cannot muddle through positioning; you are either in the right place or you are not. You either decide to be fit or you choose not to be. It’s a simple matter of cardio conditioning and caloric intake and output.
You can teach a runner to be a referee, but you can’t make a referee out of someone who can’t run.
Mark - 12 July '09 - 17:09
Hello Ref,(sounds funny not having some strong language before the word ref!) just discvovered your blog. Look forward to continue doing so.Emerson Marks () (URL) - 13 July '09 - 16:31
Gotta call bullshit on you, Mark. The reality is that yes, some people are blessed with fast metabolisms, and some people’s slow down to the point it negates any weight loss.Is this my case? I don’t know. I can say this – I am not built for long-distance continual running: not only am I short, but I have short legs. I have to take 2 1/2 strides to meet the distnace of some of the National referees in this state (who are all taller than me).Does this mean I can’t do better? No. I’m sure that if I quit my job so I could have more time to spend at the gym I couldn’t do better (note that I do that a lot, plus run, plus had a personal trainer up until recently) – but then I couldn’t eat, afford my house, my cat, and do other things that I rather enjoy doing apart from reffing soccer.
I can say this – the more I work out and run, the better I can cover the field. But even with my Cooper Tests scores, I’ve been told by several assessors that I cover the field better and faster than many State Referees – some of which breeze through the physical.
I have a friend who’s a physical therapist (going on her PhD at the moment) who is fond of reminding myself (and my wife) about fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles, and that bodies tend to specialize more in one than another. Since we’re talking about running, bodies that do well with slow-twich muscles do better in long-runs – endurance runs. Fast-twitch are the opposite, doing better in sprints. I can match or beat most of those marathon at the physical in sprints, and recover from it quicker.
Take from it what you will. As I said, my wife and I are talking about a kid next year, and the whole thing will be moot.
The Ref - 16 July '09 - 23:23
You’re drowning in deception and excuses. You seem to have collected some information and distorted it to make you feel better.The current USSF requirements are 2400 meters for both 05 and 06 under age 38, and what you’ve written suggests you didn’t run that far and that’s your age category. If that’s true, you aren’t very fit.
2400 meters (roughly 1.5 miles) is not a long distance run. In 12 minutes, it’s a jog at a 8 miles/hour pace or an average of 2 minutes each.
Just doing a bit of running during the month leading up to your test – some distance, some intervals – will prepare your body to deal with it. No dramatics like quitting your job, just an hour or so at most each day. There are plenty of resources available that outline such a regimen.
2.5 strides to mine? (I’m well over 6’) LOL. I know a 5’ female referee who guts it out each week with our running group. She is TINY. Her stride is short, but not that short. Something tells me you are exaggerating and are simply not putting in the proper work.
And btw, I don’t consider myself a runner. As a youth I was perpetually fit because I was always playing sports, but you’d never catch me running for running’s sake. Today, reffing is my primary source of exercise. No trainers, not enough stretching, virtually no weights – my regimen sucks. And I still hate running around a damned track – I’d rather be on a trail where things change. But despite all this, the Cooper Test is easy because I’ve made sure my body is prepared for it.
Whether or not this test has anything to do with measuring one’s ability to stay close to play in a 90 minute high level match is something else entirely…
Mark () - 21 July '09 - 18:31
I still disagree with you – although I did notice you changed your verbiage a bit. First you talked about passion, and now you’ve dropped it. Now, I’m perfectly willing to say that Nationals (and state 5s) are more passionate about the game than I am – they’re willing to drop everything for those level games, and I’m not. But am I passionate about the game – apparently enough to work harder at it than you have! No disrespect, but you pretty much said it right there, “my regimen sucks”- just that whatever you’re doing is working better. Now, I don’t expect you to read all my old articles – it’s unfair and stupid, but I’ve done, in the past, exactly what you said – I’ve done intervals and runs and whatnots in the months leading up to the physical in the past – and while it’s helped my game tremendously, not so much in the Cooper Test.More and more stuff is coming out that sometimes people’s body types tend to stay static – it’s why diets don’t work – and why some people, even when they do everything right plateau at a certain weight and don’t go lower. I won’t say that is my case – that would also be rather egotistical of me, but I can think of one guy who’s ten years my senior, doesn’t train, smokes like a chimney, and just flies through the Cooper. Don’t tell me he doesn’t have some sort of biological advantage versus a guy who doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, doesn’t eat red meat, goes to the gym a lot, has a trainer, and still can’t match the other’s score. That doesn’t make the later person inferior, it means he has to work harder – and frankly, that’s what I do.
As far as my work rate goes – feel free to imagine. I hope people don’t imagine things about you without all the proper information.
TheRef - 03 August '09 - 23:08
I thought I was done on my comments about this – but I realized I had a couple more things to get off my chest. First, if its sounds like I’m tell you, Mark, to fuck off, then you got the right idea. And the reason why I’ve taken that attitude is because you’re telling me I’m a shit referee because I have issues with the Cooper, and that’s utter crap.I am a good referee. I’ve centered State Cup finals, gone to Regionals multiple times, done ODP games, worked NPSL games, and refereed players in the youth national team program. In short, I’ve done games that 95% of referees in this country will never do – and I’ve been invited back to do the multiple times.
When I complain about the physical, I am complaining not about the physical, the people who administer it, but at myself – that I appear to have hit a plateau, and while I would like to go further, it doesn’t appear to be in the cards. You have one too, my friend: it won’t matter how passionate you are about the game, how well you and take those tests – you WILL top off. Feel free to tell me to suck it, or just go “nyaa” when you center a World Cup final, but until then the only difference between you and me is how your body works.
Frankly, I’m pretty well at-ease with my performance on The Cooper (if you want more angst ridden entries, look for years past), and where I fit on the hierarchy of referees in the USSF, and I have a lot to be proud of; I’ve done a lot more than a lot of State referees I know. So I will continue to keep working, keep exercising during the season and off, and keep doing the games I’m capable of doing and doing them well, until it’s time to hang up the boots.
In the meantime, I’ll let your fertile imagination think of a clever place to stick your sanctimonious attitude.
TheRef - 03 August '09 - 23:57