RefBlog

When I am old and gray, will I still referee?

... but that was from moving my friend's belongings into storage (she's going back to school, and because of the housing situation there, she gets to practice the life of simplicity). Frankly, I've just been too tired to think about reffing (although I have a game to AR tomorrow), and too tired to think about work (athough pressing matters force that to the front).

A four year theatre project in my life is coming to a close; it's been going on for over 30 years, and I only participated in it for four, but it makes me wonder just what it'll take for me to decide it's the best thing for me to lay down my whistle. In some ways theatre and refereeing are very similar, especially when you consider the group dynamics of theatre people and refs. When theatre people get in charge of something, it can get just as nasty as when refs run the referee organization (which, I would imagine, at least on the state level, they do). But the games I play as an actor are different.

The reason I left the troupe was mainly because of personal dignity. As much as I enjoyed working there, I've also hated working there on equal occasions, and it didn't justify the hoop jumping to get the privilidge of maybe being fucked with, or maybe having a good run. Every referee has "hell games", but one would hope that the majority are fun - although the line between a fun, yet challenging game, and one that goes to hell can be quite fine. In one of the leagues I play in, there's a referee who must be in his mid to upper 70s, but can probably outrun me; I'd like to be that when I get that old - but as I close what I thought would be a very long-term chapter in my life, I wonder if I'll have the emotional fortitutde to keep doing this, keep taking the crap (especially as my games become more challening), and not disolve into a cynical bastard; if it's why I left the troupe, then, if it came down to it, I would hope it would be why I lay down the whistle.

30 July '03 - 16:07 - theref - default| - § ¶

Sometimes games that go well, don't

This will be a short entry, because it's late. I may not get to this tomorrow, because I'm helping a friend move.

I had an adult center, between two teams very low in their division and out of the playoffs. I've only done a few adult games in the middle, and while the game went well, I think there's a couple things I could have done better. Maybe details later.

On one hand, the teams deserve a good ref, on the other, this is how we learn. Not an idea situation, but since when is life ideal?

28 July '03 - 23:09 - theref - default| - § ¶

Common Ignorance: Dangerous Play

Boy, was is strange to do the nonaffiliated league after doing USSF games all summer. First, these were small-sided games on a small field - oh, man. :)

These with the first games of the session, so for the most part, they were pretty easy. One game was difficult (well, comparably), but it was the one I thought would be anyway. One team has one person with a really loud voice (he should be a ref) and tends to instigate things (we'll say he's on the blue team). The other team, white, which I didn't know about, quickly set the tone with one player, in the first five minutes, completely overreacting to some contact. He dropped to the ground, cried out, rolled around - well, tough taboogies, the foul was against him! White decided to just play, and quickly was ahead 4-1. In my mind, not a good thing, because this means blue will get mouthy, partially to jack themselves up, partially to game the ref, partially (mostly?) to piss off the other team and force them into making mistakes. A couple cards get shown, and I try to make it clear that they talk to me, not to the other team; with six minutes left, White's lead has dropped to 4-3.

Here's where the ignorance pops in, and it's a doozy because it resulted in the tying goal. One player from blue and white and both going after the ball a couple yards off the upper-right corner of white's penalty area. Blue player falls down - no foul - she starts to get up, and is on all fours, and the while player tries to go through her. I blow the whistle, but not on blue, but on white, much to the dismay of white; they want a dangerous play call against blue - no, I call a push against white. Why? If blue played it on the ground, given the proximity of white, I would have called it against them, but since she never made an attempt on the ball, she is entitled to her position. Since the white player (male, it's co-ed), tried to plow through her, the foul is against him.

White asks if direct or indirect, I say direct. Goalkeeper still doesn't move on the free kick, and it scores on the inside corner. Tie game at 4 apiece.

27 July '03 - 19:54 - theref - default| - § ¶

Filling in at the unaffiliated league

Tomorrow I'm going to fill in at the unaffiliated league I've mentioned earlier. There's thunderstorms today, and it got me wondering if I have the same authority that NFHS and USSF gives me for bad weather. In the past it's never been an issue because I've always worked indoors, but in this case, my girlfriend will be busy, and I've got a free day, so I thought, what the heck. Screw it, I don't care - I read last week about a kid who died from lightning in Maryland on the soccer field. I won't risk myself, or others over it.

More odd stuff regarding tomorrow - I'm going to ref a team with plenty of people I play for. I mentioned this to the referee coordinator for the league, and his responce was, as long as you're not scheduled for play for them on that field, I don't care. This would NEVER happen (or would never knowingly happen - at least by the assignor) in the USSF - but unfortunately, most of this league plays below the lowest USSF-sanctioned rec-league (although I would say they're much more difficult to control), so they're stuck with uncertified referees; there's a few exceptions, myself included, but at that level you take what you can get.

I'm also going to try our a new whistle tomorrow - yes, Refs have their toys. Actually, refs are particularly choosy about their equipment - I'll write more about that later.

26 July '03 - 09:37 - theref - default| - § ¶

The High School Advertising Paradox

The USSF season is winding down here, so I may get a bit more philosophical (although how much of a change that will be is debatable, since I started this in the final quarter of the season and tend to rant by nature). High School season is about to start, and so I'm going back through the rule book, and noticing a couple things, that don't necesairly bug me, but just sort of stand out.

First, how to become a ref. Your state my vary, but here, it's basically accepted that our high school play is somewhere between second and third division of USSF (club) ball. It's also, IMHO, much more physical (Why? It's what I did before I lost all my marbles and became a goalkeeper - I can't beat this guy with skills, so let's see if I can out muscle him, and if I can't out muscle him, a good hack will keep him away). Add the larger number of fans, and coaches that would rather be working pointy-ball games, coupled with the smaller and poorer-quality fields of high schools, a recipe for unnecessairly physical games. That being said, becoming a referee is actually easier for high school than USSF. Here's the usual process for each:

*USSF: attend 16 hour course over two days (this course goes over all the laws of the game, as well as basics of positioning, game management, discipline, etc.), read the Laws of the Game, pass 100-question closed-book multiple choice test, get your spiffy new badge, and work games usually no higher than U14 or 15 (maybe higher when on the line). (more)

24 July '03 - 15:05 - theref - default| - § ¶

Slowness

Normally the field where we were at last night is one of the best in the area - the grass was short (as we tend to like it in soccer circles), but it had also been dry, and the field not watered. The end result was that the field, though it had grass on it (not just the scrub you often see in city-maintained soccer field - though NEVER on baseball/softball fields), it was as hard as a rock; as the people ran by, you could hear the cleats go past with "clack clack clack" - like a bad tap-shoe.

Unfortunately, it made for a slow and relatively uninteresting game. There was little tacking because it was like sliding on cement, and people didn't run hard because their knees and shins hurt (my shins killed me, and I wasn't even wearing cleats). Had the field been nicer, could have been a much more interesting game: one team (red) had seven subs (it's open-substitution), and the other (blue) was playing one short; but the short team was far more skilled. Blue still won 1-0, even though they were very tired and slow by the second half (not sure if from playing short, or because of the aforementioned wear-and-tear of the field).

My car's still in the shop (and I probably won't get it until tomorrow :( ), so a friend drove me over, and decided to take the opportunity to watch what I did. It was breezy, so she borrowed a long-sleeve jersey I had in my bag - and the one on top was a blue one. When the second of the three refs showed up, he saw the blue and said that he was boycotting the whole blue jersey thing. Apparently he also does basketball, so he doesn't see why we can't just wear one color and ban other teams from wearing it. Nice sentiment, but neither the USSF, NFHS, or NCAA are doing anything about it (heck, the NCAA has different socks for their jerseys) - so I guess I'll just have to be content knowing that soccer referees are the most stylish of all the sports.

Being a basketball referee, he didn't appreciate that, either.

23 July '03 - 15:56 - theref - default| - § ¶

The Biggest Problem Was The Car

After so many short games at the USA Cup, it was odd to do a full 90 minute game again. In the second half, after a couple offside calls, the attackers got smart, and started to run toward the touchline, to get a full head of steam, instead of timing to time their run toward the goal exactly with the kick; the defenders didn't move a lot, and weren't happy when I didn't flag offside a couple of times.

"Come on Ref, you have to have seen that!"

"I did. I saw him beat you."

What I did notice was that the grass was noticibly longer outside the touchlines than inside, which made my running slower (more drag) - but the pace wasn't fast enough that it caused any problems. The only real problem is that my car didn't make it back. Probably the alternator - if it doesn't get fixed today, I have a ride lined up for tonight's game. But still, that sucks.

22 July '03 - 11:40 - theref - default| - § ¶

Coaches: the natural enemy

Players can be excused for their behavior by their being "in the moment" - but it's hard to have the same argument with the bystanders. Many refs see coaches as "the enemy" beacuse of what quickly becomes typical behavior: the arguing, the yelling - the abuse. Some call it "gaming the ref" - others call it for what it is: influence peddling. However, it's not always the case - many times it's the fans, and if you're doing kids games, that means parents, that are the real ignorants out there.

In addition to the other things I've talked about on how fun the USA Cup is, it's also fun because I get to be the junior assistant referee in many cases (something that doesn't happen as much when I do those age groups locally) - it helps me put into perspective just what expectations they're putting on the coaches, just by being so incredibly ignorant about the game they're watching. I don't think we (as Americans) would tolerate the same behavior in football; well, no, we tolerate the behavior all the time - but we don't tolerate the ignorance. Americans seemingly love to teach people who don't understand "pointy-ball" the rules - most fans gets them, with certain exceptions (proving once again, how Americans make simple games far too complicated. But it seems that soccer-parents just revel in stupidity when it comes to the rules of soccer. Here are the most common statements (more)

21 July '03 - 16:06 - theref - default| - § ¶

Back from USA Cup

The USA Cup is over, which is sad in many respects - I have to go back to work for one of them, and it also means that the soccer season is winding down for the year (for my year, anyway) as well. There's only a few weeks left of USSF matches and then high school starts (and there's not as nearly as many high school games going on).

The weather this year was fabulous - problems on Monday with rain and lightning, but it was otherwise comfortable the rest of the week. Not the usual hot and humid we've come to expect as "USA Cup Weather". And, surprisingly enough, I actually had a game on Saturday that wasn't a fourth official - a pleasant surprise, and a good game to work on. In addition, I was able to see a number of different styles in the center, from constant talking by the center about the play (which I've tried to put into my game, but I'm not as good with it - so I'm trying to modify it into my style), to the use of humor ("Mate, you kick the round thing, not the ankles!"), to being very lenient, and being very strict.

In one of my last games as AR, I really enjoyed watching the center work - lots of conversation with the players, so they knew what was a good charge, what was barely over the line (but didn't need a whistle right then and there), and made it clear where the line for misconduct (and thus cards) were. He was from the RAF (which is the Royal Air Force for those who don't watch PBS - which is the Public Broadcasting Service for those who watch MTV - which is Music Television, which seemingly hasn't aired a music video since the early 90's). We got a very nice compliment on how we acted as a team from an assessor (a National one at that).

This tournament is definitely the highlight of my year.

20 July '03 - 09:14 - theref - default| - § ¶

A Tale of Two Games

Entries are short because I'm getting morning games, and because I can't take too much time on this before someone else gets impatient. My guess is that once I get back to work (and caught up), I'll be able to write at length again.

Saw a very entertaining game today - between a local team (for the USA Cup, that means somewhere in the Twin Cities) and a primarily hispanic team from Houston. Had a bilingual National in the middle, another National on the line, and a Canadian equivalent of a State-five on the other. The teams were U19, it was a playoff, and emotions were high - and it was just poetry to watch the officiating crew at work. There were five or six yellow cards, but the center was always there when he needed to be. He did just enough to keep the kids under control, and in doing so allowed those of us watching to see a magnificent 3-2 game that ended in the second overtime.

One of the most interesting things was to listen into his halftime discussion with his ARs and the field manager - the team from Houston had been blowing away their opponents, and were behind by two, and he was seriously worried about, if they didn't score, things getting bad - as in "call security" bad. As it turned out, they scored two in the second half, and headed in a great cross to take the victory in the second extra period.

Later, I ran into a friend at referee headquarters who was filling out supplemental reports. Looks like a similar situation, with another local team (this time the one that didn't expect to lose) getting beaten soundly. Referee did much of the same thing as the first game, but when they didn't score, things got ugly. There was spitting and an assault upon the center.

Both refs did the right things - but at some point, it's the team's actions. I sincerely hope the kid who slugged the ref gets banned for life. I don't care how bad a referee is, they don't deserve to get hit. End of story.

17 July '03 - 20:25 - theref - default| - § ¶

One day late - but still relevant

I had an entry all ready in my head yesterday, but when I got out to write it, the connection the internet where I'm staying had dropped - from talking to some of the locals power went out in places during the storms, so it wasn't all that bad.

I played in a local league (at the National Sports Center) on Sunday instead of going to the opening ceremonies (not really my thing - I skipped my college graduation ceremonies, too)- it was about my speed, which is good because I suck. :) Apart from getting a rutting-great scrape on my shin that's about the size of a clenched fist, a half-dollar sized on on my elbow, and a couple good bruises, I was fine. I also got a chance to listen in on some of the local refs that don't do the USA Cup. They said they didn't do it because they always got stuck doing U12-14 games, and that only people from overseas did high-level games, or the Cup Flight. Myself, I find that analysis very unfair, because assuming they're grade eights, then yes, they won't get 17 and ups in the center because they're not certified for it - there's a plethora of high-level badges at the USA Cup, I've seen a bunch of State, National, and FIFA Badges - many of the refs from overseas do adult level competitive games, and they cross-certify in the US as State-levels.

I don't think they understand the whole point - there's not enough games to go around; the best part about being a referee at the USA Cup is the ability to work day-in and day-out with frickin' great refs. I know one guy who's a seven, and gets centers in higher-level games. Maybe it's because I want to upgrade myself, but even if I didn't, the USA Cup is a great place to learn, and see some really high levels. I've also noticed that in the three years I've gone, I've gotten better games each year - each ref is evaluated, maybe more than once - and that gets plugged into the computer that determines your games.

15 July '03 - 18:35 - theref - default| - § ¶

Reason #12,301 that a towel is the most useful thing in the universe:

Between matches, you can nap on a picnic table and use the towel as a pillow.

Game today was actually a championship - a smaller, more skilled team versus a bigger and faster one. Game went back-and-forth, but the larger/faster team was able to overcome the size difference and out-muscle their opponents. But they were unable to put a quality shot on net, as they didn't have a good air-game, and without that, the size advantage starts dropping precipitously once you're in the 18. Scoreless tie through regulation and extra time - the more skilled team came out ahead in penalty kicks (nine rounds of them). Good show!

13 July '03 - 23:13 - theref - default| - § ¶

Sunny Days Sleepy Nights

Technically the USA Cup starts today, with the opening ceremonies - but there's also a "USA Cup Weekend" - a mini-tournament for those who show up early, including us referees. Typical of the weekend, there's not a lot of games in the older brackets (or at least plenty of high-level referees), so most of us get to enjoy doing 9s, 10s, and 11s with people who've come in from other countries. The games weren't hard, but boy was I sleepy (not tired, just sleepy) after dinner. I realized that while I've done plenty of games this year, most of them have been in the evening, or if they were during the day, in the spring - I wasn't used to being out from 8am to 6pm consistently. Fortunately, I only have one game (which I need to get ready for) at noon, then the opening ceremonies of the USA Cup proper (sorry, "The Schwan's USA Cup Presented by Addidas" - yeah, right).

13 July '03 - 09:46 - theref - default| - § ¶

You don't alway recognize the "Moment of Truth"

It's very common for referees to have a "moment of truth" during a game - where the choice you make determines how well you'll be able to control it from that point on. I thought I recognized where that was for me last night, but I realized today, I was wrong. The good news is I think I did the right thing, in either case.

In some ways, it was surreal, I, a lowly grade 8 centering an adult game with two ARs, both of which at least three grades better than I. On one hand, absolutely bizarre, on the other, I'm glad I was able to pick their brains during halftime and after the game. The first half was relatevely uneventful - white out-muscleing blue but nothing dirty, and only a few things that needed a whistle. Midway through the second half, I issue a caution for a late challenge on white. Then five minutes later, and this has been the story of my summer thus far, an attacker (white) and goalkeer (blue) collide on a 50-50 ball; no foul, just both going in hard, and both getting shaken up. As an aside, one of the ARs, remember that they both do far higher-level games than I, recommended I blow the whistle for a foul regardless - why? The keeper had the ball, but isn't moving - don't caution the attacker, but do make a show of talking to him, so the other team knows that the situation is in hand (I also used the opportunity to tell the attacker than blue was going to be pissed at him, and it's his job to keep his head).

I thought that the keeper/attacker collision was the moment of truth - blue wanted another card, but clearly none was warranted. What I realized that the moment of truth was the yellow card five minutes earlier.

When a game is slow, and there's not a lot of fouls going on, it's easy to let something cardable go, as a fluke, as an aberration, and see if you can't go on without the card. Sometimes it works, sometimes it bites you in the butt, sometimes it's neither, but you later wish you carded and asserted your athority (I've had all three - in about equal parts - but it's always really tempting to go cardless and hope for #1). I choose to card, because the challenge was late and there was no chance at the ball at all. That was the moment that kept all hell from breaking loose at the keeper/attacker collision, and allowed me to keep emotions from escalating.

Now if it was always that straightforward.

11 July '03 - 10:10 - theref - default| - § ¶

NFHS Reverses Headgear Stance

One of the things that really get people in a lather is when a referee makes a decision on if something is safe or not - epecially when the decision is not. "We've used this all year", "The last ref let us use it", etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. (and so on) Before you say that to the next ref, let me make this perfectly clear: it's our call - I don't care if other refs let you use it. I won't. I'm not going to compromise my principles, and open myself up to a lawsuit (yes, there is insurance specifically for referees). Deal with it.

The exception to this rule is when it comes down to the National Federation of High Schools. The USSF allows referees to use their best judgement, the NFHS (the home of the 100 page rule book) likes to make broad rulings to make things black-and-white. I'm convinced the NFHS does this for several reasons: first, and most importantly, to justify their own existance; second, because they think Americans are too stupid to understand a game without every little detail spelled out in excruciating precision, complete with sub-paragraphs and sub-sections; and third, because they'ld rather be dealing with football or baseball, anyway. (more)

10 July '03 - 13:10 - theref - default| - § ¶

I've been the victim of a drive-by moron!

I finally got to wear the the blue jersey - I actually wore it several times last winter, but this is the first when all three of us had it. Technically, it was the only color we could wear, too: one goalkeeper in gold, one in black, and one team in red. Even if one goalkeeper wasn't in black, better blue than sweltering out in the heat with something that's only going to attract more.

Some kids drove by the field yelling, "Soccer is gay!" again - happens about once a year, and only when I'm on a field actually next to the road. Interesting that they never stop, and they use homophobic terms. I'm glad to say that nobody reacted to it - with any luck it means the players (who were in their middle teens) are comfortable with their choices in sports, and their sexuality. I can hope.

Nothing particularly interesting in the two games - I centered the first, and boy, did I run like crap. Fortunately, the kids were obliging, and weren't running fast either. It was hot, humid, and the field was full of holes and sand-traps. It looked good from a distance until you actually started running. Too bad for everyone involved (more)

09 July '03 - 13:23 - theref - default| - § ¶

The best ass is one that's covered

I always try to go get to games about an hour early - it's far earlier than most people recommend. It allows me to stretch, get my head into the game, check the field, etc.

But mostly, it allows me to compensate for brain farts, when I think the game is 45 minutes later than it is! Opps.

08 July '03 - 09:20 - theref - default| - § ¶

Yes, I am the bad guy; no, you can't wear sleeveless jerseys

I decided a long time ago after subscribing to the North American Soccer listserv, that it would be a very good idea to be a lurker. If you are not a 100% foaming at the mouth national team supporter, and happen to support a non-popular opinion (oh, wow, a referee holding an opinion that's not popular - whoda thunk it?), prepared to be flamed and have assassins sent after your family. But it does occasionally produce interesting information, such as the locations of exhibitions games (for my friends and family who live out-of-state), and the gripe of the week regarding the laws of the game.

The gripe this week reminded me of a game last winter, concering handball, or as it's properly known (say in the appropriate snooty voice): handling the ball. It started with one person wondering why referees have stopped calling handling at all levels, his opinion being that yet another virus had swept the referee world, removing yet another precious synapse from these obviously incompetent bufoons (well, OK, maybe not that bad, but wait until he he sees the call his team will get next week!). My reaction, on the other hand, was, "Good! They should be calling it less often. To his credit, he did ask the refs on the list (brave fellows) to give their take on it. They were far more polite than I. :) Last winter, I had to stop the game because both teams were about ready to blow up with my not calling handballs - it was absolutely ridiculous, but there I was, blowing the whistle, and talking so everyone knew I what I was saying (including those the next field over), "Ladies and gentlemen - we're going to have a little primer on handball!" (more)

07 July '03 - 12:26 - theref - default| - § ¶

The Joy of Nothing

I recall, when I was in high school, a teacher berating me when I said I didn't have the energy to do some extra-curricular activity by comparing me to the class whiz-kid. Back then, I didn't say anything. Now, I can say with confidence, "Well, bugger him - I know when my body is telling me I've done enough. If he can do more, fine, but I - AM - DONE."

I wasn't quite at this point, but I was getting close, and I am damn glad I took this long weekend off, and have done absolutely nothing. I've slept in, I've watched movies, and I feel much better now than because of it. Good thing, too, because next week starts the USA Cup - a week of soccer every day, weather permitting. I'll have internet access during that week, so as long as I have the energy, I'll keep making entries. (more)

06 July '03 - 12:51 - theref - default| - § ¶

Interesting email from an unaffiliated league

During the winter I usually ref a day (sometimes two) a week with an organization that does sports for the rest of us. Some referees get uptight about this, because it's unaffiilated, but here's the reality in the USSF hierarchy: Even the USSF's "recreational" adult leagues are better than most of us can play; that, and at least here, there are no affiliated winter leagues - so if you want to ref soccer, you do unaffiliated or not at all.

Anyway, they also do summer leagues - which I've reffered one day in three years (I'm too busy doing other leagues that are affiliated, and frankly, pay three times as much), and I recieved an email for all their referees. The first thing they want to do is crack down on dissent - not a problem for me, as I have far less tolerance of it there than elsewhere. The problem with dissent in that league, is that, being unaffiliated, there's only a handful of certified referees that do games for them (I can only think of two, besides myself that does USSF or High School - out of maybe a dozen referees), and they let players walk all over them. I also used to play for them, and I've seen it happen - it can get scary (so why do I do it? It's a great test of man management!) . So I come down rather hard because I know some of the other refs don't have the experience to do so - sometimes I feel like I'm Captain Red Card out there, but this last winter I was made aware, by both teams and management, that the amount of plastic I was flinging around was appreciated. (more)

03 July '03 - 16:35 - theref - default| - § ¶

Just some random thoughts

Since this is a new thing for me, and since I don't have any recent games (thank goodness I didn't sign up for any Independance Day/Weekend tournaments!), and most of all, because it's a really slow day at work, I thought I'd come up with a few random thoughts - maybe it'll prod me into writing something later.

Why is this site anonymous? Easy - I want to, among other things, make the public aware of my thought processes as a referee, but I don't want the consequences! By making it anonymous, that minimizes anyone actually saying, "Hey, that SOB is writing about me!" - which may be true, but chances are, there's plenty of people who have had similar behavior, so you'll never know if it's really you. :) But it does mean that I can't really publicize it a lot - if you like what you read, please pass the URL along - maybe we'll actually get an intelligent dialogue going (eek!).

One thing I really want to write about later on is on tournaments. I've decided, that with a few exceptions, that tournaments are evil - and I say that strictly from my perspective, not from someone with kids in one, or having actually played one myself. Tournaments just seem to be a way to suck the life out of a ref, to generalize, I've seen the following categories for your typical "XYZ Funtime Trophy Tournament" (more)

03 July '03 - 14:34 - theref - default| - § ¶

Freeeeee!

I had a thought this morning, when I was working on my own personal take on how to become a referee (Big Soccer has their own thread on the subject which is worth taking a look at), and I realized how different a referee I am versus what I thought I would be.

Before I picked up the whistle, I used to write commentaries for a couple of soccer webzines, and well, to put it nicely, we decided to all part company graciously before things got worse. The Editors loved my stuff, but it kept getting them into trouble with the leagues/people I was writing about - not because it was untrue, but because it was infamitory. Basically, the stuff that won me columnist of the year was also the stuff that put an end to that line of (voluntary) work. No hard feelings - the editors need to keep friendly with those they're writing about; I could have struck out on my own, but frankly, I didn't have the energy. Now that we have more television options for the US's domestic soccer product (thank you, Fox Sports World!) I'll put a rant or two on here, but at the moment this is far more cathartic.

So anyway, to get back on topic, I thought I'd end up refing like I was a fan and writer of the sport - basically be a big meanie, quick with the cards, and not take the abuse I used to hand out. Um, nope. Turns out I'm a big softie after all (more)

02 July '03 - 11:24 - theref - default| - § ¶

Speaking strictly from being exhausted, I like the other team's defense

I wasn't sure what ages the two games I was doing yesterday, then found out that the first was U18 (I centered), followed my U19 (AR). Not exactly the best games to do when you're already tired (most of the time when I've had to do a game with older players, it's usually next to a game with younger players (U14 or younger), to give the refs a break - I don't know the club that scheduled us well enough - maybe they don't have younger squads, or one of the games was resheduled because of poor weather - I don't know. I know plenty of people say that it's the refs obligation to learn about who he's reffing for - but back in reality land, unless you do the same teams over-and-over again, it's just not going to happen. Sometimes you don't even know who you're reffing until they show up at the field. It might be nice to have a local listserv or BBS to talk about teams, to help the next set of refs prepare (I understand this happens, in a less technological way, in the professional leagues), but I'm not the person to organize it (no clout, for one). There is SOCREF, of course, which is a great resource, but it's not a place for discussing the specifics of XYZ teams (why would a ref is Austrailia know anything about something in Podunk, Connecticut?) (more)

01 July '03 - 08:49 - theref - default| - § ¶