RefBlog

Two games into high school, and I've already pulled out a red

I don't think I would have written about this game normally: it was a pretty typical, slightly higher-than-normal skill-level, high school boys game. I was centering it, I had done one school maybe a half-dozen (maybe a few more) times in the past, and was pretty confident in how their coach works them them (including their temperment); the other school I had never done before, but I arrived early and spent a good chunk of time watching them warm up.



The first thing I noticed was that, in mid-90s heat, the visiting team (the one I'm familair with), purposely did a minimal amount of warming-up, to conserve energy. The Home team was running around a good 30 minutes before the visitors even showed up. I surmised (correctly) that unless the home side was in far better shape than the visitors, they'ld lose steam in the second half - that was exactly what happened.



There's a theory in reffing high school soccer that you call the games tighter, and pull out the yellow card more frequently. Part of that is because the "rule book" for high school soccer is tighter than FIFA's, but most of it is because of no other reason that it's expected. I gave out six yellow cards (and that is a lot), but I didn't run into any temperment issues - everyone, and that includes teammates of those carded, understood what they were for. No, they weren't always happy about foul calls (that never happens in boys games), but they seemed to understand that the plastic was righteous (more)

28 August '03 - 13:07 - theref - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Differences in the High School Game

I've mentioned it a few times, but a couple people have worked out a comprehensive guide to the differences between the High School game (via the National Federation of High Schools) and the FIFA game (which is interpreted by the USSF). For those interested page is here.

27 August '03 - 14:35 - theref - default| - § ¶

Finally, my Founder's Cup commentary

A little late, as things have kept me busy, but it's still worth noting, that if this game gets replayed, and you're not familiar with soccer, watch this one. It had a bit of everything: beautiful goals, aggressive and physical play, outstanding goaltending, and yes, even a red card.

You can read about the game at the WUSA's Site, or at my favorite US soccer site, CyberSoccerNews, which is here.

Don't read those articles if you want to know who won, and likewise, don't click the "(more)" link if you don't want to hear me rattle off about it, but it's been several days, and it won't take away from a very good game (more)

27 August '03 - 12:56 - theref - default| - § ¶

When is a red card not a red card?

Had my first high school game tonight - I just finished showering, in fact (not that you want to know such details, but there you are - you just got them - you're lucky you don't hear about what part of my body's been overheating first lately), and I have the following observations:

* It's darn interesting doing a dual again, considering I only did one last year. I realize again why it's totally inadequate in competitive games. In this case, it may have been just fine (see below as to why), but especially with high school boys, you can't count on it.

* I remember all the hand signals that the NFHS has added in, except I kept forgetting the "start clock" one on kickoffs. That's probably because I keep my whistle in my right hand, and haven't trained myself to do the signal on my left.

This was a new high school, and their very first varsity soccer game ever, versus an established team. Home had a bunch of freshmen starting, visitors averaged more than a foot higher than every player from home. Final score? 16-0. Ouch.

Here's the interesting situation: It was 5-0 even after 15 minutes, and a visiting attacker made it into the penalty area, and got tripped up, losing the ball. If this was a tight game, not only would I have called the PK, but also pulled out a red for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity - but this game? No call. "Egads, man - that's so inconsistent!" Yes, you're right, but here are the facts (more)

25 August '03 - 20:27 - theref - default| - § ¶

Dang it's busy

Took a high school game today (likely a dual) as assignor as begging to cover someone who pulled out. Was going to do a nice piece on the WUSA Championship (AKA Founders Cup III) - even had notes. Will have to try again later.

25 August '03 - 14:43 - theref - default| - § ¶

Game Fees - the Other Referee Insurance

It was another brutally hot game, fortuatnely, while it was a few degrees hotter than the weekend, there was only one game, so I got to do what I like to do most with a single game: let it all out and not worry about afterwards.



Multiple games are a fact of live for most referees - there's far more games than refs, so it's not uncommon that we're scheduled for two in a row, or even more - and we're not even talking about tournaments! Ideally, I like to give the game 100% of my energy, saving just enough in case I have to bolt for the car (which is always backed into the parking spot, aka the "getaway position"). But the reality is, we can't do it - there's often another game right on your back, and you have to save something for that.



It sucks.



I haven't had as many of those with adults this summer, which I'm glad of. I don't mind not being paid as much - no I will NEVER do a game for free, but neither am I dependant on them, either. Yes, the money is quite nice, and I rather like using the funds to do something fun from time-to-time (although right now, it's bills of the more general nature). I think of the game fee less of a fee for services, but more like Rabid Asshole Insurance, and since I can't pay to keep you from being a twit, the teams have to pay me in case they have someone who is.

22 August '03 - 13:28 - theref - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Ahh, the High School Rules Meeting

I know there's a few refs out there that think the NFHS's rules are superior to FIFA's, but they're a very small minority; while I tend to side with minorities on many things, this is not one of them. We had our annual rules meeting yesterday, and once again, I am suitably not impressed.

First, and foremost, there was little respect for the referees. Now, I realize that refereeing is a thankless job - but usually the governing body (when not doing high school or college, the USSF) does a bit to make the refs feel welcome. Yes, the game would probably be better all around if you didn't need referees (after all, the game went hundreds of years without them just fine), but the reality of the situation is they are. And USSF referees are actual members of the USSF, and feature prominently on various committees concerning the game. Referees are not members of the NFHS, schools are: this means representation is centered around athletic directors and coaches - there's one person, Joe Manjone, who represents referees at the NFHS Soccer Rules Committee. Who is Joe Manjone? Who knows - Googling his name produced little more than squat. Aside from the fact that he assigned referees for the Alabama High School Athletic Association, we don't know anything about him. In the USSF, referees place their names on position papers, are involved in training videos, and books. For all I know Manjone is representing us well - but we will never know. We do know that there are 13 other members on the committee, none of which have referees concerns at heart (more)

20 August '03 - 13:51 - theref - default| - § ¶

Full 90? That's so... tomorrow. Give me yesterday!

Very important: I did not write this parody! But it's damn funny nonetheless. Be sure to check out the rest of the thread for information that's much more insightful, but not necessarily as funny.

19 August '03 - 09:12 - theref - default| - § ¶

Just... too... hot...

I meant to get an entry in yesterday, but it was just too hot on Sunday, and too hot on Monday, even though I wasn't doing anything, to get any motivation to do squat (having my home be 85 degrees despite the air conditioner working overtime didn't help).

If you hadn't figured it out, it was bloody hot on Sunday, and I had two adult games in a row. This was the hottest we've had it this year, and frankly, my body didn't handle it well, despite drinking over a gallon of water. Even while being hydrated, it just took extra energy to keep going through the heat and humidity, and given that these were single-elimination playoffs, there was still plenty of energy by the players. Thankfully, for me, the second game involved a team with no subs, so they played a much slower pace (and while the goalkeeper trotted out to fetch balls for goal kicks, they all, almost in unison, sat down and rested - but they won convincingly).

I was an AR for both games, which is no problem for me - I've only done a handful of games in this league, and fewer centers (and what centers I have done, while I've been adequate, I haven't grasped the "feel" of what they want for the game yet) - I was honored to get the lines! But the first game had problems even before we flipped the coin - apparently one team was disputing the legality of one of their opponents - they he already played at an upper-level game, and they were going to protest this one (and apparently that meant being a problem to the center referee). When the issue kept escalating, at halftime we showed the card, which was legal (it also lists the team(s) the player plays on) - it seemed to calm things down, until the last few minutes, down 3-0, the cheap shots, followed by the yellow (and a red) cards. Apparently they never lost this season - but their butts were handed to them.

19 August '03 - 08:36 - theref - default| - § ¶

Ewwwww...

Tell me, despite shoes, socks, and dry weather, this kind of dirt just encrusts yourself on your feet. I just finished doing two games, and aside from being absolutly exhaused (tell you about it later, after I eat and/or sleep), I get a river of mud in the shower from the stuff on my feet.

I thought I'd have dinner watching the WUSA on ESPN2, but since it's being preemted. Sigh...

17 August '03 - 17:06 - theref - default| - § ¶

My turn for a power outage...

... or at least a server outage. Let this be a reminder, young Jedi/Geeks - log files and Google Groups are your friend. :)

16 August '03 - 11:46 - theref - default| - § ¶

Is your power on? It apparently is in San Diego...

... where the headquarters of Full 90, the soccer headgear manufactuer is. It seemed appropriate to revisit an old entry, following a new threat started on the BigSoccer.com referee board yesterday. Now, there's no proof that this was a blatant attempt to sell this to refs (or to get them to allow them on the field), but as one poster points out, awfully interesting that the first of a new user is about the headbands, and then you get two more posts, by people at Full 90, also their first posts! Hmmmm. You can head the full thread here.

NFHS (the high school governing body) has explictly allowed it, but the USSF leaves it up to the referees - I know of one state association that bans them. Why the concern, additional equipment often leads to more aggressive play - sometimes the safety outweighs the additional risks, sometimes, it can cause even worse injuries. Take a good look on the second page of the thread, to a poster named "whipple" - here's some quotes:

"As you may be aware, shinguards were not introduced to the Laws until 1990. This was not to prevent injury, but in response to the need to prevent blood born disease, such as HIV, being transmitted on the playing field. Prior to this, shinguards were optional, or required by certain leagues or levels of competition, such as schoolboy soccer.

"One of the problems with shinguards was that players would use them to sweep an opponents legs. They were, in a sense, used as a weapon by agressive players. They made the game more dangerous, not less, resulting in more professional fouls and carreer ending injuries."

And another excerpt: (more)

15 August '03 - 12:35 - theref - default| - § ¶

A talk about an old game

I ran into a referee yesterday, and we talked about a problem game I had earlier this year - while it wasn't the reason, it was certain one of the reasons I decided to put up this site, so even if nobody read it, I could at least vent in a postive and healthy manner. In any case, in addition to talking about other stuff, we also talked about "that game" where I ended up tossing a coach and barely avoided a total bruhaha.

Apparently the coach (who he knows) tried to get him to watch some videotape and he steadfastly refused; you see, the calls in question were a pair of 50/50 balls that involved the goalkeeper, both of which sent the coaching staff into a tizzy, who sent their fans into a tizzy, and sent me to send one of the coaches off. In retrospect, I know there are some things I could have done with the coaches differently and better than I did, but I stand by my playmaking calls - even if they're wrong, I have a snap judgement to make, and my judgement was that in both cases we're dealing with loose balls, and in both cases the keeper is charging in after them. There's a big different between that, and a ball coming in toward the keeper, who's waiting, and then getting a collision - in the former a collision is a calculated risk, and soccer is a contact sport; in the later, at least IMHO, the keeper passively waiting for the ball, puts the onus of the collision sqarely on the attacker.

This other referee has a lot more experience with the game, and those coaches - and he's even a former coach himself (so he definately knows views from both sides of the touch), and he basically said I did the right thing and made some suggestions for future reference (like stoppage time is totally the referee's discression - you don't have to use it). Nice to hear.

13 August '03 - 09:04 - theref - default| - § ¶

Rant #2 Posted

I was initially going to just make it a regular entry, but as I was writing, it became apparent to me that I wanted to make this available to read for much longer than a week or two before it was shoved into the archives. Referee abuse, especially at the youth levels, it a very big deal to me, so I've made it my second rant. Click here to read it (or click the "more" link on the far-right column).

12 August '03 - 16:31 - theref - default| - § ¶

Referees: The Only Job Where You're to Blame for Someone Else's Violence!

Something I just don't understand is why teams with a commanding lead can suddenly get all pissy, then mouthy, then violent. You expect it from the losing sides; it's easier to blame the referee than poor skills, poor planning, or poor execution - but the winners? Even moreso when the lead is commanding - why on Earth would you invite an ejection, and make it easier on the other team.

Common sense would dictate that you keep your head, concentrate on the game, then then only go after the ref if the game was in danger of being lost. This was not the case last night: the game ended last night 3-1, and the winning team had five cards (two straight reds); the losing team had a blank misconduct report. This, obvsiouly, was a strange game - most teams DO keep their heads, even if they don't like the calls, as long as they're ahead, and even if there's one rogue player, rarely do you see two stupid enough to get reds from the same team (thus, for those who don't know soccer, forcing their team to play two players short for the entire game - this isn't hockey where someone serves five minutes in the sin-bin and returns) (more)

11 August '03 - 16:48 - theref - default| - § ¶

Pondering my decisions...

I have no idea if this is true or not - it always seems that way compared to myself as a player, but I've heard on more than one occasion that refs go over games, and consequently beat themselves up over them, more over than players or coaches do.

We know that even though "Referees do not commit the fouls - we just call them" that our judgment - and let's be honest, we're dealing with human beings, and the man with the whistle is just a single person trying to sort out everything, hopefully with the aid of ARs, what's going on amid 22 people crashing into each other in a sort of organized chaos. Not all of us are a lucky enough to have multiple angles to eventually justify our calls (although Esse probably wouldn't be called lucky if the Norwegian video didn't vindicate him - in fact, he would probably have never been allowed to ref another game with a FIFA badge), so, as players, fan, and coaches (and even other referees who didn't have the same angle as you) scream their rage, you re-think yourself.

I'm doing a little bit of that today, with regard to my last game. Not in the first game with that men's team - I was the center, and the offside call is 100% the ARs to make, or not make - but rather when I'm the AR. Here's what I know:

I'm pretty good at keeping in-position - not 100%, but nobody is (if an AR could stay in-position 100% of the time, then teams wouldn't pass the ball, because they, too, would be able to run just as fast), and I don't make offside calls unless I'm certain of it. In fact, with regards to the offside call I didn't make in the last game, I know I was in the correct position.

But this is what worries me...

I know I don't make as many offside calls as other ARs - it was very apparent at the USA Cup. What I don't know is if the USSF directive to give the "I'm not sure" call to the attacker, per USSF suggestion, is being followed by everyone else - it's been known to happen - and as a consequence, am I setting myself up for problems by being inconsistent with other referees.

Fortunately, I have a game tonight, so hopefully I can put that aside.

10 August '03 - 11:12 - theref - default| - § ¶

The Rant Has Been Posted

When I decided I wanted to start this site, I envisioned myself, in addition to the day-to-day comments I'd put up, that I'd occasional go on a little rampage, a rant, if you will - and those I'd place on the other major articles I wrote on the right side of the page. I have no idea how many I'll write or how often, but last night I felt the urge to write (and to rant), and you'll see the fruition of that rant along the right side of this page - with the exception of a small bit of research, it's warts-and-all.

07 August '03 - 13:11 - theref - default| - § ¶

They're not terribly happy with me

Did the same adult team two games in a row (for them, not necessiarly for me) - apparently I was a fill-in for someone else, and unlike last game, where I was the center, I was AR2 for this one. The team that I was repeating for has a well known history of complaining, whining, and yelling. It's nice to know it's not just me. :)

In the game I centered, they complained loudly about a non-call by one of the ARs that led to a goal: break-away with three attackers, two offside, one on. The ball goes to the one player onside (the other two stop), who goes and scores the go-ahead goal. Players wanting the ARs head and mine for not overrulling her (any ref that does should be stripped of his badge immediately - we just will not have the same position as the AR- EVER). I was still getting it when I showed up at the field for the next game. Now at this second game, I'm the AR, and guess what? Here comes a (big shocker here) not-offside call they don't like!

Typically, the central defender is who controls the "line" for offside; the defenders on the flank will either try to stay level (less they keep an attacker on the opposite side onside) or ahead of the central defender. That's what happened here: the defender on the far side was behind the central defender, and so when a ball was switched to the near side (my side), the central defender thinks the attacker is offside, when in reality he's onside by a good two-to-three yards. And guess, what, that attacker scores, so I'm getting an ass chewing from the central defender because of "two shitty offside calls you missed" (the first being the one I refused to overrule). And the defender on the far side who kept the play on? He was quiet. Gee, wonder why...

05 August '03 - 12:35 - theref - default| - § ¶

Refs can make the worst players, too

I've gotten two red cards since I became a referee, and while I didn't have any problems playing yesterday, one of my teammates (also a referee) did, and he SHOULD have had a red card for abusive and insulting language. My only complaint against the refs that night is that they didn't chuck him.

The league we play in, mostly because even if we played in the lowest affiliated rec league we'ld get spanked week-in and week-out, doesn't deck out a full referee crew. We get duals, and occasionally, a single referee. Duals, as you know, suck. The idea of a dual is that two referees share what would be the linesman's (not assistant referee, as the term and idea for the AR came out later) duties, while also carrying a whistle to deck out fouls and misconduct cards. However, it ends up doing neither very well. Here's why: (more)

04 August '03 - 08:18 - theref - default| - § ¶

Well, that sucked

Field yesterday was double-booked, so no game. I was even asked to help out with the first game (first division amature), but their third showed up just as we were going to do the coin toss. Humph.

01 August '03 - 08:02 - theref - default| - § ¶