RefBlog

Blowouts

OK, I can understand why some schools want double-headers to start at 5pm; I still can't work them, but I understand; especially when the visiting team had an hour-and-a-half drive ahead of them after they finish.

In my case, the double-header started at 6pm, with a second game at eight; meaning after getting all the equipment together, players together, and whatever else, that they'd get back to the school (not even home) around midnight... and it's a school night to boot.

I centered the first game, the boys, and the home team scored four goals in the first 12 minutes (one of them a penalty kick, the first I've called in high school play this year). The good news is that, instead of running up the score, or playing keep away for 68 more minutes - either of which would seriously piss off anyone (and the visitors were of an amazingly good nature - they kept smileing the whole time - it was quite inspirational); the instead swapped players into different positions. It kept the home team playing hard, while being less effective, and giving them good practice incase injuries forced them into uncomfortable roles in the future. Sure, the score still ended up 8-1, but the visiting team did score one, and it took the rest of the game for the home side to pick up the remaining four.

The girls game was, even though the score was only 4-0, even more one-sided. The boys game still had some offense on both sides of the field, but there wasn't even a shot by the visiting side in the girls; the best they managed were some long balls late in the game launched to sprinting striker - which might have worked, except the artificial surface didn't slow the ball down much and it was easily scooped up by the keeper each time. Being on the line, in front of the home team's bench in the girls' game, I couldn't say if the attitude was as good as the boys or not. I'm sure they would have rather found something better than getting the pants beaten off of them as an excuse for being up that late.

28 September '06 - 17:01 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Giving away the good game

I had two worries going into this game: first and foremost, I was exhausted after the previous day's work, and coming in and doing two college-aged games would be tricky (one of which is a coach of excellent credentials: two-time NASL all-star, English First Division, coached MISL, and currently, in addition to this college "club" team holds an A-licnese with the USSF and coaches a NPSL team).

You know what, the big parenthetical up there? That's number two. I also grew up watching him coach in the MISL, and I have so few boyhood heros I come into contact with, I would just hate to blow it - especially when I found out another local big name in soccer around here, and a then assistant coach for the local professional team turned out to be a real jerk, and many years of officiating behind me has removed any bad feelings about my ejecting him from a high school game.

Hey, I never said I didn't have issues.

If there was a really good thing about these games (and there was more than one) it was that I knew the assignor well, and in fact she was in my crew; and although I hadn't worked with the third member of my crew in about two years, I knew she was an amazingly good referee. Originally I had been scheduled to referee the second game, but apparently that was because the web-based software required the referees being in some sort of position, but she didn't know which team would be playing when, and we could decide between the two of us who centered what game. There are actually two club teams in this school, an A and B level, if you will - although in the small mini-tournament that took place over the weekend, they all played the same teams. The B-level team would play the first game, against another in-state school about two hours away; the A-team would play a team from a school about three hours ride. The second game would prove to be the interesting one: the visiting team had four send-offs two days ago playing one of the teams from the first game (who had some cards, but no ejections) which led to its eventual termination (being these are club games, there's nothing to say that they couldn't play again for the next game - there's no competition authority whatsoever, other than the teams saying, "Wanna play this weekend with these other teams?").

Both of us were too gracious to say we wanted either game or not, so I made a selfish decision based on these factors: I did not trust my endurance level to do a center of that level after running 90 minutes on a potentially strenuous line, she was also immensely more qualified than I am (State Referee; NISOA; I've heard the letters "F", "I", "F", and "A" come from people high-up in the SRC before (to give you an idea of just how good she is); and frankly, if the game got really testy, I wanted to see how she would handle it and what I could learn. So I asked if she would take the second center.

One thing I learned is that we both have vastly different reffing styles: I tend to talk, whistle and, when necessary, yell my way through a game - she's very poised, relying on positioning and a very visible confidence level to direct things where she wants them to go, regardless of if a decision is popular enough. If I smooze my way through a game, then she commands like a stoic general.

I've found I can't ref like her - at least not in men's games - I've found I don't have the physical presence she has. Let's face it, I obviously tend to express myself in words, be it written or verbal - so I work on keeping offended players happy, informed and empathized with, or at least knowing that I'm around and will deal with them if they get out-of-line. Maybe her style is because she's a woman working a men's game, and talking to them just isn't going to work. I don't know, but it's something I tend to do for women's games.

Her game, by the way, went though fine. No cards, no issues - I even made it through both games with energy to spare (it helped that there was a 40 minute break between games, unlike High School where you have all of five minutes before you have the start the pre-game checklist again). She ended up helping me a whole lot more in the first game than I did in her second, specially with poor tackle where I got caught too far behind (although truth be told, most of the other players were, too) to see if the foul was in the penalty area - a discrete finger pointing to my right told me all I needed to know - the guy may have been airborne for five feet, but the foul was outside of the penalty area. I'll have to remember that one.

I actually think I did well in my game - both teams thought I reffed fair, and I didn't get any of the yelling that the home team coach is famous for (I know of one referee, who's getting his State badge this winter, who won't do these games. I know of one incident that I let go too far, and I'm kicking myself for not stopping it, even though it had no other ramifications on the game: two players went up for the ball, then got tangled up together going down, one player landing on top of the other. As the top player rolls off, and not slowly I might add, the other is complaining that he's being held down by the leg. Once he's up, he then takes a mighty what at a different opponent... and I totally blew it. At the time I thought, let him blow off the steam; but after I realized what he did, I gave myself a mental dope-slap, then moved on. Once the game was over, I was safely able to reiterate the dope-slap, because it would have given the other team a very each chance to retaliate and enact some revenge. I could go on the defense and say that all the work I did during the first 87 minutes of the game kept them from doing it, but it doesn't excuse the really stupid mistake I made. (more)

27 September '06 - 11:01 - - default| two comments, already - § ¶

An honest-to-god high school assessment

If boys high school games are known for one thing, it's the speed of play. Most of the time the lack of width of their fields leads to more boom-ball type of play, couple with, when compared to their first and 2nd division USSF counterparts, a lower-level of skill. It's not a diss, it just is.

Things got off to a rather confusing start when I ran into an assessor; an honest-to-god NFHS assessor. To allow my cynicism to creep in, who knows what credentials the guy has, but what the hell at least they're making an effort; but, as it turns out, the guy wasn't for me. I mentioned in my last entry that the scheduling for this double-header had been rejiggered: even though I worked with the one team earlier in the week, I was taken off the girls center and put into the boys, and there was a message that the assignor had promised the girls game to the other referee. I found out later it was because that the assignor didn't want the third referee in the middle, not because he was bad but because she didn't know him that well and wasn't comfortable with putting a first-year referee in the middle of the boys game - in other words, it was a polite deception to get around the perils of self-assigning. As it turned out, he did well on the lines (he needed some work on mechanics, and what first-year doesn't, but it wasn't bad and had nothing to do with positioning or how he saw the game) - the other center said he's call the assignor, because he knows the assignor much better than I, and say that yes, he should be moved up a level.

It's kind of nice how that works.

I'm very glad that my center was first - actually, I usually am glad when my center is first, because I can put more energy reserves into it when necessary (as opposed to the 2nd game when there might not be any). The first half was pretty clean, and mostly controlled by the visiting team - their style and the playing surface (artificial, but not the dreaded rug) made the game speed go that much faster. Things started heating up near the end of the half, which was scoreless, as teams tried to get one in before half. The home team had three players go down to injury in the half, and it made me a little paranoid about how challenges were coming in: the first involved a visiting player coming in late by the tiniest of margins, concentrating on the ball so much that he didn't even notice the defender also converging at the same rate, and bang, there went one; while the player was being looked at, I talked to the home team's captain, who asked why not card, and seemed to accept my explanation of where the guy was looking and how he couldn't have seen the incoming defender (not an excuse, he did get fouled, but it's why no card).

The second injury was a twisting of the ankle or knee that didn't involve contact. The third was a goalkeeper, playing very aggressively, charging into the foot, at the very top of the penalty area, of a shooting attacker. The foot met face, and I immediately called for the trainer. This time my AR and I talked, and he didn't think it was a foul; and although I could have gone that way, I opted for calling a foul, again no card because it was the keeper being aggressive - and to his credit he played aggressive all game long and kept his team in the game because of it - mostly because of the safety implications. I've been told to call things closer in NFHS play, so that's what I did, even though at higher levels I may have let play go (although chances are I would have stopped it for the injury at whatever level).

So as play started heating up in the last five minutes (see two paragraphs ago), and a visiting team member crashes into a home team player going after a lose ball, much like in the first injury, except that he had the time to see that he wouldn't get there first, earning himself a caution. A teammate in the second half (12 minutes in) picked up a second caution for a tactical foul; an attacker pick up the ball at mid-field and was about to go-to-town when tripped by the defender; the coach didn't want the card, but said nothing when I issued another card about 10 seconds after play restarted, for opposite team, for a clearly reckless foul.

I mentioned after the game that the misconduct all came at opportune times. The one in the second half was a clear reminder to not let your enthusiasm get away with yourselves, and the third caution kept the visitors from thinking I was targeting them. It worked out really nice. The timing was also very good for the home team, who ended up tying the game with a mere 12 seconds left. Overtime was unremarkable, except for another injury that turned a five-minute period into about 10.

Now, as for the assessor, I have to say he wasn't bad - he didn't have anything to say to really help my reffing skills - the things he brought up were more administrative: one team had varied colors in sliding pants, I should have forced the goalkeeper to sub out when I brought in the trainer (which, according to the rules, is true - I whiffed it), and he wanted more NFHS signals (I think I did most of them except for offside, which I believe only done when you do a dual, but maybe that changed; and dangerous play, which I just always forget). He set up the time to work with the guy who ended up running line for both games, apparently they tossed out the date, he said no he couldn't make it, then found his original appointment canceled.

The girls game wasn't terribly interesting. I've found, at least as a generalization, that girls varsity games tend to follow one of two parts during the regular season: blowouts or scoreless draws. The level of play varies at extreme levels between schools so tightly contested games are a rarity until the playoffs begin. This one finished regulation 0-0, and it took some work in the first half to keep my legs loose following the boys game. The second half had some more movement and work up my legs for a bit; the game was dominated by the home side, which attacked in my end for the second half.

But, as sometimes happens in close (at least on the scoreboard) games, one play can determine everything. In the second overtime, on a free kick for the visitors, a pair of strikers ran forward after the kick, which the keeper saved but couldn't handle, while the defenders stayed flat, and ended up scoring on the rebound. I was expecting some abuse from the fans or coach for offside (they weren't, the defense was, as I said, stationary), but it didn't come.

The speed of the first game took it's tole, though - I came home exhausted - about as much as I had all year after two games. And rest I needed, because there were two college-aged games tomorrow.

26 September '06 - 07:36 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Reffing is acting

I just got an email that two of my games, they were part of a double-header, would be swapped around. I got moved from the center of the girls game to the boys - which suits me fine, because I'd rather have my centers in the first game - and even though I had the same team a week ago, I didn't have any issues with them, and don't expect any problems related from my previous game. The weather, on the other hand calls for 80% chance of rain or storms, so we'll just have to see how that turns out.

Previous to the swap, it was a game I looked forward to lining with both interest and a bit of worry. The center, who had been removed from the game (I'm not sure why) is a good referee. He runs well, has good positioning, good visibility, pays attention to his assistants. He has one major hurdle to overcome: he's just too damn nice.

Reffing is partly positioning, partly knowledge of the game, and partly selling your calls. Let's face it, if people always agreed with each other they wouldn't need referees, which is the same reason why we can and should make calls that teams disagree with. The trick to is to give your decisions, especially the unpopular ones, authority. This comes from a variety of ways: the uniform and position is one, the consequences of going against us is another, but the third is how we handle ourselves. Reffing involves a good chunk of acting: watch the MLS on TV and watch the referee give a verbal warning- I guarantee you that he'll use exaggerated hand motions when he's telling the player to cut it out. Why? It's for everyone else to see that he's dealing with it. It's a visual "I ain't takin' this crap" gesture, and if they continue and we're lucky, cards will be coming out next time.

I've found that exaggerated "No" gesture with the hands and arms works well. But in other situations, quiet words will do, such as the "I really don't want you to get in trouble, OK?" type of phrase - it doesn't always work, but often enough it keeps the situation from getting worse when you do pull out a card.

The last game I had with him, a regional league game where he was the center, I told him that he needed to find his "Inner asshole". Do I really want to rip this guy a new one? No, not really - but will it get me the control I need for the game without issuing a card? Maybe - especially if it's borderline and a card might cause a bigger problem that it solves. Now, if he was 6' 7" with a buzz cut it wouldn't be so necessary, hopefully you can figure out why, but he's not. He's rather small, and even though in his twenties, he looks 15; he's the kind of person we'll all be terribly jealous about in our 50s when the term prune applies to us regardless of our time in the shower or bathtub, but in the here and now, he has to overcome other players thinking he's too young or not strong enough for the game - in many ways the way way I over to overcome the first impression regarding my own shape.

Given my previous history with the school (yup, look two entries ago), I was terribly curious to see my suggestion stuck and any progress had been made. But I guess I'll have to wait - I'm sure I'll see him sometime next year around the State Cup.

22 September '06 - 10:52 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

You knew it would filter down

Another enjoyable high school center; I know it sounds like the same old story, but damn.

When I watched the World Cup final, was Zidane Zidane's headbut, I yelled out, "He just did a Fozzel!" A guy who I used to play with did nearly the same thing years ago - he dropped his head, and threw it, battering ram style, into another guy's chest. Zidane's may have been seen all around the world, but I've seen it before.

The problem is is that it's catching. A couple months ago a referee I knew had a game that had, in his words, "The Wayne Rooney Stomp"; this game had a lighter version of the Zidane Head Butt (I'm sorry, but it doesn't trip off the tongue quite as well, oh well).

The first half had been scoreless, but the second half opened with a scoring frenzy; the home team scored two early, and the visiting team fought their way back to a tie. The biggest issue during the game was some grabbing by each side, but the game was well under control (despite my continued problems with the NFHS's insistence that clocks be stopped - I ended up mucking up both of my watches, which necessitated my going to double-check with my ARs, since there was no working scoreboard). One of the captains for the home side wanted me to watch for challenges from behind; I whistled a couple, but there really didn't seem to be anything worrisome (and as long as you can see the challenge cleanly, it's easy to see if it's from behind or not). In overtime (because high school can have it), that same captain charged into a defender while I was setting a wall for a free kick. I stopped the wall, went over to him and started talking - I could have carded, but the guy had been reasonable and quiet and I felt I'd get more out of him by my being respectful instead of coming plastic first.

I told him to take it easy, and that I was trying to watch out for him, but in order to do that I have to see where he's at, which means I'll see that kind of stuff. I asked him to take it easy and not to blow his scoring change. He politely agreed, so I went back into position and blew my whistle to begin plan. The ball was kicked, and he did a Fozzel.

I don't know what was in his head; there didn't seem to be anything that his opponent had done to him to precipitate it, but there it was. It wasn't as violent at Zidane's, and it only warranted a yellow card, but still. The odder thing yet was he was extremely polite and nice after the game as well - we took a few seconds to talk it over, and he said I reffed a fair game and did a good job.

I guess we blame testosterone.

20 September '06 - 08:33 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

What I'm enjoying about high school this year

The suburban team I worked last night holds a rather infamous place in my heart; back in my first year reffing, when nobody told me that I shouldn't work Varsity games in my first year, I ended up terminating a game after tossing two players and two coaches, all from one team, ending the game when there were no more coaches on the field. I was running a dual, and had an experienced partner whom I trusted - I also played on his co-ed team. The game, in short, was a disaster - I made a dubious judgement call on a red card, one I think I was still correct on, but maybe shouldn't have awarded anyway, and didn't position myself correctly for, and handle it correctly as well. Things just slid downhill from there - although the red card my partner issued (followed by another coach ejection) was for a blindingly obvious denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, it was not enough to overcome the existing anger already generated toward us. It was the first terminated game I had been involved in, the first time the police had come to one of my games, and the first time I had to have an escort back to my car, even though I didn't get back to my car until more than three hours after the game ended.

God only knows why I didn't quit just then. It didn't help that the high school league didn't give a tinker's cuss about the abuse we had waded through from players, coaches, and fans. Where they should have brought out someone to help us mature as referees, maybe even gently suggest working some JV games to get a handle on how they do things, and maybe issue some encouragement along the lines of, "Here are your mistakes, here's how you can correct them, and yes, any referee who's done this long enough has been in this situation". Instead, they sent a nasty letter assigning blame only toward the referees, offering no suggestions on how to prevent these things in the future.

God DOES know why I don't respect the NFHS, nor the organization that runs high school games here.

I'd worked two other games since then - the first time back some of the players recognized me, asking if I was there, but forgot about it when the game started; if my first game was awful, this game was adequate - no major issues. The last time I was there, near the end of the season two years ago (the last year I worked high school games), I had a very good game, and was very pleased with how I kept up with play and the outcome.

The year, there was a new stadium, new turf (not grass), and a new coach - aside from the path I used to take shelter in the school all those years ago, there's little left to remind me it's the same school (but boy, that's enough). I had another team from the actual city again, and I have to say I'm enjoying watching the city teams play. The suburban team plays like most of the other suburban teams and like much of what I see in the adult leagues during the summer: challenge hard, try to out-muscle your opponent, and use set plays to your advantage. Because the city teams have much more diverse populations, I've gotten to see much different styles - I'd even venture as to say superior styles; the teams I've seen lose was more because of lack team cohesion (many of the suburban teams play together during the summer during club season - and options for players in the city-proper are limited). If the fields were widened up a bit, and weren't constrained in width like they are, you could see some very pretty soccer.

The city teams also, even though I haven't seen one win yet, seem to be having a lot more fun. I called a foul on a guy last night early in the game for a shirt pull - and he grinned and laughed with me when he was caught; I think he was positioning it as to be hidden. The attitudes of the city teams, at least so far, have blown my mind.

I have another coming up (the sad irony is that the school is just two and-a-half blocks up the street for me, but their stadium hasn't finished being reconstructed, so they're playing at another school further away), and I have to say I'm looking forward to it. Who'da thought that? Not me.

19 September '06 - 13:33 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Something strange

Something really strange has been going on - I've been enjoying my high school games so far. I'm going to attribute it partially for this game because both teams were from within the city boundaries, rather than the suburbs, which tend to have nastier coaches and fans. I even blew a call: two players going for a breakaway charge each other, the striker gets the ball but, at least to me, looks off balance - he falls, the goalkeeper collects the ball, he stays down hurt - no call. I didn't see the defender make an effort for the ball, but apparently my AR did - I asked him at half-time, and after some cajoling (no really, I want to know if I was wrong), said that yes, he would have called it - he also said he was too far away, but that's OK.

My mistake on that play was trying to get wide - they took off on an angle and I ended up getting behind the play instead of where I wanted to be - I should have abandoned the diagonal and turned inside instead of outside - there was nobody else that far upfield, and it would have been easier to get a better view. Good news for the team, and the coach (who was furious) was that they ended up coming from a 1-0 deficit to scoring four unanswered goals themselves and winning.

Here's the odd thing - while the coach was pissed, when I talked to him he seemed, if not happy, at least reasonable - he took my explanation for what I saw as my interpretation, even if in his mind it was flawed, which apparently it was. No trying to argue it with me, tell me how stupid I am, how refs are ruining the game, just, "The possession arrow goes our way next time." I didn't respond, because I don't keep a possession arrow - I try to make the best and most accurate call I can every time; sometimes I'm wrong, like in this case, but I can't and won't fudge it unfairly.

I was a little worried when I started the game, too - because they started out by shouting down the opposite of the field to my AR about why his offside flag was late (to which the referees in the audience have an easy answer: they teach us that - we want to make sure we have the correct call and often there's a chance that the player in an offside position can peel away leaving the ball in play). But after I said the shortened version by my parenthetical, they were OK with it.

Otherwise, I have to say I had a very good game. I covered the field, if I say so myself, very well (and it was a gorgeous pitch, wider than most high school games, a very good length, and absolutely pristine conditions - the best pitch I've had all year - naturally it was on a private school's grounds), was able to get along with the players, even when they disagreed with me, and generally had a very good time out there.

Still, it's really odd to be saying that.

18 September '06 - 13:34 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Last USSF game of the year

Well, it's all over for the year. The last USSF-sanctioned game for the year; a division-3 women's line. I actually had some work in the first half, flagging offside eight or nine times. Players were complaining about it, but there wasn't much to complain about, when their attackers were lining up in offside positions... and standing there, before the ball was kicked.

So, all there's left is high school (which has been surprisingly enjoyable so far this season), and unaffiliated (which I'll start in next month).

---

I still haven't decided on what do to regarding the league I'm playing in - I have another week before saying yea or nea, because I wasn't going to be able to play this weekend anyway (I took it off to... ref). But I'm leaning toward not playing.

15 September '06 - 08:42 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Dual, then center

I got a call from my assignor in the afternoon, asking if I could work a 7pm game. I had turned back a double-header that started at 5pm earlier, since I can't work those games, but could an individual at seven. The game was about an hour north of the city - and I realized that I had been there once before, I think during my first year reffing high school (I think the other referee, who's now the State Director of Instruction, issued a red for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity in a boys game where we were working a dual.

I was supposed to work a dual for this game, too. My first real dual in at least three or four years. One of the nice things about my old high school assignor was that he promised to have three-men crews on every game he assigned - and I think he delivered. Fortunately, when I have a club-line in USSF play, I tend to run my middle very similar to a dual, in order to best judge offside for the end that's saddled with the powerless substitute.

Now here's where things might get interesting later on: the game was assigned two referees by the assignor, but the school added a third - a certified high school referee, so she can work the game, but one not taking games from the assignor or the referee association. What to do on that one? During the discussion - I punted; I said if the assignor asks me about it, I said the school said use this referee so we can start on-time, and so we did; my partner, which became my third, was going to be late because he was coming from another game at another location - both teams were informed of this before they arrived for the game. This being my first year working games for this association and assignor, I have no idea how it'll be received, but I can honestly say that the school said, "Do it," and so I did.

We made the switch from dual to DSC about ten minutes into the game, and I ended up taking the center. There were no issues in the dual, or the DSC; one of the teams in this girls varsity contest was far more aggressive than the other, but not in any cheap way. They liked putting their bodies to their opponents to try gain an advantage; most of the time they did is successfully and cleanly, but they had the occasional foul as well - I don't think their opponents were called for a foul until the last 15 minutes of the game, although I did call out advantage twice. There was one call where a player did a stupid jersey grab when she was about to break free for a break-away, and another where a player came in late with three minutes left (and a five-goal lead), where I simply had to point out how pointless that type of challenge at this point in the game was.

I felt pretty good - I ran very well, didn't have any real let-downs in my movement during the game, and I had one coach raving about how well we did. I think I might have had two, except the last of the three fouls I called against the losing side happened with less than a minute left in the game, and they were scored upon on the ensuing free kick. I don't think the coach thought it was a foul - it wasn't a terrible foul, she used her hands to "help" her opponent overrun her challenge and thereby taking the ball herself, and it was probably something the coach wasn't going to see from his distance - but it was probably enough to cause him to dock me some points in the referee rating contest the high school association runs every fall.

14 September '06 - 14:37 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

This doesn't bode well

Last year, when I told some of my referee friends that I wasn't going to work high school that fall, they took a break from complaining how they were scheduled to more games than they requested without the option of turning them back to saying I should take a few - and that I'd only get the number I asked for.

Clearly, these were people desperate to foist off some of their excess games.

This year, when I decided to come back and do high school again, my old assignor wasn't doing games, so I had to work with the same assignor that everyone was complaining about last year. So far, things have been fine. I haven't had many games, but I'd also put some strict restrictions on my availability: I could not work 5pm games on weekdays, and I would not work more than two games (even if my availability said otherwise). The former is because of work - I could make a 5:30pm game on a weekday, but not a 5pm, the second is because I still wish to have a life on the weekends that involve something other than soccer (not to mention I want to give the kids my best game possible).

I just got scheduled to a 5pm game on a weekday, and lo-and-behold, there is no option to turn it back online. There was also another game that was scheduled on a date I blacked out on my calendar. I turned back the later, and emailed about the former - all I can do is cross my fingers and hope the assignor is reasonable. But if push comes to shove, I'll have to drop high school again - because while I could probably make many 5pm games, I have some critical work scheduled for that day, and I can't, even if I wanted to, fudge it just to make nice with the assignor.

---

Several hours later:

No big deal. I got an email back saying all is well. The assignor, who uses a web-based software to assign, apparently doesn't use the built-in calendar to track availability; but was reasonable when finding out I didn't know that (she probably checked it to verify that I had been using it). All assignors do things a bit differerently, and part of my job is to keep track of all of them.

12 September '06 - 18:34 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

My own playing paradox

There's a long held school of thought that referees who play are better referees that don't; the idea behind it is that they understand the game better, the tactics, the pitches, and can empathize with the players better. There's also a long-held rule that you don't referee in leagues you can play in.

Here's my problem: I'm not a good player, and I don't play on good teams. Tactically, I get more from watching local professional games (MLS on TV doesn't cut it - you miss a whole lot of what goes on off the ball); they're usually far better than the "get it to our best player and run" scenario I'm used to when I play. During the summer I'm reffing all sorts of games, and I had to make a choice between reffing a third less games if I was to play on a regular basis - I choose to ref rather than play because I'm far better at it, but I still want to play. So I wait until the fall and play on a city league in the suburbs that has some of the best fields that cruddly little players like me can get on (even when itincludes the gravel from the baseball fields our pitch overlaps). But now a new problem has occurred. Due to a late signup, we've moved up two divisions, and now I'm playing against players I reffed this summer. During the game, as I ran out and dove for a loose ball (I'm the goalkeeper), the striker for the other team made a remark about my reffing and how he wanted to kick me in the balls right then. I had no previous interaction with him during the game; he wasn't even near me - this was something he was sitting on as soon as he recognized me for who and what I am.

The fact that I'm recognizable is a problem; I decided to grow my hair back out, and although there are other referees with pony tails, mine's not long enough to pull back, so I end up wearing hair control devices across my forehead - which makes me more-or-less unique when it comes to refs around here. This is a problem - because as a referee I have to, and I certainly try to, remain true to myself and make the correct calls, no matter how much it's going to piss someone off. But because of circumnstance, I'm forced to play with the same people I referee, even if it's not an affiliated league and technically OK (like city leagues care). What this situation makes apparent that without the badge I'm open to cheap shots.

My last game in that league was three weeks ago, when I sent a player off for a late, high, and hard tackle; when I saw the game in front of us, I recognized at least half-a-dozen players from that same league - I didn't recognize that guy, so who knows how many more I've dealt with with the whistle, and may have a vendetta.

There doesn't seem to be a good and safe, alternative. It may mean I don't get to play at any time of year and choose to only be a referee.

(more)

09 September '06 - 17:39 - - default| Only one comment - § ¶

Two games, no incidents

I had my second scheduled game, on the line for a boy's varsity, and everything went pretty well. I screwed up on one of the subbing opportunities; I would swear that at least in years past, only the attacking team could sub on a corner kick - but either I'm wrong, or it changed last year when I didn't do any games. The nice thing about it was that the coach found it, corrected me, but was incredibly nice and understanding about it. Wow.

08 September '06 - 21:53 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Time to put the cynic hat away

I found out a few hours before I left for my first high school game in two years that I had been switched from line to center. OK, no big deal - especially since I only had two games showing up on my schedule anyway (will I get more, I hope so - I'm just not sure). I remembered one of the teams from three or four years ago, in the state tournament - although most likely all the players had moved on by then.

The game was clean, but it had been raining hard all day and the field was very very soft; even in the first half, we had torn it up pretty well. It was also pretty clean, and I was calling things tighter than I would at the same level in a USSF game (I'm trying this, because I keep hearing from others that this is the way they want it called in high school) - I had one team complain once about my light calls, but then immediately got a call their way for something they thought was the same thing, and that was the end of it.

It was also close to the end of the game. I hadn't looked up during the run of the first half, but you couldn't miss the lightning at halftime. It was a long way off, and they weren't making any noise, but flashes were happening every 15 seconds or so. So, I told the coaches that I was going to suspend the game for twenty minutes.

God bless the PA announcer! He made the announcement, "Per State High School League rules, the game must be suspended for twenty minutes due to visible lightning." This was the first time I've never had any complaining from players (although they wanted to get back onto the field), coaches, or fans from a game suspension - and I give all the credit to the announcer. He clearly explaining in one sentence that it wasn't the referee being pedantic, but a regulation that we're required to obey.

After about fifteen minutes, I wandered out of the school to look up in the sky - even though the wind said the storm should be moving away from us, it was closer, and we went back for an other fifteen minutes, and then back in again. After the second resetting of my watch, the school administrator said that both coaches were willing to call the game (the visiting team, which was also up 2-0, had about an hours drive ahead of them to get back), and that was it.

I still don't like the NFHS, but this was a well played game, played in a respectful manner. I wish it would stay like this.

07 September '06 - 08:34 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

That was the exciting bit?

If I had a choice between running a center on a women's division 4 game (which is run solo) versus a line on a women's division 3, I'd take the division 4 - at least you get to move. The most exciting thing on this game was a small dog that kept running onto the field. When a kid tried to russle it, it would run off the field, then back on as soon as the kid left it himself.

Whee fun.

06 September '06 - 23:05 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶