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10 Best of 2007: Final thoughts

I did a couple of things different when I selected the ten entries I wanted to review during the off-season. First, was I knew if I included the last entry, I had to include this one; the second was that when the random number generator choose one of these two entries from Regionals, I knew Day Four had to immediately precede Day Six.

When I started writing this in 2003, it served two purposes: the secondary was to share my experiences with whoever wanted to read them, because there are very ways to see the ref's point of view in a game, even today. But first-and-foremost, it was to give me a change to vent, to write from the hip, and keep from going nuts. Very little of that has changed, I still write from the hip, but the Diary sections (be it USA Cup or Regionals) are a little more from the hip than others. I'll try to explain: on a regular game, I'll perform my writing the next day, and then it sits for a few weeks to make sure someone doesn't randomly come across it and say, "Hey, that's my game! I'm going to fry this S.O.B.!". With USA Cup, and especially Regionals, I can't do that - I have to write everything that night because I'll have a full day and I just won't be able to process it all.

So the idea of following Day Four with Day Six is that, in Day Six, I don't have any games, and can finally reminisce a bit more about what happened two days prior, and try to put it in a little more perspective. And of course, I've refined my opinions a bit since then, too. The real test will be, if I'm put into a similar position again, what can I make of it. But that's a big if, and doesn't necessarily rest on me - all I can do it continue to try to be the best I can be on the pitch.

Regionals 2007 Diary Day Six: Final thoughts

It's odd, after so many days of working and sweating, to not have any games. The job today, if you're not too upset about not getting a game (and I know several who are), is to watch the others, see what happens and what you can learn.

A referee I know and have worked with a times had the same 15-boys team that I had in my center. Although it's a different game with different circumstances, I wanted to see how he'd do it. He'd been to the national championships before, and next year he'll be a National Candidate (and has appeared several times in these pages). In many ways, the final turned out much the same way as mine did; there were five fewer goals, but does it matter when the game is 7-0 versus 12-0? I also found out they weren't national champions - I was able to check the USYSA website, and they have another team listed - but still, they cakewalked through the entire tournament. I did notice some similarities in what he did and what I did - we both hung back when the dominated team had the ball, because of the quick turnaround - although it was clear his was one of strategy versus my necessity. He talked to the players a bit more, but that's his style - he's a very extraverted person in general, and he uses it well in his officiating (I've found myself more likely to have a quiet word with a player). He tossed two cards on the losing team when talking failed to work - both within a couple of minutes, and then the nonsense stopped.

One thing I noticed was how bloodthirsty the fans were on that game. (more)

28 December '07 - 14:34 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

10 Best of 2007: Out of Gas

Printed now, because someone has to have something new over Xmas.

Going to Regionals is an honor - getting selected a second time even moreso. For those who followed my writing, I was asked to go to Regionals as a Grade 8 in 2004, after the SYRA saw me working my butt off on a U13 game. The experience can best be described as "Wow." The games are so much better than anything you normally see, even the U13s. In 2005 I had to pass because of my oncoming wedding (and in retrospect, that turned into a real good decision, given my wife's torn ACL). In 2006, I wanted to go back and missed the cut - it's part of what got me going to the gym on a regular basis - it changed me from reffing to get exercise, to exercising to ref better.

I made in back this last year, up a grade, and with greater self-expectations. So when I couldn't do a game the way I wanted to, I beat myself up. I wrote this the same night as the game I centered, and in my next entry I'm going to have the entry I wrote on my final day at Regionals, which puts a little more perspective on the whole experience.

My perspective now? When I was attending Syracuse University, we got beat in football by a highly ranked team (heck, it was Miami, they always beat us). On the bus-ride home, there were lots of bummed people, but a couple of elderly people put it in perspective, and it applies to me too: "It wasn't too long ago that we were in a position to be disappointed, and that in itself is an improvement."

Regionals 2007 Diary Day Four: Out of Gas

These are the entries I hate to write. Let's face it, everyone hates thinking about what they do wrong, and everyone wants to be in the right. But if I'm to do this thing correctly, both as a way of giving non-referees a look at how officials (or at least this official) works and looks at the game, and as a method of self-reflection, then I have to include the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Good news: It wasn't ugly. Maybe not even bad. Just not what I wanted out of myself (more)

24 December '07 - 00:00 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶

Great Googly Moogly, I have a game!

It's good to know people; without it, I'd never have a full 90-minute game, on an international-sized pitch, in the middle of winter with a foot of snow on the ground (under a dome, of course).

Of course, I had to wake up at 5am and drive for a couple of hours to get to it, but did I mention dead of winter? 120x80? Ninety minutes? Hell, yeah!

The game was between a sports-oriented boarding school (I'm sure there's lot of academics there, too - but if you go to the web page, it's all sports programs, all of which are year-round) and a sort of city all-star team (it was a mixture of one club and a select group of players from the rest of the city). The pitch was huge (and no pointy-ball lines!), artificial (duh - but the good stuff), and the players fast; I was kept busy for the whole 90. I have to admit that at one point I started getting winded, looked at my watch, and though, "We're only ten minutes into this?" But the good news is that my body adjusted and I did pretty good for the remainder of the game. There was one break-away that I got suckered on (so did most everyone else), and was way too behind to get a good judgment on if the shot went wide or if the goalkeeper nicked a piece of it. I'm fortunate that it wasn't a closer game, but it's also been a couple months since I was able to blow the whistle, and with that time frame there will be rust; unlike these players, I don't have a year-round place to play, and there's no room for additional referees at any of the indoor places I've inquired at.

Overall, however - I was pretty pleased. I ran well, kept up with play. The game was physical, but not chippy (I talked down a pair of players, but that's all that was needed), I called some good advantages which I think added to my credibility, and all the coaches seemed pleased.

The biggest problem I had, was underwear - it kept riding down on me! Underwear has actually been a big problem for a number of years - as soon I find something I'm comfortable with, it gets discontinued. Under Armor feels great - for one game, but I get heat rash if it stays on for any longer. Target had a great pair of sports underwear under their house name, but it got discontinued. After trying a bunch of other brands, I found a great one from Nautica, went to buy more, and found it discontinued as well! The underwear in question today was from Papi, which is very comfortable, but rather low cut, and even though nobody can see the plumber look behind the shorts, it nags at you, and your butt just screams to be covered like its supposed to. Back to the drawing board. (more)

19 December '07 - 20:07 - - default| two comments, already - § ¶

10 Best of 2007: How to Be Mean

I've had some issues in the past with people thinking the best referees are the ones that don't get noticed. Maybe there's some truth in it, because it means they're able to handle even the worst games so well that nobody does anything wrong... or they only do U-9s.

The reality is that referees, especially in soccer, need to be the type that keeps the game on the field. Sometimes, like in life, you go with tough love. Maybe yelling at someone is what keeps them from getting a card or doing something worse. It all depends on the game - you don't think Collina is known for his smile now, do you?

How to Be Mean
I recently had a conversation with another, younger referee about doing what that needs to be done when you officiate. I've jokingly called it bringing out your Inner Asshole, which is in many ways true, but what it really means is handing out the discipline as needed - and sometimes calling a player out is more effective than a card, or if coupled with a card, will save the guy from getting a red; the later is often called by other officials an "Orange" card - a yellow card with a butt chewing, a warning on how close the card is to becoming red.

In this case, the referee is really close to having the complete package. She's athletic, has great vision and foul recognition; the only this she lacks is assertiveness. This seems to be common with a lot of younger referees; I'm rather introverted myself, enjoy being quiet - I generally don't get loud unless I'm with people and in places where I'm comfortable. So I thought, for better or worse, I'd share what I do to get "in the game". This may or may not work for you - but it seems to do well for me.

In my case, I came from an acting background, I did quite a bit of stage and improvisation in both high school and college (and still work the odd season at the local Renaissance Faire), and I approach refereeing as an acting role. When game time rolls around I stop being "me" and play the role of "The Ref". One of the improvisational things I did in high school and college was an educational program where, in my case, I played a not so nice person, then proceeded to get reemed by the audience for an hour or so. In some ways, this made dealing with 22 people who may not like me much easier (I had lots of practice with larger groups), and I'm able to use the same method to, when necessary, come out much meaner on the field than I am in real life.

It's one of the reasons I show up as early as I do for games, especially when I'm in the middle. I'm going through in my head what I expect out of the game and what I may end up having to do should it be necessary; as as they say in "the biz", I'm getting into character. If I'm reffing a new league, I like to run lines, not just to get a feel of the game (which is always a good thing), but to see how the centers react, see what works and what doesn't, and put that into my bag of tricks for when I have the reins.

The trick with acting, for those who have done it, is to take pieces of yourself and place it into the character you're portraying - it's part of what keeps the character real and the actor honest - something I had a lot of trouble when I played someone who was going to violently attack someone else (and not in a Snidley Whiplash type of way), and likewise, as time goes on, I find more of myself in the character of the Referee that I play; often it's out-of-proprotion to my real persona (and there are portions of my normal persona I sometimes completely block out), but it's there, and I can use it.

But despite all the flowery language and portentous attitudes, acting is just playing pretend. When I referee I put my day-to-day personalty behind me, and I pretend to be the referee needed for the game; sometimes that's the talkative referee, sometimes the hard-ass, sometimes it's laid back. I don't think anyone enjoys being mean (or shouldn't), but especially in a heated game, it may be necessary. Think of it as Tough Love (or maybe a Drill Sergeant): you look like you're in charge, you stay in charge; and your yelling at the player may actually be a mercy if it keeps him from doing something stupid(er).

If you've never acted, maybe look into a drama class at a community college or other public institution. I originally took classes at a local library. My delusion of actually living off of it ended a long time ago, but I've found the principals have helped me quite a bit in both reffing and elsewhere. (more)

07 December '07 - 09:27 - - default| No comments yet - § ¶