2013 thread is still alive https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/best-story-of-your-week-2013.1980405/ feel free to delete this and start whatever is correct for 2014. I just ran a New Years Resolution run 5K with a PR and my oldest son at my side - we both won our age groups and I am so lucky to have him willing to stick with the old guy!
Club has cancelled dome training tonight because it's -22.5 degrees outside. The air used to inflate the dome is heated but there is a limit to how much much warmer it can be kept inside than the air outside.
Spent the weekend in San Diego at a Region IV SRA's meeting. Ran about three miles before the meetings, in short sleeves, just me, the sea gulls and a couple of fishermen. Didn't know that Herb Silva is wearing a mustache again.
Worked my first ever NCAA bowl game (not as a referee obviously). Very different experience than working an MLS game. Now looking forward to hosting a USWNT game at the end of the month.
(don't look if you hate high school) Had the GSOA (High School) recert Saturday - first time it was 10 minutes from home (usually held on the North side of Atlanta)! Saw a lot of friends and had a great time. Also was lucky to not be in the first group to do fitness as it was POURING rain and not until the first group got soaked did we find out there was an indoor option. A bit cramped running close quarters but made 17 laps (160 yard lap we were told) and took it real easy the last 2 minutes to cool down. Looking forward to the season as club in the Spring around here is considerably less busy than Fall.
State clinic guest instructor this past weekend was Paul Scott. He was fantastic. One of the many things he spoke about was AR philosophy. Points he made: 1. we should be as pleased about a goal that results after a tight offside decision as a CR is about a goal that follows an advantage. 2. We should Not be pulling goals out of the net for offside unless 100% certain. 3. If we adjust our timing/perception to make fewer offside calls we would be right more often. He said that one thing they are doing as mls AR's is to adjust to take more consideration of the defender's back foot, which often is behind the body of the defender enough to keep a player on. So, some clearer guidance on the "promote attacking soccer" ethos from the AR perspective.
I was in the first group, and yeah we got wet, and then we had a standard 30-minute lightning delay, stood around in the weight (wait) room for a while, and then somebody figured out there was an indoor track. So I got my shower before the run.
Passed my first recertification this weekend. Now I just need it to hurry up and get warm again so I can get some games!
Wasn't there a set of videos used for highest level training that made this point? (FIFA maybe?) And, my real question, is there any way that interested low-level referees can access those video tests?
Yes, we had those at our "Gold Rush" recert session in Georgia a few years ago, and I found them to be very eye-opening. I missed quite a few, and every one that I missed was calling it offside when it was not.
We ran a training last month in which there was a camera behind the AR. Replay showed exactly that, i.e. that most errors were calling the attacker off when they weren't. ARs were often slightly out of position, leaving them unable to correctly see what they needed to see when the decision was a close one. (And, of course, we don't know in advance if the decision is going to be close or not!)
The funny thing about the videos though is that AR position is taken out of the equation, because the camera is set up to be in the theoretical perfect position. It strongly suggested to me that there's a fool-the-eye mental processing thing going on which, in a dynamic situation, makes you think the attacker gets to the OP slightly before he actually does, even if you are in precisely the right position to make the call. Very interesting, and it really made me change the way I evaluate offside in that sort of situation. It definitely supports the if-in-doubt-keep-the-flag-down mantra.
I was at that training as well - some of the videos on the review would show the tip of a defenders toe (while running full sprint away from goal as attacker was running full speed toward goal) keeping the attacker onside... yeah, I am never going to be that good but very eye opening as to what FIFA expects of its AR's (and cementing in my head I am pretty well at the top of where I will be in my career ).
We were shown these video clips before our State Cup in the summer. They were extremely hard to decipher. I also remember the presenter mentioning that they expect FIFA AR's to get 80% of these video clips right.
"They" expect. I can tell you that 75% is about the best performance I've heard of and 60% is not unusual.
We were shown those videos in our initial course. When we went to review, we did the first two and then the instructor says, "OK, we'll save some time, the rest are all onside." You could have heard a pin drop. I also recall thinking they would probably have been easier with sound, so we could hear the ball being kicked, but even so -- jeez.
Best story of my week? Watching one of my mentees receive the National Young Male Referee of the Year award in Philadelphia last night.
I passed my HS rules test this week. My wife thought it was pretty amusing that it was open book and you only had to get 75%, "I could pass the test!" She then said to me "That might explain some of the refs we had while coaching last year."
Showcase event this weekend, was able to ride up and referee all day with 2 good friends. Well organized event, was in the 20's to start and first couple of games were COLD. Venue was set up very well, good food, and decent pay but best part was working with and getting feedback from all of us during and especially after on the ride home.
Good news, I've got my 7 upgrade class on Saturday. Bad news, I have to leave at 5:30 AM to get there for an 8 AM registration.
Interesting call this morning from my assignor. Saturday have two top GV high school teams playing the grudge match for the season. They've both already qualified for the state tournament and can't change their rankings based upon this game. So. . . what does the assignor tell me? The home team is "constructing" a barrier around the field to hinder the visiting teams long throw in player, who apparently likes to make a long run up to the touch line. Now how the visiting team found out about this and whether it's true or not is speculation. But, is there anything to be done about it, assuming it is safe and a "reasonable" distance from the field?
they're not changing the field, just changing the perimeter. Clearly if they put this up too close to the field it can be deemed a safety hazard, But the definition of too close is not outlined by anything I'm aware of.
Double check that. I am pretty sure that the NFHS book has a 10 foot zone pretty explicitly written somewhere. This was a concern when a new field I work had a stone wall built behind the goal that looked way too close. A concerned dad and I talked about it. He wrote a letter. They padded it!