Who are you?

hello all. grade 6 from illinois(via ireland) could have gone for 5 and national but having a family and living 3 hours from chicago and 2 hours from st louis didnt seem too appealing (especially for my wife!) I guess I could have done it, if I really pushed myself. I am a national college referee- had the opportunity this fall (unexpected) to do a middle for a sweet 16 d3 women's game, and line on a d2 womens game. I am a USSF instructor- hopefully in 2 years I can be a state instructor. Played the game for many years, and never thought about being a referee. Someone suggested I should try and I have loved it ever since. I love to be a mentor to young referees in the sense of giving them encouragement and telling them about tournaments that they can get noticed at. I brought a first year ref to GIT and he was thrilled. he was mentored by joe michna and mark de clouet.
I am a professor by trade, so I love to be teach no matter what forum it is in.

 

Bothways, are you down in Champaign?

 

In that general area my name is brian and your name?

 

I like to say I'm a "fit 47". I'm a USSF Grade 8 and HS ref in Indiana.

Started out playing as a youth, age 9-ish through HS. Mostly Rec, although our HS team went from club to Varsity my Junior year. But thats when the REALLY good players come out for the team and ended up seeing more bench time than I had planned. I had been playing adult rec since then in various leagues, until back to back hamstring and ACL tears ended all that. I've also coached for my kid's teams - probably about 10 years or so. When their skills surpassed my coaching abilities, I graduated to the sidelines full time and really enjoyed watching them play up through MRL and HS Varsity.

I got certified in the winter of 2009 - the year after recovering from my ACL tear - as a way to stay fit and continue to be part of the game. I foresaw the empty-nestedness coming and thought this would fill the looming hole once the kids moved on from the competitive games. Couldn't have been more happy with the results. I started out to get fit and be part of the game, and have quickly realized I really love doing this. Most of the people I do games with and meet on forums like this are wonderful comrades and mentors. I enjoy the lively discussions and "arguments" over the tiniest details. I feel it makes me more confident on the field to have thought through some of the craziest scenarios and to know no matter how bad I might mess up these people have my back.

This year was my busiest year on the field including many more competitive games. Did a variety of USSF U16-U18 games in our local college showcase - several MRL caliber. Had some heated rivalries in HS Varsity, including a terrific sectional matchup with 3 of the top 15 ranked teams. But the best part of this year came at the end of the season when I realized I had lost over 15 pounds without much change in diet. This is all coming from the exercise I'm getting out on the field because I loathe running for running sake.

But like many have said before - I wish I would have started this 10 years prior.

Goals for 2013:

• Travel to more tournaments
• Work towards upgrading to G7
• Focus on better fitness training - mostly this means evolving from using my time on the field as my training to training for my time on the field.
• and finally, maybe, yes, get to work a game with uniqueconstraint!

 

Just ask Brooksie or Kelly or Thom, Doug - working a game with me can be more of a chore than an opportunity!

As my wife constantly reminds me, while some play hard to get, I play hard to want...

That said I look forward to hopefully working with you this Spring, I have you on my "list to work with" as well!

 

such a great idea for a thread...I'm Marc and I live about 30 miles north of New York City. I grew up a big Cosmos supporter and watched match after match where the announcers were all over the referees (times haven't changed much). However, there was one NASL referee back in the day who everyone respected and it was Gino D. I started to referee intramural soccer while in college at Oneonta State in upstate New York. I think that I made $8/match in 1980. Anyway, I graduated from college in 1984 and immediately became both a USSF and also a high school referee. It took me until 1990 to become a college referee. I married in 1997 and on my honeymoon my wife and the USSF actually let me referee a match in New Zealand (thank you Vinnie Mauro)! Somebody apparently still owes me a check for $12NewZealand. I dropped out of the USSF at the end of 2000 season when my first child was born. At that time I was a grade 5 and on a National track but sadly we had a brand new SRA who I didn't respect and who made it known that he really didn't believe I had any talent. I also knew that soccer 52 weekends a year on the pitch and raising children wouldn't work out well for a marriage. I'm still working college soccer and have become the President of our local NISOA chapter. And you'd be thrilled to know that our same Gino D at age 78 was member of our local chapter and worked college soccer up until this past season. It was truly an honor for me to bestow Gino with his NISOA honorary life member status. I anticipate slowing down as a referee in the next few years ahead and maybe either I'll become an assessor or very possibly I'll give back to the game and become a minority owner in a minor-league expansion USL PDL or NPSL franchise. Only time will tell...in the meantime my 13 year old son has started his own soccer referee path and worked games at the local rec soccer club. I can tell just in way he moves that he has the respect and love for the game that we all know and understand.

 

Great thread idea.
Growing up in the 60s and 70s in the Midwest I knew nothing about soccer other than somehow or another we all were taught about Pele…that was pretty much it – Pele was the greatest soccer player in the world. Coming from a family of small means, it was analogous to being taught about the Empire State building being the tallest in the world and about other such things we would never see.
The first soccer game I actually attended was my oldest son’s first U5 game in 2001. I was opposed to my wife signing him up to play, thinking that soccer was being pushed on us because it was "that game that girls could play." The first time he touched the ball he kept possession up the far touch line until an opponent tackled it away from him, to which he responded by running across the pitch and jumping up into my lap in tears. Two years later he was at the level where we have a designated parent coach (U7), and my wife signed me up to coach when she registered him. I showed up at the first practice with a whistle and a clipboard, and a bunch of parents staring at me. I had no idea what I was doing, but I had some talented kids, and before long I was "on board".
Within a couple of years I had a D coaching license, and my oldest was in the competitive program, and doing well. In 2006 I started playing, at the age of 45, and have played soccer every week, year around, since then. In 2008 I decided to get a referee license so that I could help out with the U-littles who more often than not had no referees at their games. I am never just along for the ride, so I studied hard and did more and higher level matches all the time.
Spent a lot of those years running recreational programs, but I’m finished with that now. I still coach my younger son’s team, now U14s. I’ve given all I have to give to the club, so at this point I am doing more just for me, which means a focus on refereeing competitive youth matches and adult rec. I’ll upgrade to Grade 7 as soon as I can get organized to get the assessments and the fitness test taken care of.
At 50 years old I am still in very good shape, and folks like IaSocRef have shown me that, God willing, I have very many years left to enjoy being out on the pitch with the players; I have many hobbies about which I am passionate, but - even including playing - there is nothing I enjoy more than that.

 

Nothing against lawyers, per se, but some think too much.

When you can actually see the scales of justice balancing in a man's brain before making a decision ...

 

I was down in Champaign for 4 years (07-11), back up in Chicago now. But my name is James.

 

My wife is still getting used to being a "soccer widow" for most of the Spring and Fall - but she knows it keeps me teetering on the sane side, so she deals with it.

 

Grade 7, NFHS, and NISOA referee in the Carolina's. Finishing everything up for my upgrade to 6, just need another assessment and I will be done! Certified Assignor for a couple of the local clubs, after next month I should be a certified Assessor as well. I am entering my 18th year, started when I was 16.

 

Welcome Henry.

 

Welcome aboard. Just don't behead anyone...

 

No you're not!

 

Hi. I'm not actually a certified referee, but I'm only 16 and looking to change that next year when I move to the States from Wales and my Saturdays become free. Even though I've never refereed an official game, I've got a few highlights already. A couple of years ago we had a tournament in school between the classes and out of the eight officials I got appointed to take the final. Ever since then I've been hooked, but haven't had the time to take any actualy tests (although as I said I'm hoping to do something about that). On the bright side I have been assigned to Tuesdays 'Year 11 v Teachers' match. And some of you think that you have had difficult teams to control; try controlling your headmaster!

 

I'll chime in as the second 16 year old in a row. First certified 9/20/2008 (I think), 2 youth regionals, ODP twice, State Cups, Youth Referee of the Year for 2011 for TN. Hope to be a Professional and hopefully a FIFA one day. Grade 7 complete minus the requirement to be 17. Goal to be 20 year old national is attainable with the right work. Credit to andymoss as one of my mentors.

Love the learning from reading the site more than engaging in the debates. Played when I was little but just ref now. Play basketball for my high school (I say play but that really means sit on the bench for a sophomore).

 

And I am proud to be that mentor.

You have a solid future ahead of you, but don't rush through grades 7-5. Stop and spend some time smelling the roses on the way.

 

Amen, Andy. And it's more than 'smell the roses.' Take the time to have the experiences that you get as a 7, as a 6, as a 5, because those experiences are the solid base that you must have in order to be a referee who does go places. I see young referees who try to race to the top of the pyramid and they don't have experience yet to be able to handle players and coaches, particularly players and coaches who are older and more experienced. Herb Silva was once asked, 'What are you looking for in a MLS referee?" Herb's answer was "I've got lots of guys, LOTS of guys, who can blow the whistle and point in the right direction most of the time. What I'm looking for is someone who can produce an event."

 

I'm Tom, I'm 37 and I live in St. Louis (through Poland). I have been a USSF referee for a year now, after my indoor assignor talked me into it, and I became a Grade 7 USSF referee at the end of the season. My prior experience as a ref has been as an indoor referee for the past 5 years. I also became a HS referee last year after one of my indoor ref colleagues talked me into it.
My 2012 career highlights include several indoor league and tournament finals. Couple of outdoor U16 and U18 semifinals, and a U16G tournament final. I really love this hobby, and if I could do it full time I would, however having 2 small kids at home(3 year old and a 3 month old), I really can not work as many games as I would like to. My goals are to become a state ref and a NISOA ref in the next 3 years.

 

That's what I meant!

 

Slow down just a little bit as you'll have your fitness well into your mid-20s for your first national runs, but you don't have the experience adn the WTF moments and the complete fiasco games that are the basis of deep learning.

I have seen too many 20 year old Grade 6's who can't man-manage their way out of a nasty match between two teams that A) Hate each other (one local combination is because the teams were on opposite sides of the Yugoslavian break-up/civil wars) and B) contain multiple former professional players who still can commit professional fouls with some guile. Very few 6's or 5's at the age of 20 have the depth of experience to handle those types of matches --- and those are the types of matches a national needs to be able to do.

 

I'm on my second round of USSF refereeing. I'm a 33 year old Grade 7 in Pittsburgh with the goal of maxing out at Grade 6 and start NISOA by Fall 2016 (the delay is to give me time to play with my kids before I'm inherently embarrassing to them, and then I can get back on the grind). My first time through was as a U-little ref for my hometown club from the ages of 11 to 15 at which point I discovered girls and full time summer employment. That was one of the dumber decisions that involved neither beer nor stupid macho posturing, as I have retrospectively realized that refereeing would have been a perfect beer money job in college.

I started this round back in the Spring of 2005 when a good friend of mine who was a USSF 6 at the time said "Dave, I know you reffed before and you're buying a house and getting married, you need another job...." And then I succumbed to the dark side. I quickly got hooked up into the competetive youth, and the local mens leagues, and my fiancee and and later my wife decided that being a soccer widow for 18 weekends a year was acceptable. 2000 or so outdoor games later, she is okay with it still, as I've expanded to NFHS, and assigning for the town recreational club. Throw in another 1,000 or so hours of indoor soccer, and I'm actually getting close to the time count for becoming an expert on something.

My next goal is to become an assessor as I am an evaluator by training and inclination, and I know that my already minimal speed is declining, so I want to be around the game and be useful when my knees make too many noises.

 

That's what makes refereeing fun my friend. I live for matches like that!

 

Yeah! Anglo v Latino, men's 1st division, solo.