Lots of new guys

[Statesman]

I've noticed a recent influx of new personalities to the referee forum. There are roughly three types of people you'll find here; those who primarily ask questions, those who primarily answer them, and those who feel they have answers but can very easily be incorrect. It might be smart to sift through some previous threads and determine who, in your own mind, falls into those categories. It also might take a spot of time to establish your credibility amongst the readers through your responses since we'll have to figure out which type you happen to be as well. That being said, welcome to the forum and enjoy the sharing of ideas.

[nsa]

those who primarily ask questions, those who primarily answer them, and those who feel they have answers but can very easily be incorrectJust like the referee tent at a tournament. ;)

[stevieb]

Originally posted by Statesman
I've noticed a recent influx of new personalities to the referee forum. There are roughly three types of people you'll find here; those who primarily ask questions, those who primarily answer them, and those who feel they have answers but can very easily be incorrect. It might be smart to sift through some previous threads and determine who, in your own mind, falls into those categories. It also might take a spot of time to establish your credibility amongst the readers through your responses since we'll have to figure out which type you happen to be as well. That being said, welcome to the forum and enjoy the sharing of ideas.

As one of those new guys I'd like to introduce myself. I am a ref in Colorado, been reffing for >10yrs, referee youth, adult amateur, & college. I am an Instructor and a grade 07 ref, planning on getting my assessments this year to move to a Gr06 (assuming I don't flunk them all!)

I know a few of the posters on here from other forums, folks I have corresponded with via email as well, such as GaryV & pkcrouse. Hopefully I can contribute some worthwhile information I have gleaned over the years of reffing, too many of the learning I've done has been the hard way, by screwing them up myself! :)

Steve

[kevbrunton]

Originally posted by stevieb
Hopefully I can contribute some worthwhile information I have gleaned over the years of reffing, too many of the learning I've done has been the hard way, by screwing them up myself! :)

Steve
This is actually how we ALL learn in this forum -- by discussing the ways we've screwed up so that others won't make the same mistake -- or by discussing situations we've seen that were either handled wrong or could have been handled differently.

BS has been a very valuable tool for me.

[rcleopard]

I'm one of those new guys. Followed / played / coached / reffed soccer for pretty much all my life, until I found out that much of my connection to it has been in an unaffiliated league, so all that reffing counts for zip. So then, after moving here, I got legal, as it were.

And that means starting over at the bottom rung. So.. here I am. Learning the craft all over again, as it were.

Oh well. Always learning.

If I come across as arrogant and such, sorry. I just try to have confidence in my decisions, because as we know, on the field if you're not confident, they will devour you.

Jarrod

[kevbrunton]

Originally posted by rcleopard
If I come across as arrogant and such, sorry. I just try to have confidence in my decisions, because as we know, on the field if you're not confident, they will devour you.

Jarrod
It is definitely to your advantage to be confident on the field, but off the field in a learning environment, you will probably do better by qualifying your statements a bit.

"I think it's..."

"In my opinion, it should be..."

I have learned a lot from the referees on this board and there are some VERY experienced referees here. Many are assigners and/or assessors and a few are National referees. You'll learn pretty quickly who is who.

Also be aware that there are referees from different parts of the world. There are some differences in how the call the game. Crowdie is in Australia, if I remember correctly. Grizzlierbear is in Canada. JeffLancaster is in England. USUALLY, when they make a statement, they will let you know when it's a country thing vs. a Law thing.

[ProfZodiac]

I shouldn't even ask which type I am, should I? ;)

I have moments. They're just not all good.

[refpat]

New here, from Illinois, also. Have coached (9 years) long past and have been ref for 18 years. USSF8, Assignor, Instructor. Also NFHS and NISOA. We don't have any upper level games where I live so have to travel. I do 15-20 Tournaments a year. Highest level I have done is College D-1 Club. They are a hoot. Really enjoy working with the kids at rec level teaching and mentoring.
This board is one of the best I watch, glad I found it. As stated they are a great learning tool for refs, coaches, players and fans of all levels.

[HeadHunter]

Relatively new here. I made one idiot mistake early in my posting andhave since then dropped back to reading/asking questions. Even my responses now are usually qualified as questions. BS has helped me realize how much more I have to learn. This is especially true as I am just starting my third season of reffing but because I live in a relatively soccer isolated area I am now one of only two adult referees and am in charge of assigning for both our rec league and the home travel games. Since I'm assigning as well I try and do informal development with my youth refs. Without this board, I would have little ability to improve not only my own game but the quality of all the other refs who work for me. In short I realize that I have a big responsibitity that I'm not really qualified to do but am giving my best shot because I am the most qualified person available and just want to say thank you to everyone who posts on here.

[Buck25]

I am new to Big Soccer but I've been around the soccer world for quite a while as coach (usually low level U12, U14 girl's travel teams), player (30+ years), referee (many years as a grade 8, started with college intramural, now doing youth games), administrator (10 years on my town's youth BOD before moving onto the youth and adult league BODs).

I probably know quite a few of you (hello Nat, see you at the next Rev's game?)

For now I prefer to sit on the side lines and read the postings but I do have a request.

Can some one create a dictionary of the common short hand used in the messages?

Thanks

[Scott Zawadzki]

Originally posted by Buck25
Can some one create a dictionary of the common short hand used in the messages?

Thanks

Nat = Not All There :)

[Scott Zawadzki]

Someone sent me these abbreviations once...here you go. I don't know the original source:

SOTG - Spirit of the Game
LOTG - the Laws Of The Game: the written laws
ROC - Rules Of Competition
ROTG - Reality Of The Game
IBD - International (FA) Board Decision
AIRTLOTG - Additional Instructions Re: LOTG
ATR - Advice To Referees re: LOTG
Q&A - FIFA's Questions and Answers
Law-0 - Spirit of the Laws
Law-18 - Common Sense
Law-19 - Ref's additional punishment for law's insufficient justice.

CR - Center Referee
AR - Assistant Referee
FO - Fourth Official
CL - Club Linesman
ITOOTR - In The Opinion Of The Referee
2LD - 2nd to the Last Defender
OS/P - Off-Side / Position
A - Attacker
D - Defender
K - Keeper

DSC - Diagonal System of Control: one referee two ARs
DSR - Dual System of Refereeing: 2 referees with no ARs.
OGSO - Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity
SFP - Serious Foul Play
OIA - Offensive, Insulting or Abusive language
VC - Violent Conduct
FRD - Failure to Respect the Distance (Encroachment)
CRDF - Careless, Reckless / with Disproportionate Force

FK - Free Kick
DFK - Direct Free Kick
IFK - Indirect Free Kick
GK - Goal Kick
CK - Corner Kick
PK - Penalty Kick
KO - Kick Off
TI - Throw In
DP - Dangerous Play
DB - Drop Ball

AOAP - Area Of Active Play or AOA(Area Of Activity); referred
to the area where the ball's trajectory will end (in
judging Offside)
CC - Center Circle
GA - Goal Area
PA - Penalty Area
GL - Goal Line (end lines)
TL - Touch Line (side lines)
QC - Quarter Circle (at the corner flag)
CF - Corner Flag
HL - Halfway Line
HT - Half Time
OT - Over Time
CF - Corner Flag

[GKbenji]

A few other abbreviations I've seen or used:

GK - goalkeeper
FOAL - Foul or Abusive Language
(P)KFTM - (Penalty) Kicks From the Mark - i.e. shootout

And, of course, the one you will use all the time when answering "You make the call" type questions:

YHTBT - You had to be there

[Grizzlierbear]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Scott Zawadzki
[B]Someone sent me these abbreviations once...here you go. I don't know the original source:

Scott maybe here???
http://www.carosi.freeserve.co.uk/corshamreferee/acronyms.htm

[ChickRef]

Okay, and we're not ALL guys on here either! ;-)

Thanks for the list of abbreviations. Some of those were tough to figure out.

I'm a USSF grade 6 (just one more assessment for grade 5 next week, if everything goes as planned). Referee for 13 years. Pro, college, HS, amateurs, the works. I hope I'm on the way to that funny-looking badge and the WWC 2011!

I prefer to just read most of the posts, but I might offer a feminine perspective for you once in awhile. (Not that it's all that different usually.)

--ChickRef

[nsa]

Originally posted by Scott Zawadzki
Nat = Not All There :) I'll have to remember that, BIG Daddy Z (emphasis on BIG). ;)

Buck25, anything I say on here cannot be quoted at an OTH meeting.

ChickRef. welcome and good luck next week.

[jacathcart]

Originally posted by Statesman
I've noticed a recent influx of new personalities to the referee forum. There are roughly three types of people you'll find here; those who primarily ask questions, those who primarily answer them, and those who feel they have answers but can very easily be incorrect. It might be smart to sift through some previous threads and determine who, in your own mind, falls into those categories. It also might take a spot of time to establish your credibility amongst the readers through your responses since we'll have to figure out which type you happen to be as well. That being said, welcome to the forum and enjoy the sharing of ideas.

I would never have guessed there were so many lurkers since referees are not known for their reserved and cautious manner. I am really impressed with the experience of the folks who spoke up and I encourage them all to post now and then - I always bow to the East when Sherman and Scott and Statesman post but there are a lot of other experiences and opinions.

Jim

[Gary V]

Anyone notice the newest newby (on the "sticky" thread)? Welcome Skipper. If he becomes a regular we're in for a treat.

[Alberto]

Welcome all to our forum. Diversity of age experience and gender are wonderful. I'm sure I speak for all in saying I look forward to more thought provoking and insightful discussions.

[amymac]

Originally posted by Statesman
I've noticed a recent influx of new personalities to the referee forum. There are roughly three types of people you'll find here; those who primarily ask questions, those who primarily answer them, and those who feel they have answers but can very easily be incorrect. It might be smart to sift through some previous threads and determine who, in your own mind, falls into those categories. It also might take a spot of time to establish your credibility amongst the readers through your responses since we'll have to figure out which type you happen to be as well. That being said, welcome to the forum and enjoy the sharing of ideas.

Well, I'm brand new all around! I have just recently decided to become a referee and I found this site earlier today. I thought it would be a great learning tool for me. I hope that's all right!?