Personally, I really like the idea of referee coaching. I've had the privilege of being assessed by someone I greatly respect (and is always brutally fair/honest) for my grade 7 "re-upgrade" last summer. (I was a Grade 7, then stepped away for a decade before getting back into it after realizing my son was a pretty good player and was going to play in competitive tournaments). I worked the Iowa girls high school state tournament last month, and one of my mentors in my "first career" coached me in the game I centered. I really like the coaching model more than the formal assessor model. I know the overall objective is the same, but "coaching" seems more positive and constructive than "assessing".
Busy week for me with three assessments in three sequential nights. What made it tough was that one of them was likely the hardest I've ever written (or had to write), but that was somewhat ameliorated by one of them being the easiest one I've ever to write (the entire report, ref and both ARs, was written in first draft status within 2.5h of the game's completion).
Can you share a bit (without violating assessor ethics) on what made it hard to write? Just curious about your side of the process.
It was a game where foul recognition was both very good and very bad (sometimes mere moments apart). Trying to identify why and suggest some appropriate routes out was more difficult to fully boil down than I'd expected it to be. The other part was identifying appropriate positive points and areas of improvement. Again, these were a bit more difficult to nail down than I'd anticipated. In short -- it was one of those games that was all over the map. The easy one, on the other hand, everything was readily identified before the half time whistle, and everything in the second half just reinforced those things with nothing different/new. So that one pretty much had itself written (for all intents and purposes) before the final whistle and debrief. The debrief added a couple of points to note in the reports based on discussion (it is always good to have the referees giving feedback and asking questions themselves).
At least you didn't do what the assessor for my last two assessments did. On one, he wrote down that I swung my arms too much when I ran and on the next one, he criticized the color we selected to wear (we wore yellow and the teams were white and green).
Did they have arguments over how far an onside/offside player can run in between polaroid pictures back then?
I am now a National Referee. Just not in soccer. Track & Field Field Events Referee, level 2. (2 is higher than 1) Referees deal with protests by athletes/coaches and they try to see that the event officials aren't screwing up too much. In soccer terms, some combination of VAR and referee coach.
No card. Had the goal not been scored, it would have been DOGSO-yellow. But because the goal was not denied, a card wasn't needed. Did tell the keeper a bit about what would have happened so that he learned.
My spring season is finally over so now I can go over the law changes. Too bad it had end as AR2 on a boys U18 state championship match abandoned with 2 minutes left due a mass confrontation. Fun times.
Here is where I wish I lived in Georgia. The referee recertification class at Northgate High will feature Nick Uranga, Drew Fischer and Corey Rockwell. I just might sneak in anyway. I work more games in that state than in Alabama anyway.
Where do you ref? Something wrong with the AL scene? In about 2 weeks, I'll be attending a Grassroots referee in-person course...
Nothing wrong at all. But where I live, when college is in session, we have plenty of referees. Especially in the fall because high school is in the spring. So I don't get many games locally. This spring I worked seven USSF league games (non-tournament) locally. But I worked 32 total in both states. Less supply of referees compared with number of games in Columbus and Metro Atlanta than there is in Auburn. Is your class in Daleville or Montgomery?
Just got back from attending the Region 2 Tournament of Champions in Ft Wayne, IN. This a regional level adult tournament. Not a huge event, but lots of good teams and good games. Got a chance to hang out with and learn from multiple national coaches.
So, what you're saying is Birmingham has enough referees? I was lead to believe the dearth of referees was great in AL.