After 70F and shortsleeves on Thursday and 80F in Kansas City yesterday, my Des Moines games this weekend have been cancelled because of snow and rain!
Lousiest story of the week! '£30 to be punched and kicked' - Sunday football ref quitting after second alleged assault
Not a good story. I was AR on a game that had the first SFP red I've dealt with in a long time. Was it a two footed tackle? Nope. Was it a stray elbow? Nope. It was a U13 player who is scared to head the bouncing ball so he brought his foot up so high he kicked the opponent in the head with force. Another example of the no heading rule leading to bad side effects.
A successful trip to Girls Spring Showcase. Didn't get injured at the tournament, which was a major concern of mine during the week due to field conditions.
Not ref related, but made me laugh as I was walking past another game. Mom wearing T-shirt that says, “I can’t stay calm. My kid is the keeper.” Needed that for my wife a couple of years ago....
It was 75F here last Friday for a Varsity double header. Today there is 2 inches of snow on the ground and it's 25F. It's Nebraska though - so we're still on!
Men's O-50 game on Sunday afternoon. Two guys going, very fast, well, very fast for O-50's, towards where they thought the ball was going, coming there at a 45 degree angle from each other. When they got there, the ball wasn't, and they banged each other pretty hard. No way to say that one guy fouled the other, just one of those things that happens when two guys get there at the same time. One guy is down, in a lot of pain. The other guy is a bit banged up but keeping it to himself, for the most part. The guy who was down is expressing his pain fired opinion of the other guy and his play. He gets helped off by the manager, still offering his loud opinion, and we restart with a drop ball. Twenty minutes later, he re-enters the game. He goes straight to the guy that he tangled with. I'm thinking "Oh oh!!!!" and I'm moving that way expeditiously. Instead, he hugs the guy and apologizes, at length, for what he said earlier. You don't see O-50 men hugging each other very often. The apology was accepted, with grace, and we had no further 'misunderstandings.'
This will be long because I did two high school round of 16 match ARs on Friday (regional semi-finals) and centered a girls' regional final on Saturday. Arrived to the stadium on Friday to be informed that we were currently on lightning delay. After talking to the coaches we determined that UIL requires 20 minutes of warm up. The teams got their warm up in, completed the coin flip then on the procession, right as the refs hit midfield, the lightning siren goes off. Back to the locker rooms we go. Long story short, our 10 AM game didn't kick off until 11 AM. We are now an hour behind, and the crew on the next game does the very unprofessional thing and takes the second game to OT. The next game is the first boys' semi-final and sure enough, 28 minutes in, there is more lightning that puts us into an hour+ lightning delay. Now it is kickoff for the 5:30 game, except it is about 7:30. Just to keep up the pattern, the second boys' semi final goes to overtime and finishes with the game winning goal scored with just 6 seconds left. We packed up and left the stadium 13 hours after arriving. Regional finals story tomorrow
Game over, man! This is something that happened during my son's U13 game this weekend. Red is down 0-2 to blue. Late in the 2nd half, red scores two goals within about a minute of each other. During kick-off CR informs team that there are two minutes to play. The possession is traded between both teams mostly in mid-field over the next minute or two. Red gains possession and passes to a FWD who is now on a break away, just outside the PA red player plays a diagonal ball into the PA in the path of a team mate, just about to take possession and be 1v1 with the keeper and ... tweet-tweet-tweeeet. Game over. I've played, coached, and watched a lot of soccer games but I've yet to see a CR blow for full time during an attack like that. I guess he's just prompt
When time is up, time is up. Ref was totally within rights to whistle if full time had occurred. Now that does take us down the road of what used be known as the "dirty little secret"--refs would often let an attack play out, particularly if there was an imminent scoring opportunity. But that was also when refs would not answer questions about how much time was left and did not disclose how much time was added. And that leaning toward extension has always been counterbalanced by the question of why the defense should have to defend longer than full time. I think that the modern game has tightened the extent to which many refs extend. Be it because refs have watches that beep or vibrate at the precise moment or because they see the pros using more precision with the time added. (A few years ago a premier league ref ended a game while a ball was in flight on goal, which ended in the net after the whistle.) It's been said that if you have three refs talking, you'll have four views on the right way to time. (And I have been an AR on a game where by R whistled for time just as the attacker reached the keeper in a one on one.) My view is that I'm going to look at my watch after it vibrates to be sure before I call for time. If play is too intense for me to look at that instant, it goes until it is relaxed enough to look--we're talking seconds, not minutes. In your game, I don't know enough to know if I would have done what your R did. If I'd reached zero before the cross, very possibly. If it reached zero while the ball was in the air, I would not have. But what I would have done is irrelevant to your game--the R was 100% within his rights to have done so. For my money, what is most important for an R is to have a philosophy and follow it--that is what's fair to both teams. (There are some on here who disagree and think there is only one answer--someone will likely post that the R in your game was clearly right and that is the only proper way to time--on the "defense shouldn't have to defend longer theory.)
Had a fantastic weekend. Three games on Saturday: On the first one, I was an AR for a U14B State Cup game with a former MLS referee in the middle. Game went off without a hitch. Center ref gave me some helpful advice on calling fouls as an AR. The second game I was in the middle for another U14B State Cup match. I was super nervous at first, but luckily I had two adult ARs who are very knowledgeable and experienced. Game ended 3-0. I made a couple small mistakes near the end, but luckily they didn't affect the game at all. Both ARs and one of the state referee instructors told me that I was too static and that I needed to move more even when I have a clear view (sidestepping, etc.). But other than that I did very well. Last game of the day was a U19 Coed center. This game was being played on the same size field that the U13 teams use, so it was not very big. I thought I would get a lot of crap from the players because of my age and size, but everything went smoothly other than one player who whined every few minutes about my calls. The funny thing is that I have reffed with him before! Pretty physical game that ended 3-2. I was very surprised by how well I did. My foul recognition was spot-on. Got compliments from both coaches at the end of the game. I'm glad I got out of my comfort zone and accepted this assignment.
Did a very last minute favor for my assignor last night and took two U18 matches, one AR, one CR. AR was easy, no problems. Second match, my center, was between two brother teams at the same club and it was clear they didn't like each other. Needless to say, it was an absolute gem of nastiness, at least most of it from one team. 17' dissent from a kiddo on white who was incredulous about the fact that he can't complain however he wants about whatever he wants. He wouldn't quit, so got the caution. 28' white GK sent off for a really obvious DOGSO. Then, GK has to be restrained by teammates because he's about as mad as a person get be and he's trying to get in my face etc... 36th minute, have to dismiss an Assistant Coach for dissent, and he doesn't understand how he can be dismissed without multiple warnings. I asked him to stop and he cranked it up immediately. He refuses to leave, instead yelling "What's your name?" and only leaves after a little bit of posturing and being told we don't continue till he leaves the area. HT - White coach tells us he's upset that he wasn't getting answers to his questions. I told him I hadn't heard any questions. he says he tried to ask if he could sub out his cautioned player, I told him I couldn't hear him over his players. He states that my AR should have falgged me down, AR also states that he couldn't hear him. Coach upset, but leaves. Rest of match is much, much better, at least from the teams playing soccer over trying to play Wrestlemania. but, they're still pretty upset over fouls etc... naturally. 76' team from black wants a foul while he's attacking, I don't give it, so he yells "F***ing BUlls***!" So I call his number and dismiss him for OFINABUS, he takes one step to the sindeline, turns back and screams "YOU F***ING SUCK!" and tantrums his way to the parking lot while throwing his shinguards at the bench. Post-match is fun. Black player's coach/dad apologizes for his behavior and surrenders card with no argument. White team doesn't want to surrender player card, but does and then really doesn't want to surrender coach's card. After explaining how it's better for them if they do, they acquiesce. As I'm getting the card a parent walks over, cracks his knuckles and asks in what I think is a threatening manner "We need any help over here?" I ignore him, he asks if it's my first match "Not by a long shot." He responds "could have fooled me" as I walk away with card in hand. As I wait for the lot to clear with my AR for safety, one car stops, yelling "Ref, you should watch the game on TV, YOU SUCK!" (a white team's parent) Then, the dismissed coach pulls by and yells "Hey, Spencer, YOU F***ING SUCK!" and speeds away. These are just the highlights. Good grief. I never felt like there was a safety issue for us until post-match, but it was squirrely. So, now I have several pages of supplemental reports written at midnight, and a whole sack of regret. No good deed goes unpunished, right? Fun note: On another field at a sep. location a colleague has nearly the same, exact, identical issues with a team from the SAME CLUB. Extra fun note: Both teams claim to have a tournament this weekend in KC and really would like to keep their cards. If my kid acted like that on a Thursday night before we leave for a weekend tourney....wow...we'd have ourselves a nice learning moment
Woof. Yeah, in my experience, when it goes south it really goes south. Thats not fun. Hopefully that league and D&P Committee do the right thing. Thats a team and set off parents that should get hammered for its behavior.
Boy after reading that *I* want to send in a report. Hang in there. At worst, situations like this prepare you for dealing with things you can't control, and sometimes in the aftermath you can find things that if (not) said or done might head off future repeats. But at the end of the day, stupid is as stupid does. Just curious---you don't keep cards before the match?
So for a game like that, would it help if you have a recorder? I have a small flash recorder that I use to record a pregame interview for a high school football broadcast I do. I never had as bad of altercations as @Spencedawgmillionaire but I wonder if he had a flash recorder like that and let it run from before opening whistle to after postgame. I imagine it would help me write up a report and help the assignor know just how bad it got.
Absolutely. This, somehow, reminds me of a game that I assessed at youth Regionals one year. U-16 boys Neither set of coaches were exactly positive role models. Young referee, maybe 19 or 20. Warm day, too and the game went to OT. Mass confrontation in the last two minutes of OT, after what proved to be the winning goal was scored, started by the scoring team. The tournament staff swooped down in golf carts and hauled off the crew at the final whistle. They had some writing to do..... That evening, I told them we'd do our debrief after the instruction time. I think it was Kevin Stott who showed an extended clip from a State Cup game, in which a PK situation led to a brawl, the kicker having gone to the keeper to "shake hands" before the kick and words were exchanged, which escalated from there. Later, we started the debrief and I asked the referee, "Did any of the guys in that clip Kevin showed look familiar?" "What do you mean?" "That was the team you refereed today." "No shit?????" "No shit." "NO SHITTTTTT???????!!!!!!!" "The tiger does not change his stripes."
We don't keep cards before matches, anymore. Something to do with making it easier to not deal with coaches after every match, but it has the opposite effect. I did spend a lot of time during the match reconsidering any bias and being mindful of emotional attachment to certain things. I felt really good about how I handled things and stopped myself short a bunch of times in reacting when I shouldn't. "Is saying this going to help things? Is it needed?". It helped tremendously...learned it here. When I get into tough matches, I remember a match from last fall that was tremendously difficult and I feel better. From this point forward, I'll use this match. I always thought it would be really helpful to have a button camera at all times, but can't imagine the logistics of it all. I'd forget to turn it on, anyway. If anything, it would be a great self-teaching tool.