all player important, and coach also important. why you wish for someone important any more. you look in mirror, what you see? referee who nail call, yes? that player, that coach always remember you, i also remember you make correct decison, and i not important.
HS GV game. Low level game with my favorite "boot it" coach. Home team goes up 1-0 early, Time keeper doesn't stop the time right away because she is cheering the score. Then she sees me with my arms in the "X" and stops time about 4 seconds later. I figure it probably isn't that big of a deal. Until visiting team is makes a last second push and a High bouncing ball gets headed by the away team over the keeper who came out to challenge for the ball. ball bounces two more times into the back of the net @ 44:52 of the first half . I looked at her at half time and said it was glad she didn't score 8 seconds later because I still would've had 4 seconds on my watch. She has a daughter on home team and is a really good timekeeper so I was just fooling with her. So 1-1 starting second half. Home "boot it" coach is grumbling about some shoulder to shoulder tackles in which her girls fall down. I give him one look at just say, "shoulder challenge coach". Well unfortunately in the 82nd minute a ball in the air in PA of away team, two girls jump to head the ball. Home girl lands on foot bad, rolls ankle. I hear the "pop" and immediately blow my whistle because she is screaming in pain. I turn to beckon on trainer and coach and the trainer and time keeper are already 5-6 yard on the field running to player. Turns out the girl that got injured was timekeepers daughter. Anyway, here comes boot it coach that walks towards me instead of his player who is still sobbing in pain. Before he says a word I say "Tend to your player coach". He says "This is what happens when you don't call fouls!". Player on ground yells at the coach, "The other girl never touched me!, I landed bad!". I just turn around and go talk to my AR about the restart and to correct the time because it was still running. Game over Home team 3-1. Girl was being taken to hospital after game for a check up, trainer didn't think it was anything more than a bad sprain. Timekeeper thanked me after the game for a good game. Mr. Boot it never made it over. I didn't lose any sleep over it.
Last weekend was our State Cup preliminary matches, and I had an interesting weekend. Had a bit of a light schedule this season because my day job (which pays JUST SLIGHTLY better…) than my refereeing habit has had me on the road a lot, so getting preliminary assignments was a nice privilege. Saturday, U14 Boys State Cup. I’m CR, and a good match – both teams are respecting the game and each other. Blue team leads Green 1-0 for a while, but with 10 minutes to go Green ties it up; it’s a ball game. Things go back and forth the remainder of the match. Going into stoppage time Green gets a CK. As stoppage time is winding down this CK isn’t converted, and we’re left with a Blue GK. I’m thinking “ok, kid, just put this goal kick in the air and I’ll likely whistle for time.” Blue Goalie runs up to take the kick, slips and toe pokes the ball out of the PA to a waiting Green player who one-touches it into the empty net. That side’s AR and I stood in place, jaws open. Did we just see that? Needless to say we then kickoff – I give Blue the opportunity to mount an attack but they’re clearly shell-shocked. They lose possession and as Green is mounting a powerful counter I whistle for full time. A shocking ending to a good match that, in the spirit of the game, should’ve ended 1-1. The goalie was inconsolable despite our best efforts. Sunday I was happily surprised with an assessor who flew in from Seattle (apparently he’s a friend of our SRA’s? I don’t know) who observed the first half and part of the second half of the U17G President’s Cup match I centered. While it wouldn’t have even been a ratable match for an assessment, I appreciated the pointers he gave – I took the opportunity in the second half to try to break some old habits. Definitely a yin/yang weekend.
Refereed for an ODP tournament this weekend, and it's been a blast. Such high-skill, clean (but intense) games. Was center on a GU14 game today that was intense but I felt really good about the game I called.
Did a U14 game with two ARs that were doing their first game. Somehow managed to hit 8.3km in the game. And now I hurt.
I may be getting a little too old for these 3 day tournaments now. Anyway, I have a classic. I worked two different tournaments, one a very high level, and another at shall we say a different level. The high level one was calm composed soccer, the other was the WC Final in parental/coach intensity. I hated it. But, I do have a story that I can tell for years. It's U11 boys. (A little bit too intense, too). One team is from an urban area, and we are way out in the country. I am AR2, and we are in the second half when the biggest wild turkey I have ever seen comes sprinting past me at top gear. Play is on the far side, near the benches and the referee has no clue that the turkey is on the field. The turkey cuts in over the half way line and makes a beeline for the poor 'keeper at the far end. He screams and runs as fast as he can to his bench to get out of the way, narrowly avoiding the charging turkey. Finally, everyone gets the attention of the referee who stops play. The turkey was onside (he had started his run in his own end). But a fowl occurred on the play. (Couldn't resist.)
I had my first coach dismissal this weekend, in U-13 boys. To be honest, I'm surprised that I went this long before it happened. I must say that I like the technical areas being marked for state cup finals weekend. AR1 had been working the coach all first half trying to get him to stay in the technical area. In the second half after complaining about a call and hearing him out, I said, "Hey do me a favor and head back to your technical area." Five minutes later, he's up yelling about another foul call, "Coach, I've asked you now I'm telling you. You need to return to your technical area." With two minutes remaining I award a foul 30 yards from goal. The goalkeeper misjudges and the ball goes straight through his hands and into the back of the net, 2-2. I turn to walk up field, 69th minute, and the coach is up, at midfield, with his arms in the air, yelling. The consensus among the referee admin was that he needed to go.
We generally don't have anything marked off. After having to run onto the field to avoid a crazy coach one match and asking him a few times to step back I'd had enough. At a stoppage I turned and said "look, I know it's hard and I know you're passionate about coaching your kids, but if I have to ask you to step back again, we're going to have a much bigger problem. I don't want to miss an offside call for your team because I'm trying to avoid you. When I'm having this problem when I'm coaching (I don't), I stand behind the bench, it helps my perspective, maybe try that mmmmkay?"
Wait, based on what you've said, you'd only be taken down the pointiest of pointy ball coaches. Or would it be they be called the roundest.
Two centers tonight, U13 boys then U16 girls, both middle competitive level. In the boys game, other than offside, handling, and an illegal throw in, I called a grand total of one contact foul during the match. Figured the girls game will make up for it. In the girls game, other than offside, handling, and a double touch on a kickoff (!), I called a grand total of one contact foul in that match too. I figure next week will make up for it .
That feeling when you have been assigned eleven games Saturday with the only break being the five minutes at halftime and five minutes in between games.
Yeah, I'd be fluent in the red "X" in gotsoccer for those games... In better news, my Valkeen arrived in today's mail. Happy belated birthday to me!
In my humble experience, when you can't remember if this is the first or second half of the game, you're doing too many games today.
U-13 through U-19 It is a tournament, and the assignor sent out an email Tuesday saying he needed extra help this weekend, so I said sure why not. I didn't realize he needed this much help. First game starts at 7am last game ends a little after 9pm.
And his willingness to do this to referees goes along way to explaining why he needs this much help. Although I suppose the tournament organizer needs his share of blame as well.
...and stupid! (okay, naive, as in, "I can do this!"). Let us know how you're feeling the day after (and what you've learned!)
There seem to be double and triple that amount of tournaments going on in my area now. And, instead of going one man on small sided games, the teams/parents/coaches are looking for 3man crews on the the 11/12 year old matches. So, an assignor needs triple the number of people.