Precisely why the current instructions are not effective will take a lot of effort to figure the cause-effect relationships; however, in the US, the parent federation has recently, sort of, decentralised its operations, so at the state/region level, the powers that are could have their own version of the training. It will be specific to the leagues that the state/province/region serves, and I cannot believe those chaps in charge need certified or licensed instructors. I mean, here we are, I pick up things from this forum, and I apply it to my matches, just as others, to improve, be more effective and efficient on the pitch. We dont need canned instructions packages to come from the very top, we can and should have our own methods.
While I agree in principle to this thought, in practice there are reasons to have some oversight to "our own methods". Specifically, consistency across not just localaties but the whole of referees is very important. Also insuring that what we are teaching is correct and current, and the precise and proper language is used is essential. Now, this oversight should not be so restrictive as to not allow what you are talking about at all and hopefully your State Committee or Director of Instruction are easy to work with and open to these local initiatives but I would highly recommend involving them.
Muaha....reminds me of Boy's Jv match. Defender (I coached prev.) leaped up to prevent a sure goal by batting ball away. He quickly ran to me, got on his knees and begged me not to send him off. After everyone finished laughing he was escorted from the pitch. Yes....he was the team clown!
We had a "non-RTS" training event this weekend in Renton WA. The Washington State Referee Committee hosted this event for Oregon and Washington referees who aspire to do games at the Development Academy level and above this year, the games that are normally assigned by the LAC. Steve Olsen was the instructor and he did a great job, assisted by Josh Patlak and Sandy Hunt. We did the physical fitness test on Saturday afternoon/evening for about 125 referees. (35/40, 6.6) Only about seven failures. Our state had 36 referees taking the test and 35 passed. (The other guy had a hamstring issue before he started but he did make five laps before dropping out.) A good showing and solid instruction. Meanwhile, back home, youth games continued, albeit with depleted numbers of referees. We had an abandoned game after an irate mom was disrupting the game with verbal abuse of, first, the AR2 and then the referee. The referee did make the mistake of trying to deal with her himself, rather than through the coach. She would not pipe down, and she ultimately said that she was going to have the referee arrested for assaulting her by breathing on her! The referee, rightly, terminated the game, at which point she stomped off to "call a [f-word] cop." This was an all unimportant U-12 boys game. We had another game with a parent approaching the referee crew at half time demanding to know their names, since he was filming the game because "your calls are wrong!" They declined to provide them. U-12 girls. U-14 boys game had a parent removed by their son's coach and the referee crew verbally assaulted in the parking lot by another parent after the game. Get a grip people! Do we need a separate thread, "Worst story of the week?"
My 14 year old daughter is interested in officiating. I brought her to the meeting last night and she filled out the paperwork. The meeting was mainly about NFHS and she will work wreck...er...rec league games. So she heard advice about spectators and where to park at each school in case they have to "ref and run." She asked me on the drive home if she had to worry about that and I said no, that 99.9% of the time the parents are very good at the rec games I work. I hope she enjoys it and sticks with it. Far too often the turnover is numerous the first year.
if this is how you treat your daughter, hate to imagine what you would do to some teenager punk who shows up at your door asking to date her!
Actually, I have analyzed our referee database for when turnover (i.e. not re-registering for the next year) occurs. The turnover rate for first year referees is not significantly different than the average. That's not to say that there aren't new referees who get into it and then realize it isn't for them. But, on the average, first years are as likely to stay as second years. The largest single factor connected with turnover is graduating from high school.
That is interesting. For me, it isn't that surprising. Growing up in Chicago, most high school kids didn't have cars because they didn't need them (I biked to games). If college isn't in a dense metro area, you'd need a car to get to games.
Ran outside today for the first time in months - it's in the 60s and sunny here and the last of the snowpack is melting away. Bad news is I need to get a lot more runs in before the season starts. Winter was not kind to my waistline.
Same here, though I was surprised how kind it was to my cardiovascular system. I ran a modified (aka "easy") version of the interval test (132 yards/45 seconds, 66 yards/45 seconds, 20 times) twice within 12 hours, and never started breathing heavy. The only thing stopping me from going faster was the muscle soreness!
I'm going stir crazy! It's gorgeous outside today, and nearly 50 degrees. But, the snow has left the fields unplayable, and a major rain storm is coming for the weekend, so once again...no matches this weekend. Already called off in advance. The winter was so cold that the ground was frozen solid, and when the snow finally melted, it has turned into mush at the top layer of the ground. I don't think we'll play on grass for another couple of weeks!
My condolences. Yesterday I refereed my 20th and 21st games this year. 70 degrees and short sleeves again. I've not worn long sleeves all year.
^^^^^ Red Card! How are the rest of us supposed to deal with this kind of attitude. We're expecting 60's & sun for the weekend.
What do you need long sleeves for? Tomorrow, it's expected to get down to 60, but 90 most of the day.
Years ago, I was doing an O-30 men's national cup semi-final, in 85 degrees. The referee, who had been a FIFA in Costa Rica, said, "We wear long sleeves. Is more elegant, don't you think?"
Ah, if only we could get long sleeves (or even short sleeves!) that were really designed for those high temperatures . . .
I'm on turf in upstate NY tomorrow for a U-15 match ( one team is coming up from NJ). 40 degrees and rain. Yipee. Last March almost every game I did was in the 20's.
We have non-competitive spring season here, so I decided to try out coaching. It's pretty fun. I got to center a BU10 game in the morning, coach my team, then center for another BU12 game. As a newbie center (~40 centers under by belt), I figured something important out. It's very important to relax during the game. When I get excited or "pumped" I get tunnel vision and focus on a limited area. Once I relax, I can take in the whole game/area. When I had my game as a coach, the referee comes over and introduces himself as new with only 5 times as center. I told him that's fine since this is non-competitive season. Later on in the game, he blows his whistle on a "perceived" foul and says, "Nevermind! Sorry!" I shout to my midfielder, "take the drop kick" in a effort to remind about the proper restart.
First game of year, AR2 in U15B regional travel league. I have an "oh, crap, I've lost the 2LD" moment, and in the split second after I find him, I hear two thuds and see the ball pass into my field of vision, left background to right foreground, into touch just to my right. Whatever look I gave the R must have been something, because he smiled and laughed audibly as he signaled the direction of restart.
I wear long sleeves in the summer when I'm solo. I agree that it looks nicer, and minimizes sun exposure. Plus, it maximizes the amount of time before I have to do laundry by doubling the number of shirts available. I wouldn't force anyone else to wear long sleeves, though. Even now that we are "expected" to match, I'd feel silly enforcing it. P.S. 3 centers, 6 ARs this weekend in a tournament with 25 minute halves. 19.3 miles total, and somehow I felt better in the later games than in the earlier ones!