Years ago my daughter was playing at a field complex near a commercial "picnic park", which sometimes had bands playing and other entertainment....
I think the only time it makes a difference is if the thrower suddenly throws in the ball from an unexpected distance back from the touchline in...
I try to make a habit of telling everyone how much stoppage time I plan to add. If there is reason to add additional time during that allotted...
When my oldest daughter played, she had a pair of coaches who spoke/shouted to the players on the field, but almost never to the player with the...
I thought that the goal-scorer was offside. The AR was able to line up with the restraining line because it was a free kick. He may have been...
There is a story I have heard about Mia Hamm or another WNT player who was the beneficiary of a whistle after being fouled, but wanted to play...
I wear glasses when I ref. I usually just say something to the kid about being sympathetic with their need to wear glasses, that I am letting...
I am going to try to stake out a middle position on this. Being a sports official of any kind is not a low-pressure job for the faint of heart....
It doesn't happen often (player quieting the coach), and when it does I always make a point of thanking the player. I can't say for sure that...
I always enjoy it when I have made a call, the coach protests loudly, and the player involved quietly tells the coach "he got it right...". This...
I think it is one thing if a kid handles the ball and then acts like he just grabbed a hot potato, or it looks like the handling was instinctive,...
Yeah, I was pretty emphatic that I saw it and was not calling it. It helped that I was 20 feet away, and clearly saw it. Also, my call was...
I am going to open myself up to cyber-scrutiny... I did a U-12 second division boys game yesterday. It was a generally clean game, fairly...
One of the reasons GKs often believe that they have to protect themselves is that it is often hard for a referee to see through the mass of bodies...
One thing to think about is whether the player who has fallen is trying to get up, but being prevented from doing so by an opponent. After some...
Re: wind-blown goal The point I was trying to make above is that the goals on the field being used in your game may not be the only ones causing...
Re: it happens... I did a women's game this spring on a HS field. I had the teams place equipment bags on the backs of the goal frames, because...
Re: foul The foul occurs when the goalkeeper picks up the ball. The goalkeeper cannot pick up a ball that is intentionally passed by a...
Agreed... remember, it is perfectly legal to kick the ball back to ones own goalkeeper. The infraction occurs when the goalkeeper handles the...
I find myself looking too early, and then missing the (properly) late AR flag. this is a habit I am working hard to break.
I tried an experiment this year. I had a U-15 boys game where one team did not have enough players to make an official game, but the other team...
The area of confusion comes with the verbal aspect..."you take the kick", etc. Verbal deception is considered unsporting behavior in soccer,...
That is good AR/CR mechanics. I had occasion to use the same mechanics in a somewhat more embarrasing situation last weekend. High level U-14B...
Re: stoppage time Games with limited substitutions are quite different than typical youth games with unlimited subs. I usually do not add any...
field turf and similar products My local HS has just installed a Sprinturf field; artificial grass filled with rubber pellets. I have watched...