go to 8:40 on the game clock in the first half...did I get this PK call correct? https://sportsengineplay.com/Local-...-2025-09-10?video_id=68c2094f046442743b106fe8 Coach was extremely unhappy with my call and was sent off.
I have a high bar for a PK, but even I'm whistling that. He went in for an unnecessary slide tackle just seconds earlier. Seems like your typical mid-level varsity foul where the player has little self control.
In AZ we do OT for regular season ... every year at our kickoff meeting our State Board says they tried to get OT abolished with no luck. I've never found an AD or Coach who likes it so unclear where the resistance to change comes from.
Thanks, I was 99.9% sure of the call at the time and then with the Coach being dismissed that really had me second-guessing myself. Watching the replay gave me some comfort.
yeah, the attacker did fall over a bit easy, but the contact was pretty clear and I was actually in a decent position to see it.
I don't understand people who join ANY board, whether it be a Zoning Board, Board of Ed, or anything, who are SO resistant to change. What is the purpose of being on it other than some feeling of being important? I could see if 80% of the games are decided in OT and having stats showing that many of those are decided in the first overtime to justify it. It seems that it's folks who are out of touch with reality. I would love to be in one of these meetings to see how someone can justify keeping student athletes out on a school night for another 30 minutes (on top of these school bus delays) for the result to remain a tie. My experience is the same that the AD's who are well spoken and respected don't want OT. Not only for the reasons mentioned, but it's bumping into youth travel programs who have permits starting at 6:00 p.m.
This doesn't surprise me, for many reasons. One is your partner is probably 50 yards from play and doesn't have the angle. The best answer would have been "You were best positioned to see if it was a flop or if the contact from behind justified it being a foul" and leave it at that. I have to add that it doesn't seem he was very helpful to get the coach to refrain from the initial yelling which could have avoided the ejection since he's on the technical area side.
Player goes for wild slide overshooting ball that would have been a PK if he made contact. Gets up and a second later pushes through back of same attacker. Shocked face when a PK is called. Of course it’s a PK And the coach’s reaction doesn’t matter at all whatsoever. Of course a coach is going to be upset at a penalty happening against his team.
I witnessed what is almost certainly an ACL tear and at least an ACL sprain (heard the trainer assessment behind me).
In NY, regular season OT is 2X10 minute sudden death. KFTPM are added for the playoffs. In season tournaments can change the OT/KFTPM rules, but if there is nothing written down it reverts to 2X10 minute sudden death followed by KDTPM. We did change a couple years ago though. It used to be that boys soccer was sudden death and girls was a full 2X10 minutes.
Direct free kick foul in the penalty area by the defending team = a penalty kick You were in the right position to make the call.
Not a horror story but.... Last night's varsity girls' game, after doing the JV game on a horrible field, which was lumpy, bumpy, and feeling like it hadn't had any water in five months, with a dual partner who asked before the game what the high school rules are (Oy!) and who blew the whistle twice in the entire game. 7-0 for the home team, who passed the ball around for the last 15 minutes so they wouldn't hit 8-0 and that would have ended the game. The varsity game was far more competitive. Play is moving away quickly and I start a really good sprint (at least in my mind) but, two steps in, I suddenly feel an ankle around my right ankle and I'm going down. A girl behind me had also started a sprint and ended up accidently tripping me. I've got turf burn on both knees but, fortunately, no blood. Then we've got a visiting team player get tagged in the forehead with a ball from about eight yards away. The ball rebounds and she is just standing there, so I move away, but look back to check on her. She is just staring, not moving. I go back and ask her, again, "Are you okay.?" Another player yells at me "You have to check on her!!!!" I told her that's what I'm doing. The player who was hit is still just staring, so I stopped play and called on the visiting coach and home trainer. I've never experienced that kind of reaction to a head shot before. And then, with 90 seconds left in a 1-3 game, the visiting keeper grabs a long ball and I'm backing away, anticipating a long punt to just get the ball as far away from her as possible. I glance over and AR2 has his flag up. What? I stop play and the clock and go over to him. It seems that she had dropped the ball and then picked it up again. The dreaded IFK in the penalty area, going in. Lots of confusion by the players. I get the ball down maybe 12 yards out and start getting the defenders back. Just as I'm getting them back, after explaining a couple of times what was wrong, the keeper picks up the ball and carries it way out towards the corner of the penalty area!!! "Keeper! What do you think you're doing????" "It was over there." I go back to AR2 and he confirms that's where it belonged. So double bad on me, for not having noticed the double touch and not sorting out where it should have been. Attackers kicked the ball well wide of the goal. After the game, AR1 reported that, when I blew the whistle, the coach said "Shit! He saw it." So one of those very rare occasions when the perps know that something pretty unusual and technical should be called against them.
NFHS 2 man system and we are at the half. I see my referee partner is within the home team bench area talking to a player. Having yellow carded the home team coach in their prior match, I am not going over. Fast forward to the second half and I now have the bench side of the pitch and I am directly in front of the away team bench area when I see a postage sized shinguard come out and laying on the pitch about 10 yards away from me. Home team player comes over and puts the shinguard back into place. Away team Coach approaches me very quietly and professionally, hey referee did you happen to notice the size of that shinguard? I said, well not exactly Coach I am attempting to concentrate as best I can on the run of play. He then very quietly and professionally approached the home team coach and says, I don't know if you happened to see and I just wanted to try and prevent you from getting a yellow card, but I do not believe that shinguard is legal and proper equipment. So then home team bellows out loudly in my direction, you need to speak to the referee as HIS partner clearly inspected those shinguards at halftime and deemed them to be legal and proper. End of match, I ask my partner...did you fully inspect shinguards at halftime? He says no, well not really...I asked the home team player if he was wearing shinguards, the player patted his socks and it made the sound confirming he was wearing shinguards. So in one fell swoop, the home team coach avoided the yellow and also managed to throw my referee partner completely under the bus.
Yesterday, my band played at a block party in DC, and I saw a young woman wearing the official shorts we referees all wear. I asked her how long she had been reffing. She said she did a little when she was young, and she was getting back into it now because she, like so many in the DC area, got laid off in "the horrors," as she called it. So ... silver lining? DOGE may solve our referee shortages? I'm also a substitute teacher, and I'm seeing the impact there as well. Opening for daily sub shifts are taken in seconds of their appearance on our apps.
Just as with other aspects of reaction/response, it's going to come down to what happens out in the provinces
In this case, DC is hit the hardest, but there are federal workers everywhere. Other industries are going to be hit by the current upheaval -- some by tariffs, some by an inability to export, etc. A few areas may have industries that find a way to adapt. I'm sure we'd all love to hope that only a handful of professionals are relying on money from refereeing to stay afloat financially. For one thing, to make enough money as a ref, you have to take a lot of games -- maybe 5, 6, even 7 or 8 in a given day. It's impossible to do that many games and (A) be able to keep up with play and (B) maintain focus. (If you're doing U-9 and U-10, sure, but those are shorter games and accordingly pay less.) This is a much better side gig than a main gig. Hope it stays that way -- again, except for a handful of pros.
About 20 years ago I met a ref in our area who was out of work, and was taking a lot of games. I let him have one of my positions (there was some confusion on who was actually assigned).
I spent part of the weekend in a neighboring state on a multi-field facility which is notorious for having non-certified referees (no I didn't officiate with them). They didn't disappoint this time either and have actually evolved. Instead of wearing older badges or not wearing one, which stands out with a huge black spot, one younger referee was proud to show me that his badge was a "fake" for an ECNL match. The assignor is aware and has been doing this for a long time. All of the imposters fall between the 18-25 year age bracket. The local referees tell me that the SRA, SYRA, etc are all aware but not concerned that folks are officiating without having recerts and masquerading as referees. I'm unsure if any road teams are aware this is going on. Is Kari Seitz still out there?
It seems like more effort to create and/or acquire a fake badge than take a recert class, but that's just me