Were you at the men’s or women’s event? I was in FW at the women’s event and had the opposite experience. Worked with mostly great (a few just okay), very professional referees. Referee coaches were present and engaged. Several comments from head coaches about the level of referees at the event. Pre-match briefings were purposeful and informative and made expectations clear. I thought it was a good event.
It was a youth event, so no men or women were playing. It was all girls and yes, I saw with my own eyes a referee eating a breakfast sandwich during a game at the ECNL girls at the FC Dallas complex in Frisco. And what looked like a referee coach was sitting on the bleachers close enough to see it. I did not approach him but he had to have noticed.
Got back into playing rec league as goalkeeper this season. 2nd game of the season. 1v1, attacker rounds me and steps on my ankle while shooting. I go out with injury with a bruised and swollen ankle with blood on the left, swelling on the right. Will probably have to give up my UPSL whistle this Saturday. We'll see. But, my wife has forbade me from playing and.... I agree. (Goal stood because it was a foul on me but that's another story...)
My second game back to playing gk Over-30, a striker full body checked me after I cleared the ball. I hadn't inhaled because I was out of practice so everything in my torso stretched and contorted. I couldn't sit up from lying down without rolling to my stomach first for 2-3 weeks. I stopped playing when going for my national badge because of exactly what @weka had happen. I'd step onto the field, look at the referee, and decided if I would play hard, or bail out of challenges. Was it the hard a$$ that cared about sock color but I knew called lots of fouls in the midfield so I knew nobody would try a cheap shot on me, or was it someone I didn't know who looked like this was the most competitive adult game they've done and they don't run, so field players are going to try to sneak a cheap shot in the PA.
The moral of these stories is us old boys shouldn't be trying to play soccer and hope to stay healthy to referee as well? Last Tuesday in my over 45 mens league, I pulled or strained a groin or quad muscle in the 5th minute trying to score by opening up my hip to put ball into the far post. Couldn't run after that, but have been able to walk and squat, so it is not that bad. Just turned 53 this weekend, trying to tell myself I just need to spend 5-10 more minutes warming up before playing...
The recreational youth club where I started had a coaches' game at the end of the season. I showed up a little late one time. We were playing short so I came on at the next stoppage. With my first step after the restart, I pulled my left calf, just above the Achilles. I hobbled off and went home. Limped around for two or three days after that. We subsequently had a winter season co-ed league for coaches and other adults. I distinctly remember a Super Bowl Sunday where we were scheduled to play. The temperature was in the higher 30's, it was sprinkling and the field was very, very muddy, like mud coming over the tops of your shoes. The guys wanted to just bag it and go home. The women wanted to play. We played. My best friend and his wife were playing. She got taken out, in the penalty area, by a guy who, to be fair, was falling down in the muddiest part of the field. She thereby joined both of her daughters as having had knee surgery due to soccer.
These stories are why these adult recreational leagues (frequently coed) are so frustrating. I get that it’s a good way for these adults to stay active and meet people too. But things go wrong a decent amount in them, even with slide tackling usually banned. I only have one of these leagues that I ref a decent amount in, and it has two divisions: over 30 (which includes plenty of 20s year olds) and over 40. Problems include: - Some of the 20s guys play this league like they’re in college or UPSL, to the point there are some players I tell them are in the wrong league for the type of soccer they want to play - If a woman ever goes down in a challenge with a man even a completely fair one everyone gets bent out of shape, not to mention women thinking they can do whatever they want to the men - Widely varying skill levels and seeing lower skilled players try to cheap shot the skilled players, even in over 40s, then confrontations start It’s the reason why I give out plenty of cards even SPA cards in an adult recreational league, and why the assignor will put me on expected intense games, and why the players know that if I show up that shit will be held in check even if they think I’m too much of a hardass
That’s why I won’t do them. I’d rather do a U9 rec game than an adult rec game. The money isn’t worth it and the soccer is sometimes about the same level. The injuries aren’t nearly as serious.
YMMV. I have no problem with doing adult co-ed games. Unfortunately, our summer adult co-ed league pretty much collapsed in Covid. Rule number one is no card, no play. Number two is to figure out who came with whom. They're the one who going to retaliate after what they feel is too physical a foul on their significant other. And, yes, I have seen a woman go after a guy who had gone in too hard on her husband. Number three. When there is contact, do that quick mental check about who the two players are. Two former college players? Let them be a bit more physical. Man on a woman who is pretty much just there because her husband or wife is playing? Tweet. Adjust the level of contact you allow for each challenge, rather than trying to set a single level for the whole game. Four. Be quietly instructive, as necessary, rather than just whistle and point. A quick fly by, sotto voce, with the perp. "Hey, we all gotta go to work tomorrow." Or, after a repeat too physical contact by the same guy, talk to the team manager or even the perp, suggesting that they should mark somebody else for a while, so you can avoid giving the PI card. Unlike with teenagers, most adults appreciate an adult to adult approach to game management.
Playing wise, I played once a week indoors (futsal ball) in our town and the facility was shut down for a FULL YEAR because of COVID. Once it reopened, we lost a ton of guys who gained weight or lost interest. I miss when we used to have 4 rotating teams and played for several hours until late at night. Now it's hit or miss. Officiating wise, I used to do a town adult league because the fee was ridiculously high in a wealthy suburb and impossible to turn down. Once we hit COVID, folks got more "aggressive" (some newcomers joined) and started whining about the easiest calls, so I stopped doing them altogether. Meanwhile, I did a morning mini-adult tournament between sanctioned teams on Sunday (season starts this weekend) and didn't have a single issue, but you have a town league with whiners. Go figure.
I'm now 58. Still play once a week during the outdoor season (May-October) in an O-40 league. I've held up pretty well, probably why my team hasn't gotten rid of me yet. I'm one of the few that usually make it 90 without getting hurt or needing a sub. Will still do 2-3 matches afterwards on the Sunday afternoons. Have finally been reconsidering as Mondays (and Tuesdays) have become the issue with soreness. I force myself to the gym to do the daily WOD on Mondays if just to get moving.
Where were you when I was playing O-50? Went in for one match, way too many guys thinking there were MLS scouts watching, as they played way over the top. That was my last match in an organized league. Now, I just play pick-up with the same folks each week. All ages, but everyone understands that we all need to go to work on Monday, so even when there are accidental collisions, everyone involved stops for a second, makes sure the other person is OK, apologize, and go back to having a fun kick-around.
I did finally decide to give up my UPSL whistle on March 14 and my two adult games on Mar 22. My potential date to return is March 28, so we'll see. Time to do some exercises ... but man if I'm not bummed. As the saying goes.... There's always another game.
Ever have a game where you're just ... bad? Didn't get much sleep last night which is always a danger sign for me. U15 MLS Next, should have been an easy game. No cards and only a handful of fouls. 1st half I saw contact, brought my whistle up to my mouth, and ... changed my mind. AR didn't react but not his fault (at half he said he was focused on a tight offside decision and didn't really see the play). That's on me. Not sure why I didn't mark the foul. 2nd half ball in the blue PA. White attacker goes for the ball and misses, it's going right towards a blue defender. I assume blue is going to play out so I mostly stopped paying attention and turned. Defender botches the clearance and gets tangled with the white attacker. Apparently everyone in the building but me saw blue trip white. Play was to my left so too far away for either AR to credibly jump in and save me. &(&*()*$@ It was already 3-0 white and ended 6-0 so no real impact. But I screwed up twice. White coach was incredibly understanding post-match. Sigh. Back at it next weekend, I'll do better then.
This is one of the reasons I never argued or got mad at a referee. We all have our good days and our bad days, and it's often with no rhyme or reason. A bad referee doesn't reflect on the match, and makes the same bad calls over and over. A good referee, does exactly what you are doing, make a mental note of the items and work on them for next time. Good on you!!!
First official MLS NEXT game in a few years. U19. What a surprise. 4 yellows within 2 minutes Oh, the 53rd minute? Reckless challenge, and the player who got tackled didn’t have shin guards on at all. Didn’t put them on after halftime. First time I have ever given a YC for this but I had to. It never ends for me.
Oh well. Notice that besides the stupid equipment one, everything was reckless or SPA, and all were expected by the players. Even got a few thanks after the game for keeping relative control. I really debated it. I’ve never done it before. It was the player who got reckless tackled on the AR2 touch line, and everyone started yelling about how he doesn’t have shin guards, “ref of course he got hurt, look he has no shin guards on! That’s a yellow!” While he was going all the way across the field to the bench to get them (confirming they didn’t fall off on the field), I went and consulted with my AR1 who is very experienced… I asked him “you think I should caution for this? I’ve never had this happen before”, and he said that given it’s after halftime so he deliberately came on without them, having to completely delay the restart of the match, and the temperature of the match, even something like this might have degraded match control. So that was why I gave it. You think this is a misapplication of the laws? Because it doesn’t appear that IFAB says what to do in this situation. With jewelry improper equipment, it specifies to caution them. All law 4.2 says is “A player whose footwear or shinguard is lost accidentally must replace it as soon as possible and no later than when the ball next goes out of play; if before doing so the player plays the ball and/or scores a goal, the goal is awarded.” but this shin guard wasn’t lost accidentally, it was deliberately not worn. What do you guys think, did I do a stupid inexperienced HS ref thing here?