Two fun ones for me this weekend. First, I was the center referee on an adult game that had a large crowd turnout. Attendance wasn't announced or anything, but I think it was the largest crowd I've ever been a center referee for. Second, the next day I worked with two brand-new ARs on a local U15 match. I enjoyed the day being able to coach them through the match and provide feedback. I could see them make minor improvements throughout the match based on my feedback, and by the end they were stronger and more confident ARs. Just really cool. I found it kind of nerve-wracking too being the "veteran" referee; I really didn't want to screw up so I was probably more alert than I otherwise would have been.
In New Jersey, you can no longer do this officially. However, unofficially it’s actually a good thing.
This starts out as a bad story, but ends well. Approximately 9 weeks ago, I had an accident in the workplace and had to a partial amputation of the right big toe. Needless to say, no soccer for a while. However, I returned to work two weeks ago, and returned to the soccer field last night. I did a girls JV line and girls varsity middle. Can’t wait to continue the rest of the high school and college season.
Dang man I'm sorry to hear that. You should put Ronnie Lott as your profile picture. You are hardcore
G19 game, not very intense, one team clearly stronger, but both sides having fun, while waiting for the GK to punt the ball, I hear 2 girls chatting about their GPAs and what colleges they’re going to. . . One was an Ivy
One of my former players/young refs (now a junior at Pitt) is on an NISA game tonight in MD. He jumped in years ago when our MBB was short an AR, I got him in touch with other assignors, and whaddaya know, in USSF the streets are paved with gold.
There's a special satisfaction in, after the whole back line gets on you for calling a goal onside, going home and freezing the video and seeing you were absolutely right.
How about when a coach officially protests a decision that you made saying you misapplied a rule, and you then take out the rule book and show him that he is wrong? Happened to me in water polo last week. I wish that it could be a yellow or red card to him for losing
I once did the same thing in track. A college coach said that his athletes were entitled, by rule, to a certain length of warmup, longer than the meet schedule provided. I knew that there was no such provision in the rules. He was polite but emphatic that he was right. The other coaches disagreed with him. (Their jumpers were ready.) I handed the complaining coach the NCAA rule book and asked him to find that rule in the book. And he did diligently read trough the book, as I started the event. He finally admitted that he couldn't find it and gave me back the book.
Passing on one from my brother, a former referee now a high school JV coach. We were talking about the MLS player who got fired for playing for a amateur team under a fake name (he had only had 8 appearances all season for Montreal, signed up to play for a friend's team, under a fake name. Scored six times in three games, but also copped an indefinite ban for punching another player, which is how the ruse got caught).. and he had a similar story. This was an U-14 Div 2 Promotion/Relegation game. One team slipped an illegal player onto the field. (After checking the players cards, unbeknownst to my brother, the coach switched the uniform of one player with the illegal player.) At halftime, my brother's AR gets a call from the fed.. Apparently the team's manager had called them warning them that they were going to do this, so they had my brother stop the game, have the coach rehand out the player cards, and one by one brought them to the center of the field and asked them to confirm their name, and birth date. One kid gave the wrong info, and the jig was up. Apparently, as a result, the coach was banned for life, and the team disbanded.
A couple of weekends ago, I was mentoring a teen ref on a U12 girls game. He correctly called a shank a deliberate play, leading to a goal for the other team. (I mentioned this in a different post.) After the game, I approached the coach arguing about the deliberate play and had Law 11 on the IFAB ready to show him. His response was to dismiss me basically saying, “I’m just going to focus on my team.” Translated, he didn’t want to see that he was dead wrong and was showed up on a rule by a teen ref. I told the ref this is why you know the rules/Laws and why you stick to your guns with coaches when you know you’re right. I’d like to think I helped that young referee’s confidence.
Part of my intro class is, "You have taken the class. You have studied the Laws. The coaches have not. That doesn't mean you can ignore them when they complain, but know that you have knowledge of the Laws that coaches don't."
I don’t think it’s because he didn’t want to be showed up. It’s because once a game is over they don’t care. Despite wishing I could rub it in their face, I would advise against confronting a coach postgame to try to show them up about a rule. Now, if they still dissent about the rule after the game, I will definitely say “coach I have the rule book in my bag if you want to compare” and give them the chance. Or if it’s a coach you know, talking to them at a later date. Trying to bring the rule book to a coach saying look coach look you’re wrong is unnecessarily confrontational. But if I was at a point where I didn’t care what coaches/assignors thought (like I was close to quitting anyway), I would definitely bet a coach an abusive language red card to stop in the middle of the game to go to my bag to get the rule book and see if he’s really that confident. Stopping the game and walking off the field to bring all the attention to this conflict. If he’s right, no problem. If he’s wrong, AL RC.
Last night I was part of the referee crew for a NCAA Division 1 men's match. The match was so sparsely attended that I could count every spectator (not working the match) during the pregame walkout/introductions. There were 19 spectators at kickoff. That's gotta be a record for least-attended D1 men's soccer game, right?
Fun UPSL match last night ... 3-0 Blue at HT, 4-3 White at FT. Was not expecting the comeback. Center did an excellent job keeping things under control. Last goal was a PK that, from my angle, looked 100% correct.
I swear we have the best seat in the house. AYSO u10B game, and it's a blowout. Blue trails Neon 0-11 with three minutes left. Blue #11 gets the ball near midfield, beats two defenders, and on really Blue's only offensive chance in the whole game, completes the breakaway and slips it into the net. The smile he shot me running back for the kickoff was priceless!
HS game played on a field inside a track. Ball is kicked out of play beyond the touchline, hits the track and rolls. And rolls... Home team was asked if they will be providing ball boys, reply was 'no'. Visiting player goes on slow jog to retrieve. Home parent from the stands in a good, loud voice "Ref, are you going to stop the clock?", I just look at him and say "No". Oh and after the home team was losing, guess what magically appeared on the sidelines for remainder of the match?
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_...occer-elite-referees-premier-league-etc-blame Shocking article coming from the guy who defended Buffon for his actions against Michael Oliver.
I've had this happen a lot ... home team players complaining ... "Hey, man, you're the home team. You don't provide ball chasers, that's on you."
I just had a pretty negative conduct experience last night in high school water polo (if it was the last game i probably would have called the police for an escort) but this and my soccer experiences have shown me that I’ll probably never quit a sport because of receiving dissent or poor treatment. Now quitting a sport because I feel incompetent and am not receiving the proper training to make myself better, like I’m currently experiencing in water polo? This might make me quit.
For me, it was just a big surprise to see a well-known media member like Marcotti actually coming out and saying that what we are seeing on TV can and does impact what we see at lower levels. Like I said, Marcotti all but cheerled Buffon’s treatment of Michae Oliver that led to threats against Oliver and his wife. My last big Twitter exchange was with Marcotti, and I basically told him that his defense of Buffon was encouraging abusive behavior toward match officials. I hope more like this comes out in the media. I’m sure it won’t drastically change things, but maybe it will change a few minds.
I think I've told this story before, but the only HS coach I've ever sent off came from a ball boy issue. Some sort of homecoming event, youth soccer night thing. Home team supplied ball boys who were, frankly, too young. They left at halftime, presumably to go to bed. Visitors score in the second half to go up 1-0. When they are defending, the visitors start clearing the ball out of bounds at every opportunity. And the ball starts going further and further. Home coach is losing his mind- "time wasting," "stop the clock," etc. I just looked at him and said "Coach, where are your ball boys?" He looked around, bereft. "What does that matter if they are wasting time?" "Coach, they can kick a ball in play wherever they want, if they kick it away after the ball is out, we can talk, you're responsible for providing ball boys." With about 30 seconds left in the game, a defending visitor beats the attacker to the ball (again, a ball in play) and boots it out of the stadium, almost through the parking lot and under a trailer. The other game ball was somewhere out in the parking lot, too. Home coach: "YOU HAVE TO STOP THE ****ING CLOCK! YOU'RE AWFUL!" I did, at that point, stop the clock.
According to the NFHS rule book, "at least 2 ball holders will be provided by home team". So, when I have a V game and no ball kids in sight, I go after the coach. Hey, it's mandatory, not optional. I don't care if you use your subs, but we ain't standing around for 30-45 seconds while tired players walk after the ball. I've had one or two coaches grumble about it, but they always comply.
Not sure what thread this goes on. I witnessed a Soccer Mom-gasm this weekend after said Mom's child scored. You fill in the blanks. Good times.