We had a referee screw up KFTPM in a HS playoff game. The team had reported players #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 as the kickers, and sent up #1, #3, #2,... The referee decided that the out of order sequence meant that the second kicker's (Player #3) goal should be marked as "missed". A great hullaballoo followed, and the state decided that we would get the teams and a new crew together to re-do KFTPM, starting with the third round. The referee crew, including AR2 who got to stand in the center circle, and FO who got to do nothing at all, got paid a game fee to administer a total of 6 kicks. The coach from the aggrieved team in that game also coached a different school in the girls season. That spring, I had their semi-final game, which also went to KFTPM. The opposing school's coach began to spout some nonsense, the details of which I forget, about who could or couldn't participate, or sequence, or something. I just got the state soccer admin on speakerphone and had him confirm that my understanding was correct.
Best story of my week: I completed the full regional fitness test during training last night, for the first time since I fractured my ankle on December 29 (and subsequently failed the fitness test at our regional camp on January 17). Still not back to running the national test times but we are on our way
This happened to me in a different sport that uses shootouts. You don’t actually need to report the order beforehand. You just write them down in order as they shoot. I assume this is the cause of the retaking of the kicks? Because, yeah, you always do something a certain way, until you realize you’ve been doing it wrong the entire time
By rule, they need to identify the 5 shooters before each tranche, but they don't need to report an order. The referee assumed that they needed to report an order, and they didn't follow that order, so he ruled that the "out of order" kicker had missed. Which almost feels like a baseball rule to me. So the state ordered a replay from the point of the referee error.
This is literally identical to what I did in the different sport. They always gave the order, then I had a shooter go out of order, marked it as a miss. Afterwards I realized my error, and discovered the same to be the case for soccer. We are so used to the teams lining up their five in order of shooting that sometimes we forget that the order doesn’t actually exist. It was a humiliating error to realize
Our youth state cup used to have inadequate tie breakers for pool play. Murphy's Law required that there was a pool with two teams that had beaten the other team, in that pool by the same score and then tied each other. The decision was made that they had to have KFTPM only. So I and another referee went out to this field on a Tuesday afternoon just to do kicks. "Do I have to wear shin guards?" "Yes. It's required equipment." Ten kicks and we collected a full game fee. And the state cup rules now require KFTPM after all tied games, just in case.
One of the tournaments around here actually has teams that tie do a KFTPM post-game that is used only if tiebreakers are required. So the result is still the draw, but one of the teams get a tiebreak in cases of need.
Freestyle. I had a game cancelled on Tuesday from those storms and took advantage to run some intervals on the turf, but when it was just me and the boys varsity coach left in the stadium I felt a lot of pressure to cut it short for him LOL. I ran 28/40 laps and felt good. I'm going to find a field next Thursday when I'm back in town and run the yo-yo. Unfortunately our actual test looks like it's going to be on mediocre grass youth fields again. No word yet whether it will also run crossways across two fields and therefore through the drainage ditch running between them, like regional camp did.
Reffed a small academy tournament this weekend. Had a mom on one of the sidelines who was loud and whiny, but mostly on the tolerable side of the line. Midway through the second half I whistled a foul and she waited until it was quiet and said something that was just on the wrong side of the line. I whistled and got over to the coach and said “Coach, can you get that under control for me?” He took a deep breath and said “For you? I’m MARRIED to her.”
I had one somewhat similar. Adult women's game O-30. The team captain, a wealthy attorney who pays her teams' (yes plural teams) registration fees and then invites her friends to come play, is there, with her husband, also a big time attorney and former referee. He's sitting in the stands behind their bench, with another husband, and making comments about the women on the team and their playing skills. She turns to me and says, "Ref, isn't there anything you can do about them?" I replied, "Gay, if you can't do anything about him [her husband], I sure can't." And the two guys absolutely crack up. She is a big time divorce attorney.
https://lnkd.in/g6pyivvn Ref Insight’s assignment, communication, and workflow tools will now support competitions administered by U.S. Soccer and its National Assignors — including the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, international matches hosted in the United States, and multiple national competitions across the USL pre-professional, NPSL, UPSL, and UWS leagues. For us, this is more than a technology contract. Ref Insight was founded on firsthand officiating experience — co-founder Sandra Serafini has over 30 years in the game as a referee, assignor, assessor, and administrator, while co-founder Joshua Ort has spent decades building systems purpose-built for complex officiating environments. We understand the challenges match officials and assignors face because we’ve lived them. That firsthand experience drives every feature we build and every decision we make as a company. It also means we share U.S. Soccer’s mission of elevating refereeing so that those who choose to be part of it feel supported, valued, and inspired. Being entrusted with supporting U.S. Soccer’s referee operations is a tremendous responsibility, and one we don’t take lightly. We’re committed to delivering a platform that makes life easier for assignors, clearer for match officials, and stronger for the programs that depend on both. U.S. Soccer’s selection also reinforces our commitment to every organization we serve. The investment in our platform driven by an engagement of this scale benefits all Ref Insight users — from local associations to national programs. Better tools, faster development, and deeper capabilities for everyone. We want to thank U.S. Soccer’s Referee Department for a thorough and professional evaluation process, and for their commitment to ensuring that every person in the refereeing pathway — from those guiding local matches to those representing the United States on the world stage — has the tools and support they deserve. We’re excited to get to work! — Sandra Serafini & Joshua Ort, Co-Founders, Ref Insight
Doesn't look like it, although that would be incumbent on another platform importing the assignment. I've only used the platform for my MASL (indoor) assignments. In the past day I've been looking closer at it. You can set it for Available unless marked, or Unavailable unless marked. I think the only feature that I would like, is the ability to block a specific assignor. I've submitted a feature request and I know some features have been added in the past year, so I know improvements are being made.
I refereed Philadelphia Union Snow Bowl tournament which involves a number of teams from around the world. I had a center of a U-15 game involving Manchester United. It was a very fun and eye-opening experience. While I don't do many higher level games, I can honestly say this was the fastest and most skilled game I have ever done. The highest "level" of games I have done would be just amateur adult UPSL stuff and D2 men's games. None of these come even close to what I experienced on the field this week. It was a great experience and made me really appreciate it. One thing though I will say is that the level of dissent and talking to the ref from an English club is... on another level. I guess par for the course for our friends across the pond though.
The joy of playing advantage while the attacking team is screaming for foul ... and the ball ends up in the back of the net. Gotta admit I held my advantage arm out an extra long time. "Hey everyone, look at the great call I just made."
FROM THE CENTER SPOTLIGHT INTO THE MIDDLE: Olympic ice dancing alternates and siblings Oona and Gage Brown referee soccer in their spare time - Front Row Soccer
I know. I've refereed with them several times. They are animals fitness-wise. They both take full day shifts without breaks at times. She doesn't like centering. Gage is a very good referee, and as expected can run (fast) all day.
There is something about ice dancers that brings a humble quality about them. 8 years ago, I got the last seat at a bar to go watch a World Series game. Struck up a conversation with a young lady next to me (looked like a kid without the blowdried and sprayed hair). Incredible conversationalist. Winds up she is a Olympic medal winning ice dancer and got it our of her around the 6th inning (ordering a salad for dinner should have been a hint). I was actually Googling her name in front of her. In-between competitions, she told me her daily itinerary, from the workouts to far drives to rinks, to the promotions involved for her sport and committee, to the need to eat properly, to the constant long flights, it was more interesting listening to how she got to where she was than watching a 5 hour baseball game.
I was rivited talking with the Browns about their training, on & off the ice, their commutes from Montreal and then working soccer tournaments all weekend non-stop, their support network in the Albany area (because one of my former players, a girl, back at U-10 & 12, quit playing and was a pretty good figure skater in moved in the same group).
Director of Referee Education and Development, US Soccer Thousands of referees leave the game every year not just in the U.S. but across the world. Not because they stop caring. Because of how they’re treated. Emotion is part of football/soccer. Dissent and abuse is not. We cannot keep excusing behavior that drives officials away and then ask why recruitment and retention are a challenge. Respect the Call is now live across U.S. Soccer Federation. This is a clear line in the sand and to support that, today we’ve launched: • A new three-part video education series • Social media toolkits for states and leagues • Learning modules focused on recognizing dissent/abuse and taking action • Practical guidance built from real match environments This is about accountability across the entire ecosystem. Players. Coaches. Parents. Administrators. Referees. If we want strong competitions and safe environments, we all own the standard. Proud of the team of Kari Seitz, Mathew Cheeseman, Jared Mundie, Geneita Revear MSLB, MSA, Alicia Owens, Kara Honthumb, Elizabeth Garcia behind this work and what it represents for referee support across the country. Full toolkit: https://lnkd.in/eBWQfc9u
OK, I've never coached really high level soccer (my highest are 2 travel teams, my daughter's that was playing in WAGS, and a boys EDP D-3 team), I never got paid, so I may not know all of the ins and outs of those levels. I can tell you, 100%, that IMHO, the COACH is the person in charge that sets the tone. From a young age, I tell all my parents and players that there is one rule when it comes to talking to the refs - DON'T. That is for me to decide. If I start yelling at a ref, then you can too. Guess what, I never do. It makes no sense to me and all it does is cause problems. If a player violates that rule, they sit. If a parent violates that rule, they get one warning and they they sit (in the car). Those don't work, find another team. Maybe I'm being simplistic, but a coach is supposed to be the ultimate leader, so they should be just that - the team leader in all aspects, including behavior on game day. /climbs down from the 'high horse'
I applaud you, but sadly you are in the top 10-15%, 80% can usually be man-managed with gentle "encouragement" and there is another 5-10% who are off their rockers.
Im the dumbest poster here and I have a multitude of bad takes, but one of the most frustrating things to me is why so much time and so many resources need to be dedicated to managing dissent. Of course dissent is bad; it’s the worst thing about refereeing and the reason everyone quits. But we shouldn’t need this long detailed series about dealing with it. Referees should know when something deserves to be dealt with. Referees should know they don’t have to deal with being insulted and shit on; they should punish it however they want instead of just accepting it and then complaining about it and quitting. It’s so frustrating that it’s gotten to this point. And I want to be clear I don’t blame the referees for it, of course it’s the fault of the coaches players and even spectators for actually doing the behaviors. But the referees do have a small part in the fact that they just ignore the stuff.
Actually, that makes me sad. I'm nothing special. I don't think the way I am is any different than I'd want these kids to be in school and how I expect the parents would behave at work. Why is a kids athletic event any justification to act like a Jack-***?