Learning with the 11's

I only managed one game this weekend. Sometimes, life just gets in the way of my referee schedule.
I ended up in the middle for a U-11 boys game. The teams are not particularly skilled, so you have to watch out for things that less skilled players tend to do. Pushing, holding and the like spring to mind. These teams are fairly evenly match so it was a back-and-forth kind of game. I'm not saying it was a challenge to keep up with play, but I did really have to pay attention. I refer to this type of play as "the scrum" where you get 4 or 5 players in a small group wildly kicking at the ball. There is an inevitable kick in the shins in there.
In my mind, there were three interesting situations in this game. The first involves assistant referee position and the team aspect of refereeing. The second involves knowing the law and making the best call you can within it. The third underscores the importance of your viewpoint on the field.
At one point, the red team plays the ball into green's penalty area. The green team is failing to clear the ball so it's bouncing around a bit. One shot goes off a defenders foot and shoots up in the air, coming almost straight down near the goal line. The goalie bobbled it a couple of times from hand to hand with his back to me. To me, the ball looked like it had to be over the goal line. I looked to my assistant. I was glad to see he was right on the goal line watching play carefully. Up went the flag for a goal! It doesn't sound like much, but the key take away here is he was in the proper position to make the call. Nice stuff! I could not be sure where the ball was, so I looked to my team mate and was rewarded!
Another interesting situation occurred, resulting in my awarding a penalty kick. Again, there was a "scrum" situation on the left side of green's penalty area. Red falls down and makes a few pokes at the ball with his foot. As he's getting up, green puts a forearm on his back, pushing him down to the ground. I was 20 feet away and immediately blew the whistle and pointed at the spot. The green coach was not happy and wanted the call for "dangerous play" since red played the ball on the ground. Now, we all know that playing the ball on the ground is not necessarily an infraction. In fact, the "Advice to the Referee on the Laws of the Game" says, in section 12.13,

Merely committing a dangerous act is not, by itself, an offense (e.g., kicking high enough that the cleats show or attempting to play the ball while on the ground.)...The act becomes an offense only when an opponent is adversely and unfairly affected, usually by the opponent ceasing to challenge for the ball...

It's important to realize that many things coaches and players say are because of the various myths about the laws that exist.
The third item of the day involved me having the right viewpoint and position on the field to make the correct call. I think having the "best" position is a skill, with a little luck thrown in too. In this situation, red played the ball into green's penalty area, from the right side, to a forward standing about on the penalty spot. He struck the ball. It hit a defender directly in front of him in the knees and bounced back at him. As it came off the ground, one of his outstretched hands pushed it back toward the ground, not unlike one might dribble a basketball. As it came back down, he shot it into the net. I blew the whistle before he had struck the ball and pointed up field. After the game, my assistant told me he was screened from view and it was a good thing I had a good view on the play.
It was a good weekend. I learned a lot and had a great time working with two quality assistants. All that happened in only 1 game. What could be better?

Some Time with the Big Guys

Spring is always tough for me as I have 2 sons that still play, so I can't do games every weekend. This weekend, I had 3 games assigned. 1 was canceled due to the terrible weather we had on Friday night. Fortunately, the other 2 were still on. I was a little apprehensive since we only had 2 games. Someone wasn't going to get a middle, which is unfortunate. The games were U-11 and yes, U-19 boys. This was the first time I was assigned above U-17, so I was looking forward to it.
As is my custom, I arrived 30 minutes before game time at the field for the U-11 game. It payed off. One of the guys assigned with me, who I've worked with before, was already at the field. We flipped a coin for the 2 games available that day. I lost, so he took the U-19 game. Oh well, being an AR for the game is fine too.
As you do more and more games (I have 117, after today), you'll come across situations where you really need to manage the situation with some common sense. Today, the away team had a bunch of players get lost. You should know, ahead of time, the rules for your league regarding the minimum number of players and the grace period for late teams. You don't want to have to look them up. We started about 15 minutes late, but it all worked out.
The first half of the U-11 game was pretty exciting. It was a well played game with both teams effectively moving the ball. Most of the play on the field was fair, although I saw something I hadn't seen before. One of the teams had an interesting tactic used when an opponent would get by them with the ball. They would run behind them and fall. On the way down, they would clip the ankles of the player with the ball. Yes, that drew quite a few whistles and "Advantage!" calls. They quickly found out I wasn't going to see it as "accidental." The 2nd half was not quite as good. The wheels fell off for one team and the game became a little lopsided.
After the U-11 game, we quickly drove down the street to get the the Big Ones. I made some interesting observations about the big guys. First, they are in no hurry to start the game. As a referee, you really need to light a fire under them and get the check-ins done and get the teams on the field. The referee doing the middle did some things, as this guy often does, that I don't think I want to imitate. He tends to talk down to the players. He often warns them of particular things during his pre-game talk. I don't like this and I think it breeds some contempt among the players. The idea of giving them a laundry list of "don'ts" before the game strikes me as disrespectful. Avoid it if you can. Try and think about how what you are saying during your pre-game sounds to the players.
All in all, I'd say the U-19 game went pretty well. There were a handful of cautions, but I suspect that is pretty normal for the older guys. They play quite aggressively and can get mouthy at times. Match control skills are critical. I'm confident that, when the time comes, I can handle this type of game. I only missed it by a coin toss!
As I've mentioned before, I think there is more to being a good AR than most referees think. When you are an AR, do you do everything you can to make the referee's job easier? For example, make sure you take the initiative before the game and check the goals. Go get the game ball and verify the pressure with the gauge you have in your bag (you do carry a gauge, right?). During the game, are you mechanics as described in the "Guidelines and Procedures" book? Make sure they are correct. Also, do you watch your part of the field, even during stoppages in play? It's not very helpful to be looking at the same thing as the referee. Make sure you are looking at all areas, trying to spot signs of trouble. When it happens, be prepared to give the referee a full description of what you saw, presenting only the facts.

Referee Game Log - I want your input

Outside of being a referee, I'm also a software developer. I often look at my personal computing needs through the eyes of my profession, and I see a need for a decent game log for soccer referees. Currently, I keep track of my game data in a simple spreadsheet. It works ok, but it's not really useful for reporting and it's hard to find a particular game. I think a well designed game log would be very useful for several reasons:

• Yearly USSF recertification form asks for your game count


• Upgrading has a game count requirement


• Type-written game reports are neater and often more consistent


• Easier to keep track of fees, mileage etc. (assuming the right software features)

Send me your wish list! I'm interested in what you'd like to see in a referee game log! What do you do now? What kinds of information do you want to track? Should it be web-based? If I actually write this, would you be interested in testing it? Thanks.

Rational Parents Gone Bad

Unfortunately, I didn't have any games with this weekend. The good news is I got to attend my son's game!
Being a referee, and always wanting to learn, I always have something to do at my kid's games. I watch the referees doing the game and try to learn (both good and not so good) from them. This weekend was no exception. My older son's team drew an excellent official for their game. They played one of the more skilled teams in their league and, apparently, one of the more physical as well. As I predicted in the beginning parts of the game, there were many cards. The referee called the game pretty tight as one might do with older boys. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing he might have had the home team before as he seemed to be trying to keep a lid on their rough play. Anyway, he called a good game under tough circumstances. I admired his ability to control the game. He asserted his authority early and kept it through the game.
After the game, I had a somewhat disturbing incident.
As I waited for my son, the 3 officials were exiting the field nearby. One of the opposing teams fathers approached the center referee and said to him "Was this your first game?" in an obviously mocking tone. The referee replied with some remark about how the parent should get certified. I couldn't help myself. I don't know if it was the sight of another official getting harassed or the flippant attitude of this obviously ignorant parent. I chimed in with a rather stern "Leave him alone! You should consider reading the Laws of the Game." The parent replied with something about the referee not being able to tell time as my son's team scored in added time (The game ended in a draw). Of course, I said, "It's called added time. You really should read about it." So this guy replies...wait for it..."Hey, I'm a coach. I know the game." My reply was "That's exactly my point." and I walked away.
Before you send me a million emails, I realize I probably should not have gotten involved. Then again, how many times do we see people ignore something like this. It's just wrong to hassle a referee. I don't care whether they called a good game, or a "bad" game. It doesn't matter. No parent, coach or player has any right or reason to hassle a game official. After thinking about it on the way home, I decided it was the right thing to do. I didn't get involved only because I'm a fellow official, I got involved because the incident was just plain wrong.

Helping Out a New Referee

This weekend, I only had 1 game scheduled and it was a short-sided, U-9 game. The good news is I was assigned with a newly certified friend of my son. I've worked with her before. She's been one of my Assistant Referees a couple of times and she has done a pretty good job. Since we were assigned a short-sided game, I decided it was time to practice what I preach and help out a new referee.
When we arrived at the field I asked her if she thought she was ready to do the middle. She looked at me with a little fear evident on her face. I told her it was time, and assuming the other referee agreed, she'd do the center and we would coach her through it. I had not worked with the other guy before, but I mentioned it when he arrived and he whole-heartedly agreed that we should run the lines.
Fortunately, it worked out pretty well. The game turned out to be a good one for her as there wasn't any controversy or particularly difficult calls. She did very well. Her first time in the middle was no different than most in that she seemed to lack some confidence, but her application of the laws was solid. All in all, I think she's off to a good start and will only get better going forward.
After the game, we coached her a little on some things. We pointed out she needs to blow the whistle likes she means it and make sure her field mechanics are confident rather than tentative. Going forward, we assured her she would have to concentrate less on foul recognition, leaving more time to think about game management and better mechanics.
Hopefully, her success will continue and she'll remain an active official.

Another Learning Weekend

Just when you think you are getting good at this thing, something unexpected happens that causes you to go back to the books!

I had two games this past week: u-13 and U-14 girls. As I've said before, I've noticed some referees really don't like being assigned to the girl's games. I enjoy them. It's a different kind of game, but the enthusiasm of the girls is contagious. Also, the skill level is amazing.

Deliberate Handling

I'm not a big fan of referees asking the players, during the pre-game talk, "Are there any questions?" You have to be careful what you wish for. I've picked up this habit lately. Naturally, I had a player ask me about "hand balls" related to girls protecting themselves. I gave the generic "It must be deliberate handling of the ball, not merely instinct or the ball hitting the hand" and left it at that.

Naturally, this very issue came up during the game. In the U-14 game, a ball was played in the air toward the halfway line. It traveled about 20 yards in the air. The receiving player chest trapped the ball down using her arms crossed against her chest. Sorry, but in my opinion, this doesn't fly in a U-14 game. I called the foul and their coach immediately started in on me. My thinking is, at U-14, these girls know how to trap a soccer ball without getting hurt, especially when it is passed from some distance. You don't see the Women's US national team doing it, right? I got thinking about this on the way home and did a little research. Here are a couple of sources I found that address the topic:

• Ask The Ref
• US Soccer position paper

Stupid Mistake

Yep, I made one. We had a situation where the attacking team had a throw in, close to half-way, on their end of the field. The ball comes in and the attacker carries the ball across half-way and sends it diagonally toward the corner of the penalty area. The ball comes down and is recovered by the defense. At that moment, I notice my AR's flag is up. Thinking she is signaling offside for the long pass, I wave her down as the defense plays the ball back to half-way. The ball is taken back by the original attacking team. They make a couple of passes and score. My AR waves me over. She tells me the attacking team substituted a player without my permission on the throw-in. Normally, this would be a no-brainer for me. The thing that got me was both teams were playing down 1 player. Apparently, one of the teams could not field 11 players, so the other played short. I allowed the goal, thinking this was only a problem when a 12th player was discovered on the field. I now know I should have disallowed the goal and started with an indirect kick from the goal area, after cautioning the player that came on without permission (I did issue the caution). Fortunately, the goal did not make a difference in the game. The thing that is frustrating is I put a lot of time into studying the laws and the accompanying publications only to make a silly mistake. I guess we all make mistakes and the key is to learn from them.

On Our Own

This weekend had 2 league games in store for me. I could only do Saturday, so I was assigned to a U-10 and a U-13 match. Fortunately, I was assigned with my newly certified friend that started his referee career doing a U-17 boys game!
My typical schedule for league games is 2 or 3 games in a row, usually starting around noon. Sometimes I'll have to switch facilities for one of the games, but the travel is usually quite short. Today was the most unusual schedule I've had to date. Our first game was at 11 am, and our 2nd game was at 4 pm! Very unusual, and not terribly convenient, but it's better than having no games.
As I've mentioned in the past, I find the short sided games (U-10 and under in our state) to be really refreshing. After having a day full of teenage boys a couple of weeks ago, it's nice to have the little ones. If you really pay attention to them, they can be really entertaining. The thing I find interesting about the younger games is you actually need to pay more attention to the game. Don't go in thinking you can rest and take it easy because the players are 9 years old! You'll quickly find out the younger games is where your knowledge of the laws will get challenged. Look for frequent 2nd touches on free kicks and goal kicks that don't make it out of the penalty area. That stuff happens all the time.
An interesting, and all too frequent, thing occurred before the 2nd game of the day. The game was scheduled in a rather affluent town in my area. As is my habit, I always check the goals before a game, even if there is a game before mine. Surprisingly, one of the goals was not anchored in any way. I say it was surprising because this was not a run-down, poorly maintained facility. This was a well cared-for field in a nice park. I quickly mentioned it to the home coach. His assistant immediately pointed out that the previous game had taken place without a problem. This is the kind of pressure you will experience, but you must never play a game without the goals being adequately anchored! Please, don't be the one to give into the pressure. It's not OK to play a game with the field in this condition. In this case, we improvised. We grabbed a nearby field hockey goal and positioned it on it's back with the heavy end lying on top of the ground-level bar on the soccer goal. Problem solved and the game was played!