All wet

You have to live along the Colorado Front Range to understand that weather that is 'routine' along the East Coast (namely, steady rain) or in Cascadia doesn't happen too often here.  Well Mother Nature conspired to do just that, give us a light to moderate rain right after my Fr/Soph HS game started this past Wednesday.  Multiple weird things happened.

• It started raining 5 min after we started the game.  Rapidly became moderate in nature, then alternated between light and moderate.  Of course, I had my trusty garbage bag (we all do, right?) INSIDE my gear bag.  Lots of good that did.  Managed to get a chance to get it OVER my gear bag during a break after a goal.

Initial Chill of Autumn

Well after the hottest August in Denver history (I love how the weather folks make that sound.  Um, weather 'history' goes back to the late 1800s and if you consider the relocation of the official station, it's even less than that, but anyway...), we finally had some good soccer weather this past weekend.  So onto the good stuff.

• As warned, only had two Prez Cup games.  Ran CR on a U-13 Boys game.  Had one situation where there was going to be a footrace for a through ball, so the Yellow Defender made a strong shoulder challenge (before the ball) on the Blue Attacker and knocked the attacker down (although not maliciously).  Long whistle from me.  Yellow Defender kept going - no argument from him.  Thought about a booking for a 'tactical' challenge, but score was already 2-0 in favor of Blue, game temperature was comfortable, and didn't think the game needed the card.  So I kept it in my pocket.  No arguments from anyone, and my ARs thought I made the correct move.  U-14 and up I would have definitely issued the card.  There's no definition in the Laws for a 'tactical' challenge - we just use it for game management.  Am I doing the game disservice by not issuing the card to a U-13 player?

Kickoff!

The regular season has started!  The bumps and bruises from recent action:

• Injuries.  In my games this month I've seen a broken wrist, a knee injury, a possible concussion, a broken foot, and (in my son's game) a fractured shoulder.  I know soccer is a contact sport, and as referees we generally try to let the players "play through" contact, but when I see an injury my first thought is "was there a foul I could've called now or earlier to have prevented that injury?"

Cramping My Style

Highlights from weekend of Aug 6/7:

• We had hot (mid 90s) and dry (dp 30s or lower) weather here along the Front Range.  On Saturday, I had 4 consecutive games - AR, CR, AR, CR.  Late in the 4th my calves started cramping BIG TIME.  To the point where there was a moment I could barely walk.  Not a good way to run center, even if it is just U-12 Boys.  I must have consumed 100oz of water during those 4 games just to stay hydrated.  If someone has an excellent idea on what to take during the middle of a tournament (read:  15 min between matches max, so it has to be fast, preferably something I can add to water) I'd love to hear it!

Summertime

Wow Summer has flown by.  The first major fall tournament in Colorado is during the first weekend in August (actually there are 2 that weekend).  We start competitive play the weekend before Labor Day.  HS Soccer starts Sep 1.  Didn't summer just start?

Few musings from the summer:

• The ECNL Championships were held July 14-16 out here.  For the teams that were here, yes, you brought the humidity from your home state to Colorado.  Fortunately, the biggest monsoon we've had out here for quite some time decided to relax a bit during this tournament.  I only managed to get one game due to family commitments, and mine was called just 10 min into the 2nd half due to lightening.  I think the girls (it was U-17) were tired or affected by the altitude because the play was nothing special.  Well except for the one team's GK who could punt the ball just about to the opposite attacking third.  Tired out the CR for sure.

Impeding Progress

One of the fouls spelled out by Law 12:  An indirect free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if, in the opinion of the referee, a player impedes the progress of an opponent.

In one of my games this past weekend, I worked with a CR who's specialty is to call this foul.  I say 'specialty' because I've seen him do it in every game he's worked.  I also say this because he is about the only one who calls this foul.  He is 100% correct in his application of the law, the problem is the rest of us aren't; therefore, when it is called inevitably there is a howl from the coaches.  And in my game the call led directly to a goal, as the attacking team immediately took their IFK and scored (simple touch, then kick by player #2 while the defending team was confused).   A part of Law 12 that I need to watch for in my games, especially U-14 to about U-18.

Managing Coaches

Some observations about a few coaches that were in my games this past weekend...

• For my first game (AR1), one of the coaches was nattily attired in a fedora hat, dress shirt, slacks, shoes, and tie.  Not normally a coach's attire on a warm Sunday morning for a U-12 boys game.  So I had to ask the coach about his attire.  He is a minister/pastor and had to go conduct the 10a service (after the 8a game that is).  Well that's cool.  So I wondered how he would conduct himself on the sideline.  I also wondered when we missed a call if he'd summon some help from the divine entity who's word he was preaching.  The answer:  He was a class act.  Knew when to lean on his players.  Questioned one call, but very professionally ("Oooh, that was close sir.  Unlucky guys (aka players)").  His team did win by a good margin, but I think he generally conducts himself that way.