Tax Day

Well it's Tax Day.  Which reminds me that my 1040 will be more complicated next year due to all the different organizations paying me to ref soccer.

I had 5 games this weekend not including my usual parent volunteer AR for my son's home games.  Three of them were back in the State Cup, although they were for U12 girls (good), all of which were already eliminated from playoffs (not so good).  I worked with a good crew at the State Cup, so it was fun and I learned a few things.   So after technically being 1/4 of the way to working enough games for USSF Grade 7 qualification, here's my progress report.



Good stuff

• Positioning.  Much better.  I still get caught in the center during transition, so I need to learn to take a few quick steps to avoid disrupting play.  I do feel like I'm where I need to be and I have much better vision with my ARs.

• AR.  I'm ready to work some Adult games as an AR.  I've learned to stop being lazy with running to the goal line.  I'm confident with my offside calls and my signals are clearer.  I'm also good at judging how the CR is calling the game and don't under or over call fouls that I see.

• Subs.  Two short toots to stop play and announce a sub, then a whistle and a hand motion to restart.  The players get it and I rarely have restart problems.

Improvement

•  Temperature.  "Temperature" means the level and reaction to the inherent contact in soccer.  Soccer is a contact sport.  Players know it will happen.  My challenge is to try to keep the temperature at a good level.  I try my best to call the game evenly, but I find myself in reactionary mode as opposed to establishing a firm line in the sand early.

• Tools.  CRs have four tools available to them to manage a game.  The first three are your voice, hand signals, and the whistle.  The fourth is the cards. I know I need to use my whistle better - a simple toot for a routine foul, a longer whistle for "OK you're at the line with that foul", and of course a loud blast for "you've crossed the line."  I have learned to let out a loud long whistle for an offside infraction since I have already seen a few player collisions when play should have been stopped for an offside.

• Coaches.  I need to react earlier to coaches who are going to whine about my calls.  It is in the job description of coaches to disagree with referee calls.  However, at this point I should be able to separate the chronic complainers from the ones who have legitimate dissent.  I need to use "Ask, Tell, Remove" to my advantage and, again, let the coach know early when they've crossed the line.

•  Fitness.  I need to run more, even though I've never been a big runner.  That more than anything else will help alleviate my various leg ailments.  It will also improve my CR positioning, although in honesty I have yet to work a game that has left me exhausted.

I have two HS JV games this week and one AR on a U-17 Boys Div 1 Competitive.  Although I may be able to trade the U-17 for more games a bit closer to home, I'll likely keep the U-17 game since a) the other AR is a Grade 7 ref going for Grade 6 who I have a lot of respect and will work with him every chance I get and b) more exposure to how CRs manage higher level games.