The Rain in Colorado

Well Mother Nature obviously read my last posting about how our Spring has been dryer than normal.  And She took offense.  So she started the rain (and a bit of snow) machine.  After 4 1/3" of rain in the last week, our fields are soaked.  You have to live along the  Colorado Front Range to know that, for us, THAT'S A LOT OF RAIN (outside of the summer monsoons).  The official rain gauge is at the airport which tends to be 'dry' in their measurements so to speak.  The result of all that rain is a scramble to get the Spring Season finales in knowing that some of the fields have been taken down.  It also results in last minute cancellations and no-show games.

The net result of all of this is that my first game in 2 weeks (other than parent A/R) was a CR for a U-17 game.  I've worked a handful of U-17 as AR, but never CR.  So going in, I was a bit nervous.



I'm still trying to figure out the best way to work the 'older' boys' games.  Either proactively blow the whistle early and often, or give them a few minutes to figure out how they want to play and let them play at that level, although you run the risk of being reactionary.  Well the first half of the game I chose the 'early and often' route.  Of course, they are surprised.  "My two hands didn't just push off."  "I didn't just use my elbow to push him off."  "My hand didn't just play the ball."  "I didn't just trip him in the penalty area."  You get the idea.  One kid even said "Use your eyes ref."  Hmmm.  My eyes can see this yellow card and if I hear another word they are going to see this red card.  (No, I didn't quite say it that way).  So team A went into the second half up 3-0 and my crew had the over/under on cards at 4.

I'm not sure what happened in the 2nd half.  Maybe they all drank some depressants.  Other than a handful of fouls, they just STARTED PLAYING.  Team B was in the process of mounting a furious comeback and Team A decided not to help them with fouls.  Team B lost by two goals (yes Team A scored a few more), but if Team B had another 10 min, they probably would've tied it.  I'd like to think that both the players and I found the right 'temperature' and we kept it there.  I'm not really sure.

I know I am still learning.  I never played at that level, so I'm still figuring out what is 'acceptable', and what is 'over the line.'  I know the fact I have not played at that level is a disadvantage for me and I will get it.  In the meantime, I'm sure I'll have a few more "why exactly am I doing this?" moments.

I still think U-15 boys is the most challenging level since they are rapidly growing and they don't quite yet know how to control their hormones.  U-16 can also be rough.  U-17 it seems like they are tactically looking for an advantage when they foul, meaning they know what they are doing.

Next weekend is a tournament where I get to be a coach and be a ref.  So I won't quite have the amount of games I would normally get, but that's fine.  Also, currently most of my games are U-11 and U-12, so the challenge shifts from the players to the parents.