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!
• It is always interesting to work with HS aged refs.  Some of them are real eager and want you to mentor them.  Some of them, well, let's say they are a bit lackadaisical.  Others wonder why I didn't issue 3 cards in a U-12 Boys match.  I still stick to my initial opinion that 90% of U-14 and under games do NOT need a card, but 90% of U-15 and older (boys) DO need a card.
• Which of course leads me to my Sunday morning U-14 Boys match.  It was actually an advanced U-13 team vs a U-14 team.  I had one kid who was a bit rough around the edges on the U-14 team.  He picked up a hard foul, then later in the 1st half got fouled himself, but his team had advantage.  He passed the ball then blatantly pushed the person who fouled him in the back.  I saw it from the corner of my eye, but chose to play advantage, then at the next break give him a scolding.  In the 2nd half he committed yet another foul, and voila, my first yellow at U-14.  He committed another careless foul, and I just reminded him "watch your fouls, you're on a caution".  But he managed to stay in the game.
• In the same match, I had a parent go berserk after the pushing incident when I called a foul that normally I would've let go, but felt like I needed to cool things down a bit.  That was enough for me.  So I walked over to near the touchline (staying on the field) and let him know he could be quiet and watch from the sidelines, or go watch the rest of the game from his car.  This was all near the Assignor, who a) backed me up with the parent and b) felt I handled the push correctly since I verbally lectured the kid and the rest of the players got the message.
• And for the trifecta in this game, the coach on Team A got upset that I seemingly missed THREE handlings in the penalty area.  So after his outburst, I ran over and calmly said a) I was screened b) my ARs both game me the signal that they were not intentional handlings.  He said "OK, thanks for telling me that" and we moved on.  Coach on Team B was upset about a PK I did call after my AR signaled for it.  I used my latest trick - pointed at him and just kept moving my finger back towards the technical area (he was way out of it).  It actually worked as he got my message.

I actually felt pretty good about the U-14 game.  I know there were 2 calls I missed - one I should've called, and one I made that made me wonder "so why exactly did I blow my whistle?"  I did however emphasize pushes and contact that was not quite shoulder to shoulder, as the game had potential to escalate if I let it.  The game ended up tied 2-2 and was reasonably well played.