Wow its been 3 months since my last blog post! My how time flies.
So the summary and a look ahead:
- Worked a 1st round 5A HS playoff game as a Side Referee. Disappointed I wasn't chosen to work a later round game. This could be caused by the fact I had to turn back a 4A playoff game - or maybe not. Or I had a few low game ratings (even though I ran CR on only 3 games - all 3 were 5A). I'll have to find out.
- My overall game count for this calendar year was 70 Youth Games (33 as CR), 47 HSSO games, and 5 College Club games. Given all the constraints on my schedule (work, kid playing soccer, other family obligations) that's about the most I will work. I also generally limit myself to 3 games max per day, even in tournament season.
- I have come a long way in how I work games. I still have lots to learn with coach management. Parents/spectators are straight forward - either ignore them all together or remove them. My player management improved too. Can always work on it of course.
The bigger news for me is I am in the process of upgrading to a Grade 7. That process has been less than smooth so far. First, there was a disagreement with the number of games that 'count'. Obviously REC games don't. However, they were also ready to disqualify my pre- and post- season tournament games. I fought back - arguing these are 'certified' tournaments using DSC. They initially argued "well 3v3 tournaments are certified too." Then I said "3v3 doesn't use DSC. Also, we rarely log if a reg season game was suspended due to weather - does that count too?" So they agreed to accept my games. Then they told me to sign up for the fitness test - which oh BTW was happening in 4 days. YIKES! I was in decent shape, but not fitness test shape. After two training sessions I took the fitness test. The next surprise is that they asked me to run the distance for a Grade 6 at my age, not Grade 7. Or I totally misunderstood the distance I should have trained for. I barely - and I mean by 5 meters - passed that part. The speed tests I passed far more easily since, well, I can still run. I've already passed the recert test and I've completed most of my intermediate training (I still need a few more hours apparently). So - all that remains is the on-field assessment. To be continued...
Happy New Year!
