Referee Diary
A night at the Indoor Game
Before The Storm
I arrive at the soccer house an hour before kickoff. Often there is some field set-up involved, the batting cages' equipment needs some clearing; the field, the balls, and the clock have to be prepared. I need to arrive in time to prepare mentally, and for me that involves getting on that uniform.
The slow build-up to the night's action starts quietly and calmly with one sock at a time. I see some players in the dressing room, and we chat some, but we are each getting into our zones, because we are each going out to perform.
I have a partner tonight, but his style is different; I know I will see him about 10 minutes before we begin. He knows the game and only makes the calls the game needs, which is the sign of a good ref. Typically I am the one to sort out the management of discipline in this league.
He comes in and helps me to get the clock tuned-in properly. I am still learning the mechanics of this facility, though my game experience makes me the lead ref. We have half-a-second to catch up as friends, and he tells me he maybe has found a new job coaching.
Games On
That's all for small talk, on to the night's pre-game. We will referee a series of seven High School Boys games. Game one should be smooth because both rosters are peopled with sophomores and juniors, and these teams both played in the first eight week session without a single problem.
However, one thing officials need to understand about this league is that these teams are from different schools, and they have some rivalries.
With eleven minutes to go in game one, the atmosphere changes. Sandwiched between us, what could be a foul occurs. Something happens and a red player goes down on a direct line parallel between me and the other ref, so we cannot see it. He goes down in a way that tells me he believes he has been fouled.
I am looking through the players at my partner, who is allowing play to continue, as am I. The red team's goalkeeper and his teammate coming off the floor are now emotional. They saw something that ignited their sense of injustice, and the refs didn't respond. The shot sails high into the nets out-of-play, as the red team is appealing that we missed something. I have an idea that the game just got trickier.
That moment has brought the temperature of the game from tepid to boiling in an instant. Referees call that a flashpoint.
The pace of the game has picked up, and though the players are all still playing the ball, there is tension in the air.
A series of goals by the white team adds to this tension as the red team scores about half as often. The only thing we need now to set this game ablaze is a spark, and with about three minutes to play in this first of tonight's games,we get that spark.
A foul from behind sends a player smashing in to the walls, and I am going in...
Two players chasing a ball into the corner and at high speed get tangled. The white player, who is coming from behind the red player, shoves his arm out sending the red player forward into the wall.
I can't tell if the white player is looking to stop his momentum or something more cynical. I highly doubt the latter, as I know these guys some after many weeks, but that is not the relevant matter, as I need to stop this situation from becoming a brawl.
I am running in and hitting the whistle, standing in-between the two players facing the white player. The red player on the ground is on his way up.
He has that look in his eye, and I am glad I am here. I am telling him that I have got this situation, that I "got it".
Somehow I begin moving the white player toward the opposite side of the field. I show the red card and tell him he needs to leave. He asks if he can get his water bottle, so I say we will have it run over to him.
I turn to face the game. There were no explosions of obnoxious noise behind me, no new fires to put out. The white player leaves and will have a week off. The rest of game one plays out with no drama, but the total of seventeen goals.
I record the red card as Serious Foul Play which suggests that there may not have been intent, only an extremely dangerous situation created by a player. That we surely had. These kids are good kids, but the game brings out complex emotions and situations.
As the night unfolds the games become a stage where these kids reveal their talent as soccer players. Sometimes this stage will get sabotaged by players or coaches, and sometimes we referees are not its best actors.
After the night ends I have a long drive home. These situations will come again to me as imagined games being played on an invisible field that I can't locate but can visit whenever the ball is not in play.
Tad Albano Blogs @ http://howtosoccerblog.blogspot.com/
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