an Athens Soccer Academy Little Professional player defended two goals at one time for his club.
The other team was attacking our goal, and I cleared the ball. It went onto the field where the girls' team was playing and smacked into the ball that an attacker was about to blast into the girls' goal from about four feet. The referee stopped play and awarded a dropped ball.
Clearly the soccer gods were smiling on ASA today!
What is the backbone of any successful sport league? The organizing body, the players, and the coaches all have an essential place, but one lesson repeated in the game has been that good officials, referees, are the backbone of any soccer league, and any league is only as strong as its referees.
With that in mind, at the close of the 2012 youth and adult seasons, Athens Soccer Academy looked at the barriers to officiating professionalism and how those distracted from the 2012 local seasons. In mid-winter Athens Soccer Academy began work on a new entity called Athens Referee Association. By March ARA was born.
On March 26, 2013 Athens Referee Association met for the Inaugural Spring Leagues gathering. From five in the evening till just before nine, we covered in brief detail the seventeen Laws of the Game, our Referee Season Calendar, and What To Expect From Each League. Here is a record of how we did it.
Athens Referee Association
In seasons past we have met each other on the field, but never in this type of classroom setting. In here we build a different kind of trust, a trust that can serve us out on the field.
Athens Referee Association seeks to:
1) Identify a local referee community
2) Provide league-relevant training to officials
3) Provide Liability Coverage for ARA assigned games
4) Model Professional Standards of Officiating and Officials' Training.
2013 Concussion Prevention
Ohio HB 143 of the 129th General Assembly mandates concussion protocols for coaches and officials working in youth sports. These referees are briefed on what they will need to do before they arrive to referee games. I will need to see that they have passed the on-line course and gotten a certificate. I give them the link:
Athens Referee Association-- referees must be a minimum age of fourteen-- now assigns officials to the Athens City Recreational Soccer League. This league offers us more nights/week to referee and a great training ground for our new referees.
Two other new leagues will use our association to schedule officials: Greater Athens Soccer Association League and Ohio University Women's Club. See below for more details.
Referees, it seems, are in vogue in some circles.
Sunday
Adult Cup League --Adult Coed Rec and Competitive combination
-- $15 per game/per ref for a two-person crew and $18 per game if a ref has to call a game solo.
Sundays from 4/7 - 6/2
Monday through Thursday
Athens City Recreation League --5th/6th Grade // 3rd/4th Grade --$15 per official, per game. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Game times are 5:15pm and 6:15pm
Saturday
Southeastern Ohio Soccer League --Under 8, Under 9, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14
--Refs $20/$25/$30 per game/U8 U10 one person crew/game. $25/$30 per game/per ref two-person crew U12 and U14. 9AM-5pm on Saturdays from 4/6 - 5/11
Greater Athens Soccer Association --7th-9th Grade
--$15 per game/per ref for a two-person crew and $18 per game/ ref solo
5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays from 4/13 - 5/11
Ohio University Women's Club --Spring Scrimmages
--$70 per per game
No games scheduled yet.
The Match
When certifying officials as an Instructor for the Federation, I follow the protocols and procedures. However, none of these local leagues is affiliated, so I create the curriculum and instruction procedures for ARA. I take a risk for this first clinic and use a technique I theorized about, but have never tried.
Since these referees all have some experience, I can take this risk. I am trying to gain a heightened interest level from them. All but one knows what a standard clinic setting is like. I want to blow their expectations open.
Tonight we watch the first sixty minutes of a real game I have on VHS format. We find the seventeen Laws and discuss them as they happen in a real game on the screen.
I want to stir their emotion. I want engagement, excitement. I want some of what I have experienced on a personal level from a few choice clinics from the Federation. When they leave tonight, they should want to go to the next level.
In preparation for this inaugural clinic, I search my collection of VHS tapes, and pull out a Major League Soccer Classic.
Columbus Crew V Kansas City Wizards, June 6, 1996
This game will suit our purposes because it shows a good range of Laws and has several episodes of misconduct. This game also will show how the Laws evolve. There are a few episodes on the tape I expect will startle some of these more experienced referees, because they have been taught to respond differently to the modern game.
Yet by far the best part of this game for my purposes is the style of the center official, Raul Dominguez. For better or worse he seems to have the style these referees in front of me want to emulate, and I want to show the benefits and pitfalls of such a style as displayed in this game.
I keep a notepad that has the match-minute of each episode we will discuss, and a remote control to start, rewind, and restart the tape. The game will happen on the screen in bursts, and we will interject with commentary and readings from the Laws and Questions and Answers.
We also punctuate the screen discussion interludes by asking occasional quiz-like questions on some of the Laws. I tell the guys from the start that this clinic is a first run, and there are areas I will need to improve. I soon discover that one of these areas is the quiz questions, they need to be selected with better discretion; but overall it seems the format works on this night for these referees.
The game tape begins and in the third minute there is a blatant foul by an attacker. Dominguez goes in and uses a quiet word. A nearby defender begins to interject, but Dominguez uses the public admonition.
Here we are in the third minute and already hitting the level of game management most appropriate to our highest level local leagues. This is what I hope will keep these guys engaged for nearly four hours.
We view applications of these laws and follow with readings and discussion: 1, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, 4, 12, 10, 13, 8, 11, 9, 7, and 14. We then cover Laws 2 and 3 right from the book.
In minute thirty, who steps into the screen as the fourth official? None other than an anonymous Ohio referee from Dayton. We stop the tape, and I hand them each a copy of Official Sports, the catalog for professional equipment. On the cover is a referee from the northern part of our state.
I then say,
"Ohio referees have been a part of this league from day one, and they are a part of this league today. Are you willing to work? Do you want to perform your best and see where those skills can take you? Because there is a future in this avocation for young, athletic types like you."
We conclude the clinic by taking a look at our calendar so I have their availability. They need to do some work to finish with the registration, and I will assign them games.
I have been a Grade 6 Referee since 2006. If these guys are to believe me that we can advance in this game, I need to stop resting on my past accomplishments. ARA has moved me to reach for the next level.
A few days after the clinic I request two assessments for upgrade in The U.S.S.F. system.
Submitted to DDA.
04/07/2013 10:00 AM
Upgrade
Assistant Referee
Submitted to DDA.
05/19/2013 10:00 AM
Upgrade
Referee
I locate an inclined path a few strides out my door.
We trained in the gym today. After facing the weather conditions of Day 1 for Under 12 Team, Remembering the Sun, and then Day 1 for the Under 10 Team, Half-Team Half-Training, I woke, saw snow outside, and moved training to this gym.
The Black Pearl died today, and I couldn't make it to the gym at three to mop the floor.
This is the car that has taken me to referee games all over the state.
R.I.P The Black Pearl
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening moments in the gym, the players entertain themselves on the stage as coach performs a quick-mop of the floor.
We are playing 3V3, with two teams on the floor and one team resting. The team that has been on the floor for two games rotates off to rest.
These guys are coming off as the orange team. They will go back out as green..
Looks like Orange has set up the right shape .
Moments after scoring a remarkable goal.
Then his brother wants to show his soccer stuff, but mom knows the rule about soccer on stage.
In How To Soccer: Dribbling Skills Improvement, we see an Athens Soccer Academy Individual Training Student on his
first run through a cone dribbling course; then we see him one week
later, after practicing fifteen minutes every other day.
Can you see the Improvement in Rhythm between Week 1 and Week 2?
Player benefits to Conecourse Dribbling are improvements in ball touch, ball control, and confidence.
Coaching points are
1) Coach the support foot to land and pivot on the ball of the foot.
2) Coach the player to bend at the ankles, knees, and hips.
3) Coach the player to start slowly through the course.
4) After technique has begun to develop, then allow players to move through at speed.
Here we see two more videos of players. In the first the player tends to touch the ball with his right foot. Coaches should encourage players to gain confidence with both feet by using them in situations like this.
When we start to train, we create wide gates between cones and these
become smaller and smaller, as we become quicker and quicker.
Have fun with conecourse dribbling and share your videos with how To soccer and Athens Soccer Academy. If you would like to watch more How To Soccer Videos visit our YouTube channel--http://t.co/5sRGABRE
How To Soccer raffles soccer equipment to selected winners. To become eligible to WIN, submit a video of you doing any training technique on any How To Soccer Video to Athens Soccer Academy as a video response on YouTube.
Good luck! You can't win if you don't train.
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In How To Soccer Video: 3V3 Game On w/ Match Minute Tracker Athens Soccer Academy--goo.gl/dJ5Qd we watch 3 minutes of a training game. The players are trying to score by hitting a soccer ball at either end.
Follow the match at the above link and pause at the indicated times below to read the commentary. You can comment on the YouTube video and see more How To Soccer videos at the above link. Watch and enter our raffle for spring or summer soccer equipment.
Match Minute Tracker--Commentary
:11 Orange draws out black defender creating space-- but the ball stays wide; better if this space were attacked.
:35 Orange plays a negative ball --a) the passer does not move to support the ball by keeping a passing lane open and b) no player is on the right side of the field for Orange so he has no passing options: a+b=c: c) this negative ball creates a highly risky situation resulting in a 1 on 1 challenge to their last defender.
:55 a second negative ball from Orange--Orange is better suited to support this ball, but after playing almost a full minute just about every pass for orange has been in front of the defense, and it is time to expand into that space either splitting the green and black players with a penetrating pass or down the line on the left flank.
:59 Good defensive posture from Green-- but he is positioned in front of the ball allowing black both options and black attacks his lead leg, as he should.
1:12 Is that a goal? Gola? Golaso? --I say magic and count it for its attacking attitude.
2:30 a chance at goal for black--use side of the foot.
2:37 --touch of magic.
2:41--The Moment of Truth--Orange has the strategic situation of 3V2, the strategic position of a triangle, and the game rhythm hits just right, but the last touch does not materialize.
3:11 Chance for Green-n-black in added time. --Nice work by this player.
Match Summary
These teams are well balanced with attack minded players mixed with defensive minded players, but you can see that the attacking players--for black the kid who magic heel-touched it toward goal at 1:12 and the green player for green and black-- want their teammates to penetrate the opponent's "shell". Both teams need to do better with their chances, Orange in front of goal and black on the counter.
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Athens Soccer Academy raffles free soccer equipment to selected winners. To become eligible to WIN a free soccer Skillball, send a video of you doing the skill on any How To Soccer Video to Athens Soccer Academy or as a video response on YouTube.
Good luck! Just as you can't score if you don't shoot, you can't win if you don't train.
If you would like to watch more How To Soccer Videos, visit Athens Soccer Academy on YouTube-http://goo.gl/S2jKn.
We want to hear your comments and see you doing How To Soccer.
In How To Soccer: Player Movement Grid, Athens Soccer Academy--www.athenssocceracademy.com demonstrates a 12X6 Movement Grid with the player facing the same direction.
Player benefits are improvements in speed, improvements in footwork.
Coaching points are smooth lateral movement, transitions, and acceleration.
How To Soccer raffles soccer equipment to selected winners. To become eligible to WIN, email a video of you doing any training technique on any How To Soccer Video to tad@athenssocceracademy.com or as a video response on YouTube.
Good luck! You can't win if you don't train.
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Thursday night starts out three hours before, with a coach and broom on a quiet floor.
The coach and his daughter return with a ball. We begin to warm up and practice striking the ball with the outside of the foot.
The boys all come in at once, and the atmosphere changes.
Then on Friday coach sees the same boys in a different gym.
Athens Soccer Academy raffles
soccer equipment to selected winners. To become eligible to WIN, email
a video of you doing any training technique on any How To Soccer Video
to tad@athenssocceracademy.com or as a video response on YouTube.
Good luck! You can't win if you don't train.
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We want to hear your comments and see you doing How To Soccer
Overall the assessors were very pleased with the officiating from
week #1; yet there are some consistency issues we need to sort out. This
week the theme is the little things. I hope you never fully appreciate the ways that something small can
generate huge headaches in a game. Something as small as not securing a net to a goalpost can confound the game, turn the match environment
from placid to red hot. This item shows up on the League Opening Week’s list of
items we need to clean up.
Tip: Taking care of the little things eliminates bad situations which are avoidable.
1) Goal nets Checking the goals should be on the list of game duties
so go ahead and pencil that in after the coin toss
and before the kickoff. Let me paint the picture for you…the goal nets
look good but are not secure in two places, closer inspection would
have revealed that the two clips around the corner are
missing…Minute 41, score tied, shot appears to go wide of goal but ends up (somehow??) in the back of the net… see what I mean abouta mess and how this can be avoided? Check the goals.
2) Shinguards were missing from players on both courts. We
overheard a player say the ref told him he didn’t need them. It is in
my version of the rules that players are required to wear them. So
please make sure we all understand. Go ahead and pencil in another item
on the duties list: shinguards are required equipment to be
checked before kickoff. Check the players.
3) Use your
mechanics to indicate your calls (i.e. point to the spot for a goal).
Sometimes we want to verbalize all calls; you are better to
verbalize what you need to when you need to. For example a ref said
aloud “goalkick”. Yet this was clearly from habit, because the ref
then properly administered a goalkeeper distribution. So we look less credible when we don't need to say anything and we do.
Also, if the player expects a foul to be called and you don't have one to give, tell him so that he can focus on the game. So you'd say, "keep going,,, nothing there,,, keep working...", and the player may not agree with you, but he will understand you saw the contact and deemed it not a foul...
the whistles after goals are not required.
4) There was a collision between a keeper and an attacker; it was
intense as they were both moving at high speed laterally. The
referees determined there was no foul as the goalkeeper had left the
penalty area and allowed play to continue as the goalkeeper lie on the
ground. When the ball left the playing area the referees whistled for
play to stop and converged on the spot of the collision. The
Officials checked with the players visually and verbally before
determining both players were OK and eager to return to play. This is
an example of excellent officiating.
5) On one end of the field a goalkeeper inadvertently left the penalty
area and didn’t get a two minute penalty and on the other end of the
same field a goalkeeper did much the same thing and did get a two
minute penalty. Tune in to your partner’s world and use the game
stoppages to converge and discuss situations. This will aid in
consistency.
6) DFK outside of penalty area: There was a foul just outside the
penalty area. The referee whistled for play to stop and briskly moved
to the position of the foul to indicate the spot was not within the
area. This is an example of excellent officiating.
7) Whistle variation: Use your whistle well. Most minor fouls require
a short blast conveying a civil tone. That blast becomes unnecessary
on balls obviously out of play. Save your whistle for when you need
it. When you need it, use it. So when the match tone has become
uncivil, your blast becomes stronger and sharper. For a misconduct
infraction or ejection the whistle blast should connote your
displeasure with the actions.
8) Tighten up calls last 4 minutes: Certain games become alive only in
the last four minutes, then they catch you napping. Use the final four
minutes to guard against anything from interrupting your good game.
9) Clock stoppages: We need to come to some clear understanding of
which situations stop the clock and which do not. I propose we do not
stop the clock unless there is apparent need for medical attention.
The Final minute of the match would be exempt from this.
If your player wants to play more
soccer in games, have them engage in these activities on the off days.
Learning to Train at Home
If your player wants to get more time on the field for his or her team, have them engage in these activities on the off days, and watch as their confidence and skills grow. A few minutes with the ball every other day will work wonders.
As a player, I grew up without any technical coaching until I began to travel to play on other teams and go to residential camps. No kid in my neighborhood played soccer. Recreational league soccer was a drive across town, and you could not find a coach who had played the game. In my front yard, I had a goal made out of PVC, and in the back of the house a garage door that served as my kickwall. At camps in Indiana, Illinois, and California, like in my front yard at home. I was alone.
So I grew up with a ball in my front yard and a goal made out of PVC pipes my father had constructed Without even a friend to kick to, no keeper, and no coach, I realized I had to find a few ways to
become a better player without these advantages.
My first step was to learn to juggle and breaking my record became my passion. I remember that early on, my record would increase by one, and it took a long time to get back as high as six, then seven, then nine. After I could get twenty or so juggles pretty regularly, my record pace accelerated. I would break my record by ten or twenty touches at a time. This was all mostly on the thighs, with some feet, and no bounces. The ground in front of my house was not smooth enough to allow juggling with a bounce. I had a paved driveway for that, and a special ball that had the cover torn off.
I remember summertimes when the World Cup was on, I would watch a half then run outside and juggle, dribble, shoot, and score. Then run back into the house to watch the next kickoff. I would spend days like this to get inspired by watching the game
before I practiced in my front yard. Watch and emulate! Learn and copy
what you see and like. But players who want to improve can work at these exercises for 30 minutes every other day for as long as they want to gain skills and confidence, for as long as they want to improve. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hint: Watch the game as much as you can learn to watch like a
student. Focus on individual players when they don’t have the ball
and when they get it. What do they do to get open? What do they do with
their first touch? What did they accomplish with their possession? On
game days Watch a game and focus on a player who plays your position. Create a mental image of swerving a cross or settling a ball played from 70 yards
away. I have won two
championships as the final kicker in penalty kick shoot-outs, and I always had a mental image of my penalty kick. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Balltouch exercises involve rolling the ball using the various parts of the foot. These exercises can be learned while sitting in a chair.
Eventually as skill and balltouch improve the player can learn to balance
while controlling the ball underfoot. After
one month the entire skill-set will
improve; confidence will improve;
the kid gets better.
#2 Juggling
Create a juggling challenge environment: Juggling with the feet and thighs with a bounce or without a bounce (start
with 50-100 touches/session). Juggle until you have set a record higher than
three. Continue every day to beat your record. Push your record setting. Ten will seem like an infinity until twelve is easy and so on. Spend
time lifting the ball off the ground with your foot and start to juggle
from the ground. Juggle with the head for 3 minutes of every session, bouncing it
straight up with the forehead and pushing up slightly from the knees. Juggling became my summer hobby. I pushed
to reach 100, and that involved many touches. Whether I attained that goal or not, I was getting better.
Create a dribbling challenge environment: 5 minutes/day as many repetitions through a
straight line maze as you can get without becoming dizzy. Space cones
four feet apart for one week and slither through them, making soft,
round turns rather than sharp angled cuts. Move the cones to three feet
apart for week #2. You are looking to better your time, but also your
control. Balancing speed and control is key. turning the “corner” in a
tight close loop takes time to learn. Move the cones to two feet apart
in week #3, and time yourself through the grid. Begin to put the cones
in zigzag formations and produce sharper cuts to turn around the outside
edge of the cones. Week four has the cones 1 foot apart, dribbling is
between the feet, left to right, using the inside edge of the laces and
the arch of the foot as well.
Create a footsquash challenge environment: I can think of no other name for this game,
but I would kick the ball off of our garage door, which was roughly the
size of a goal. On the occasions I would lure a neighborhood kid to play
against me, we would play squash, essentially. trying to hit a shot your
opponent can’t return. I would offer a three-touch restriction for the suspecting
neighbor kid and a one-touch restriction for myself.
Even if you can't find a neighborhood kid to play, kicking the ball off of a
flat surface to have it return is an excellent way to develop ball control. Played
alone, receiving the ball as it comes back to you simulates
playing pass with a second kid. This allows for the aspects of a) playing a ball properly and b) “trapping”–as it was
called then–or settling--controlling a bouncing ball and getting a good first touch. It is important that proper kicking is
practiced, with the side of the foot or the laces.
#5 Learn to Shoot:
Watch a YouTube Video of Athens Soccer Academy Individual Training--Player Learning to shoot.--
I see many advanced players still do not shoot
properly (driven ball), because they have never been taught,
or they are afraid of stubbing their toe. Those residential soccer camps I
mentioned in the intro taught me to learn to shoot on my own. That method informed me to teach kids to shoot. Athens Soccer Academy uses a modified version of that method to teach the proper mechanics for the instep drive.
Learning to kick with the laces involves learning to play a ball out of
your hands, straight in the air, and developing the muscle coordination
to transfer power from the kick at chest height to the shot with
the ball on the ground. The soccer “shot” is known as the Instep Drive. A
well driven ball is too rarely seen. Players typically come at the ball with their toe at an angle, and will generate lift and loss of power dynamics. Yet the instep drive is the basis for the shooter's art.
Beyond the 5 Steps
Any of these five exercises are excellent on their own. Initiate all of these training exercises as homework for kids and allow time to notice a caliber shift. What can be accomplished in 30 days is reassuring enough to inspire the player to accomplish a year's worth of technical growth in the off-season. These technical skills are the basis for player's who create a huge impact. Technical skill
is one’s own, forever.
Mind Body Spirit Soccer
Athens Soccer Academy invites you create your own video response to any YouTube video in this article for your chance to win a free skillball mini-soccerball from Athens Soccer Academy.
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