Field Mechanics--Session 1--Whitest Belt Referee Academy

Learning to referee is a process, akin to training in the martial arts.  We discussed some core concepts when we gathered on Saturday, August 23 for our first Field Mechanics Training for New Referees.

Since a few interested folks could not attend, there will be a makeup field mechanics session for those interested in working games in the Athens area this fall.
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Makeup Mechanics

Sunday, August 31 2:00 PM

 East State Street--RSVP to tad@athenssocceracademy.com

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Field Mechanics Training for New Referees 

Saturday, August 23

 Topics Discussed

1) Registration for Athens Referee Academy and mandatory meeting September 5th at 701 East State Street 5:00PM--9:00PM.


2) Concussion Certification--All 2014 referees are required to complete the 30 minute concussion prevention course which is available on line at

http://www.nfhslearn.com/


3) Arrival--Referees have pre-game duties requiring them to arrive before the scheduled kickoff time.  Late arrival is unacceptable for games, and this applies to meetings as well.  Referees should arrive with at least 15 minutes of a window before the event.  Factoring in travel and preparing your kit--dry clothes to change into, snacks, water, etc.--suggests the preparations actually begin one to two hours before the event.  This skill--to time your arrival and to be prepared--will extend to all aspects of life.  This is one of the skills in the professional repertoire you will begin to cultivate in the pursuit of this endeavor.

4) Reports are required if an injury or a disruption occurs in the match.  The report writing suggests that referees are not finished when they lave the field.  Again the Referee Academy is training future responsible leaders through the application of the full range of Officials' Mechanics.

5) Game Assignment Protocol--Responsibility is the major thing.  First, the referee is responsible for submitting Availability Dates to the Assignor--in this case Tad.   After the assignments have been sent out, there is a responsibility on the referee to confirm those assignments in a prompt manner.  Once an assignment has been confirmed, the refree is responsible for that match and that subsequent match report.  If the referee needs to make a change after confirming an assignment, they are responsible for finding a qualified replacement.  Tad will assist in this process, and should be kept in the loop, but the responsabilty to cover confirmed assignments lies with the refree.

In the event the referee does not show for a confirmed assignment, that official risks losing future game assignments from the Academy.

Athens Referee Association

Organization for local soccer officials to the Athens, Ohio area
*Liability Insurance Coverage  

*Education and Continuous Training Opportunies

*Game assignments

Explanation of ARA Level system:

Level 1 Officials have a certification in either USSF, OHSAA, or
NISOA, and have considerable game experience. Level 1 Officials have
the first option to take games, and can work any game.  Level 1
Officials may pursue certification or upgrade in either USSF, OHSAA,
or NISOA.

Level 2 Officials have a season of experience as a referee, but lack the game experience and certification of level 1 Officials.  Level 2 Officials may pursue certification or upgrade in either USSF or OHSAA.  Level 2 Officials can be assigned games in SOSL, GASA, and Sunday Adult League.

Level 3 Officials have no certification, but would like to attain
Level 2 Official status. Level 3 Officials may pursue certification or
upgrade in either USSF or OHSAA. Level 2 referees are officials in
training.

Annual Registration Fee:
covers your insurance and one quarterly training.
Level 3 Official 2014 Registration- $30
Level 1 Official or Level 2 Official 2013 Registration- $20 

Leagues Served by ARA

Saturday

SOSL--Under 8, Under 10, Under 12,

--Refs U8 - $16 (single official;)
U10 - $20 (single official)
U12 - $20/15/15 Diagonal/ /$20 (dual official)
 9AM-5pm on Saturdays in Athens Alexander, and Logan

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

Games are on East State Street

Sunday

Athens Soccer Academy Women's League

$15 single official

Games are after 3:00pm trending toward evening
Games are on East State Street

Saturday & Sunday

Ohio University Women's Club 

As the spring and fall calendar dictates

Athens Referee Academy

To perform at one's best is a personal goal, to extend that goal to a loose community of individuals is another matter.

If you enjoy this post check out--http://howtosoccerblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/referee-training-seminar-dayton-ohio.html

From List to Organization

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:

http://www.nfhslearn.com/.

The Leagues We Serve

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.  

The Make-up

Make-up Clinic

Friday, April 5

5-9pm

Athens City Recreation Center

RSVP to tad@athenssocceracademy.com

The Model

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.

Ref Run--Total

Running the Beast



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Adult Tournament Bracket

Referee Diary

I arrive before the Adult bracket, and the Girls Bracket semifinal is just finishing.  

These are some of the same teams I wrote about competing against in Big Noises, Small Spaces.  

This tournament is double elimination, and that was white's first loss; so these same teams will play again in the final.

And the white team wins a t-shirt to add to their collection.

Players are getting ready for the bracket I came to referee.  I know many of these faces from years past.

Before the games, the mood is relaxed.  Equipment is spread about and balls are knocked around.



Then the kits are secured and we play.

Inevitably in the adult games, the mood will turn, and my job is to feel that and respond.

In this bracket we have an incident in the second game.  Some shoving is involved, then the aggression turns on the referee in the form of dissent.

But there is no more drama after game 2, and this bracket, too, is won by players who are no strangers to the winners circle.

 

Then off come the boots

And we return to our families.

College Showcase Tournament--Photoessay

For this Referee these games start the night before.  I read the rules, pack the bags, and plan the day.  These activities prepare my mental state for the action and the energy.

 

 

 

Garmin eTrex 20 Hiking GPS Receiver - ETREX20 (Google Affiliate Ad)

 

After waking to an alarm, I am in the vehicle for 130 miles till I get to the park where today's assignments will be played.

 

 

 

 

Field 1: My field

All of these fields have been cleared of snow, and the surfaces are artificial; otherwise, this would be a mud bog. 

 

 

 

 

Inside the heated Referee tent, we prepare our equipment and cover the officials' pregame talk.  It is here that later I will be asked to stay and work the night game.

 

 

 

A Look Inside a Referee's Kit.

Referees like to collect items showing where the game has taken them.

 

 

 

Before my first game, I assess the grounds.

 

 

 

 

A friend is on the field next to mine.  Looks like he's got his lot under control for now...

 

 

 

Before the night game, I manage to capture just a slice of the girls soccer talent at these games.

 

This video happens moments before my last kickoff. A few match minute tracker notes appear below.

• :03 Green Long Throw-In over the head of white defender and into space down the line.
• :05 White central defender slides over to clear, but clears to green.
• :13 Green re-attacks the same space by sending a chipped ball down the line to her team mate.
• :15 green settles the ball and pulls the ball behind the lead leg to beat her defender and attack the space behind the defense.
• :20 Green team mate checks to the ball from a central position, and shoots with the left foot.

 

After a long day we head back to our vehicles.  Some will return at 8AM for Day 2.

 

 

I need to follow my friend out of the park and back to the highway, and he has forgotten to wait.  As I rush to my vehicle, my camera captures the haste of the life of a Referee on the road.

 

Referee Assessment Report 1--Indoor Soccer

 February  2011

Referee Assessment Report

--THE LITTLE THINGS

 

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.

 http://www.athenssocceracademy.com/home/referees