Last weekend I had the opportunity to watching potential MLS referees in the flesh. The games were part of the Carolina Cup hosted by the Charleston Battery. My local referee chapter put together a bus trip from Greenville, SC to Charleston, bought the tickets, provided food and then had a cookout with referees from Charleston.
When the eating and socializing was over the games began. The referee in the first game was Mark Kadlecik, from what I heard he's somewhat of a newcomer to the MLS scene hoping to get a full slate of MLS games this year. He's right on the cusp of being a regular face.
What the crowd will probably take away from this game was that he sent the left back from Toronto off in about the 30th minute for two professional fouls that happened within about two minutes of each other. Both were great calls. However, what I took away from his performance and will try to implement into my game is his awareness of the play, and by that I mean turning his head during dynamic play to see where the play is going to go next.
Constantly I saw him scan the field in front of him for movement that would tell him where the next phase of play was likely to be. For example, if the ball was on his right, toward the sideline, he would look across the penalty area as it was likely that a cross or through ball would be coming into that area. Now, I want to caution that we should not be looking as a play on the ball is being made by a defender. We cannot look away from a challenge, that is when we must be looking at the play. But when an attacker clearly has possession and you have a second to scan the field, take a look.
There are two reasons (and probably more) that this technique is helpful. First, you get to see what is happening off the ball. Is an attacker being held while he is making a run? Are the players expecting a cross or a pass on the ground? Is there a large group of people in front of the keeper? Now you have a better idea of what is likely to happen and can be proactive rather than reactive. Second, in the spirit of being proactive you can position yourself according to what you see. If there is a run being made toward the AR you can cheat his way. If everyone is congregating on the back edge of the goal area you can be ready for a cross in the air. Maybe someone is checking back to the ball and has lots of space. Position yourself for where the action is most likely to happen and remember presence lends conviction.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Safety First
My last blog post was about reffing for the next ref, in which I discussed that letting things go in your game may affect what the next referee has to deal with in his game. This week I want to remind referees the main reason they are on the field: player safety.
These two topics go hand in hand. If you let players get away with hard, dangerous challenges they will only do it more, whether later in your game or in the next game. At the youth level we not only referee but in a sense we are teaching the kids how the game is to be played. Our decisions have consequences, both in the game we're doing and in the game the kids play in the future.
The match that brought player safety to my attention was Manchester United vs. Liverpool. Liverpool are up 2-0 in the first half at home. Around the 40th minute, just a few before halftime, Jamie Carragher comes in high and hard, studs up, and violently clashes into Nani. No attempt was made for the ball even though the ball would have been easier to get than Nani. Phil Dowd, the referee, immediately called the foul and pulled the yellow card. Meanwhile, Nani gets up, sprints over to Dowd, and then collapses again. Whether or not this was a bit of theater I don't know, but I have seen the pictures of the injury and it does look quite nasty. A deep gouge, blood running down the leg and apparently Nani is out for 3-4 weeks.
A yellow has been given, Nani is stretchered off, everything should simmer down now, especially with halftime only a few minutes away, right? Wrong. Almost the very next play Maxi catches Rafael on the thigh with his studs (although clearly playing the ball unlike Carragher) and Rafael ends up two-footing Lucas high and late. Rafael and Skrtel end up with yellows for their efforts, although Rafael certainly deserved a sending off.
At this point you have to ask if there was anything Dowd could have done to at least prevent the second harsh challenge. In my opinion Dowd is a quality referee. There have been several instances in the last few weeks where he has gotten very tough decisions spot on. But the Carragher decision was not right. I'm not going to say it was "wrong", he was close to the play and immediately jumped in knowing what he was going to do, however, that kind of tackle is not needed in this game.
The only saving grace for Dowd was that halftime was right around the corner, everyone had 15 minutes to cool off. And, at this point both teams think they dodged a bullet in that each team should have had a man sent off. But let me ask you this, what happens if this all happens in the 60th minute? What does Dowd do when he has another half hour to play and tempers running high?
We cannot simply hope to get away with this in our games. Young players are impressionable and if we let them think this kind of football is ok then we do them, the players they will injure, and the game a disservice. We need to referee in a way that protects the talented footballers and punishes those who think the name of the game is to intimidate or injure the opponents. Player safety is our number one priority.
These two topics go hand in hand. If you let players get away with hard, dangerous challenges they will only do it more, whether later in your game or in the next game. At the youth level we not only referee but in a sense we are teaching the kids how the game is to be played. Our decisions have consequences, both in the game we're doing and in the game the kids play in the future.
The match that brought player safety to my attention was Manchester United vs. Liverpool. Liverpool are up 2-0 in the first half at home. Around the 40th minute, just a few before halftime, Jamie Carragher comes in high and hard, studs up, and violently clashes into Nani. No attempt was made for the ball even though the ball would have been easier to get than Nani. Phil Dowd, the referee, immediately called the foul and pulled the yellow card. Meanwhile, Nani gets up, sprints over to Dowd, and then collapses again. Whether or not this was a bit of theater I don't know, but I have seen the pictures of the injury and it does look quite nasty. A deep gouge, blood running down the leg and apparently Nani is out for 3-4 weeks.
A yellow has been given, Nani is stretchered off, everything should simmer down now, especially with halftime only a few minutes away, right? Wrong. Almost the very next play Maxi catches Rafael on the thigh with his studs (although clearly playing the ball unlike Carragher) and Rafael ends up two-footing Lucas high and late. Rafael and Skrtel end up with yellows for their efforts, although Rafael certainly deserved a sending off.
At this point you have to ask if there was anything Dowd could have done to at least prevent the second harsh challenge. In my opinion Dowd is a quality referee. There have been several instances in the last few weeks where he has gotten very tough decisions spot on. But the Carragher decision was not right. I'm not going to say it was "wrong", he was close to the play and immediately jumped in knowing what he was going to do, however, that kind of tackle is not needed in this game.
The only saving grace for Dowd was that halftime was right around the corner, everyone had 15 minutes to cool off. And, at this point both teams think they dodged a bullet in that each team should have had a man sent off. But let me ask you this, what happens if this all happens in the 60th minute? What does Dowd do when he has another half hour to play and tempers running high?
We cannot simply hope to get away with this in our games. Young players are impressionable and if we let them think this kind of football is ok then we do them, the players they will injure, and the game a disservice. We need to referee in a way that protects the talented footballers and punishes those who think the name of the game is to intimidate or injure the opponents. Player safety is our number one priority.
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