Spring Flings

Do you guys ever have those times in your life when things just seem to be going right?  Yes, you still have your day to day inconveniences, you still have to pay the bills and all that, but some things just fall into place.

Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston -
My U18 games will take place here.

The last month has been a whirlwind in the soccer part of my life, but a good whirlwind.  About a month ago I was invited by our SYRA, a guy who has gone well above and beyond to help our state restructure itself, to attend an RTS (Regional Training Seminar).  Being a grade 7 with great interest in upgrading by year end the idea of attending a Pro clinic resonated loudly with me.  Yeah, except that fitness test, but you have heard me complain all about that.

Well, I’m less than 24 hours away from running the test.  I’m very confident today because of all the training in the past month.  I didn’t think a month ago that I would feel so confident a day before the test, but I do. 

A little aside for those of you who might be a grade 8 and you are debating what to do with your career, upgrade, stay an 8, maybe even retire.  I looked at the list of who is attending the clinic and was blown away.  Along with several 7s, 6s and 5s there are several notable attendees: Michael Kennedy,  Abiodun Okulaja,  Andrew Chapin, Bill Dittmar, George Gansner just to name a few.  I have met several MLS quality referees in the past couple years, most at the Regional Tournament, but never have I been involved with so many at one time.  And that’s not even the best part!  The two men leading the discussion will be Herb Silva and Alfred “Lithuania” Kleinaitis.  Spend some time with Alfred and you’ll know why I call him “Lithuania”.  If you are thinking there is no reason to upgrade or go to these events I would like to point out just whom you will be rubbing shoulders with.  It’s a great opportunity to learn from the best and pick the brains of some pretty well-respected people in the referee community.

As I was training for the upcoming fitness test my SYRA, who happened to be training there with his wife, mentioned there may be an opportunity to ref some youth games in Charleston.  These aren’t just any youth games either, they are the youth teams for MLS clubs, all academy teams.  I about jumped out of my shoes!  I just received my assignments today, the U18 boys games at Blackbaud Stadium on Sunday, February 26^th.  I have been to Blackbaud, known guys who have reffed there, but never gotten the opportunity to ref there myself.  What’s also pretty cool is that these games take place the morning after three MLS teams will have played there as part of the Carolina Cup (http://www.charlestonbattery.com/news.asp).  The next weekend, March 3^rd, our local referee society will be taking a bus to Charleston to watch the last two games of the Cup, joining the referee group from the low state.

All in all a soccer-ific  Spring.  I can’t wait to get everything started with the fitness test tomorrow.  Lastly, I want to point out that these things aren’t happening simply because I’m a high-up referee with lots of connections and I’m so good at what I do.  I am a normal grade 7 ref looking to advance.  If you take the time to get involved with your local chapter, show up to your games on time, work at this profession these things will happen.  There are so many opportunities out there but you have to be willing to put in a little extra effort and make a few weekend trips (and have a loving wife who lets you do these things!).  Get out there and make your own opportunities, you’ll be surprised at how many doors open up.

Update on Fitness Test Training

As you guys may remember I began training for the FIFA Fitness test a few weeks ago (http://footyref.blogspot.com/2012/01/fifa-fitness-not-yet.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ReffingTheBeautifulGame+%28Reffing+the+Beautiful+Game%29).  That didn’t go so well to say the least.

The first day I went out, which I chronicle in the link above, I really had no idea what I was doing.  My hopes were to run 30 intervals with modified (read: longer) rest times.  My goal was just to survive really, not necessarily set any world records.  No worries there as I didn’t do either.

To say I was pretty bummed was an understatement.  My mind was racing every time I thought about the test I would have to run at the Regional Training Seminar (RTS) clinic in a very short four weeks.  Would I be ready in that short amount of time?  What can I do to get ready?  What if I don’t get to the point where I think I can pass the test, should I drop out at the last minute and not shame myself or my state by failing the test?  My body wasn’t running fast but my mind was approaching light speed.

Two days after my initial foray into training for the fitness test I went to a local track group’s workout.  This group is led by a fellow referee’s wife, Alisen.  She’s a registered RN and has just gotten into corporate health and wellness, coming up with training plans for employees.  This track group was just what I needed.  I showed up the first night not exactly knowing what to expect.  Whatever expectations I did have were thrown out the window in about the first five minutes.  For the warm-up, the bloody warm-up, we jogged two miles.  It was going to be a long night.

After the warm-up we did some dynamic stretching, some fly work (sprints: 20m, 30m, 40m), and then began the meat of our workout which for me was 4x800 all supposed to be done under 3:36 with 90 seconds rest in between.  Yeah, right.  I hit the first target time.   The next three I added about 15 seconds each time.  If I had any doubts I was out of shape they were forcefully thrown out the window by the end of this workout.  I was so tired I didn’t even think about the one mile cool down run.

Three sore days later I headed out to the track after work to attempt the 30 interval modified test again.  I was determined to finish this time.  One of my problems was that I was trying to finish each 150 meter run in 30 seconds, something that only FIFA centers have to do.  The actual test at RTS would be 35 seconds for the same distance.  I still kept my rests at 45, 50, and 55 seconds, increasing with each set of ten intervals.  Another of my problems that I solved on this night’s run was to start in the middle of the track turn, even with where the goalposts for football would be.  This decreased my time on the curve of the track and increased my time on the straight away which made me reach higher speeds.  These two changes completely improved my performance.  Not only did I hit 30 intervals, about 3.7 miles, but I did so with relative ease.  I still needed to bring my rest times down, but my confidence grew exponentially in just that hour at the track.

I rested the next few days, especially with my legs having taken the pounding on a hard track two nights in the previous week.  The next Monday I went out with the track group again, this time running a one mile time trial for the workout.  Again, they all whopped me, younger, older, male, female, it didn’t matter.  But my confidence was still on the rise.  I knew in just a short couple of weeks my running had improved. 

To the group’s credit they went out of their way to accommodate the referees of the group and agreed to run the FIFA fitness test the next two weeks.  The first night we split into two groups: the first mainly made of the group’s real runners and the second a combo of the group’s refs and one of the regular runners.  Either way, running the test with others was a huge help.  Not only did you feel you were accomplishing something as part of a bigger organization but you were able to push each other on.  This time we ran it in the specified times, 24 intervals, 35 seconds per 150 meters followed by a 40 second recovery of 50 meters.  Every single person, ref or runner, hit every time.  I walked away from this experience knowing I would have no problem with the test.

Last night was the last track group run before this coming weekend’s test.  Again, the refs ran the fitness test, this time with a new participant, a female referee with WPS experience.  She would also be with us at RTS on the weekend, but mentioned her reservations about her fitness and her feelings on her ability to pass the test.  Ha!  She paced the group for the entire 24 intervals!  Not only did our group finish the test without a hitch, but she led almost every single interval, from beginning to end.  So much for those reservations.

We are now four short days away from the actual test.  A mere month ago I was nervous and even debating how I should bow out of RTS should I think myself not able to complete the test.  To say I have a different mindset today may be the biggest understatement I have heard all year.  That and Suarez is a dirty player (sorry Liverpool fans, I couldn’t resist). 

My hope is that you read my experience with training and use it as motivation to hit whatever goal you set for the Spring season.  Maybe it is to pass the FIFA test; maybe it’s to lose five or ten pounds so that you are no longer moving your head more than your legs to get the proper angle on the play since you are out of position.  Whatever your stumbling blocks, know that you can overcome.  Come up with a plan and stick to it.  I would highly recommend, if you hate running as I do, to find a group that you train with at least once a week.  Find some people who will push you beyond what you could do yourself.  You may be amazed at what you can do after four short weeks of training.

RefTalk

Down here in the wonderful South our youth leagues begin in the fall and close in the early winter, just before Christmas.  For the second year I was invited by the State Cup assignor to join many very good referees for the semi-finals and finals of the tournament.  Because it was being held locally and I have a position on the local board I was asked to buy some breakfast food for our pre-tournament meeting.  Willing to help and also looking to make sure the local organization didn’t fail the rest of the state I jumped at the opportunity.

I came in early Saturday, about a half hour before the meeting and set up the food, steaming Chick-fil-A nuggets, Dunkin Donuts, and some other goodies for the guys to scarf down.  As I was setting up in the hotel conference room I noticed four black bags, approximately 12”x8”x10”.  No markings on the bags whatsoever so I just assumed they were bags the hotel used or gave away to big groups.  Thought nothing more about them.

We began the meeting: what to expect at the tournament, field marshals, etc.  All very important stuff but nothing out of the ordinary for a tournament.  Then, the kicker: Our SYRA starts talking about how the State Committee wants to go in a new direction and really improve our quality of refereeing throughout the state.  He pulls one of the black bags and says “That’s why we bought four sets of RefTalk for the tournament and at the end of the tournament one set will go to each of the areas of the state.”  I think everyone in the room was floored!  I certainly was.

Unless you are already at a very high level of refereeing you probably have never used RefTalk.  I never have and certainly didn’t think I would until I reached at least grade 6 and maybe got on a USL game as a fourth or some such event.  To use it for your run of the mill youth games?

Of course with anything new there is a learning curve and on such important games as State Cup you don’t want to throw a monkey wrench into something that’s already working pretty well.  If I would guess I would say some of us were nervous over adding technology to our games.  I definitely was a little nervous but I’m pretty sure the excitement of the opportunity pushed the reservations out of my mind.  We got to the fields extra early to make sure we got the equipment strapped on just the way we wanted, leaving enough time to warm up with it on to make sure everything fits right and we adjust whatever we need to adjust. 

As we put the devices on we could tell the coaches were even looking over at us with smirks, probably chuckling a little to themselves about the refs using their new toys, but also we could sense they were impressed.  Seeing us use RefTalk showed them we cared deeply about our performance and wanted every tool that enabled us to do our best.  For ourselves, yes, but also to do our best for the game.  I used the device in three games over the weekend and we didn’t have problems with coaches or players in any of my games.  Talking to other referees they had similar outcomes.  I would like to think it was just our fantastic refereeing that was responsible for this good behavior, but I think RefTalk helped shape the coaches’ impression of us before the games even started.

Not only did RefTalk help us in that fashion but on the field it proved to be very helpful.  I can think of several instances throughout the weekend where being able to communicate over such a long distance proved to be a huge asset.  One particular incident happened in our first game.  I was AR2 and around my side of midfield an attacker and defender got tangled up.  The attacker looked like he might just fight through the confusion but the defender finally brought him down.  Foul on the defender, but nothing with intent or malice that we could see.  Also, not a tactical foul.  However, the attacking team felt extremely aggrieved and protested loudly.  Our center did his best to get everyone calmed down but still they hollered for justice.  Remembering “Kill The Referee”, the documentary following the referees of EURO 2008, I pressed the button to activate my mike and encouraged the center to just get the game moving again, blow the whistle, tell them to start and get out of the area.  He listened and did exactly that.  The ball was in play not two seconds later with no other thoughts to the play that just took place.  Without RefTalk this would have been impossible.  Had I been center I would have done exactly what my center had done, try to calm everyone down, explain it was just an accident, and let the protesting go on and on.  You get tunnel-vision in situations like that.  But to have the ability for your crew to talk to you and bring four minds into the conversation proved very beneficial.

You also get instances where technology is a hindrance.  We had such a case in my last game of the weekend, my only center.  I really screwed the pooch on an incredibly easy play.  So much so that even my assessor could tell something didn’t look right. 

On the far sideline, in front of the parents and fans the ball got kicked out of bounds.  There were a few bodies in the mix and I didn’t want there to be any confusion between myself and my AR as to which direction to go.  Instead of doing what I always do and raising one hand slightly to the side I want to go with my other hand pointing the same direction across my stomach I decided I should try to buzz my partner and verbally communicate which way I wanted to go.  Wouldn’t you know this would be the time I couldn’t find my button?  I struggled for what seemed an eternity, probably 1-2 seconds, over what should have been an easy call.  On top of me looking like an idiot my AR is sheepishly looking at me waiting for me to do something. 

I think when you total up both sides of the ledger, the pros and the cons of RefTalk, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.  Certainly after three games I am no expert, but the positives that I took away from the weekend were worth the awkwardness I felt in a few instances.  RefTalk really raises your game to that next level.  It makes tough decisions easier to make because you can immediately get input from the rest of your team, or tell that what you saw or what you expect of them.

If any ever get the chance to use RefTalk I would highly encourage it.  If you have used RefTalk before I would invite you to share your experiences with it.

Opportunities

Hello again.  I know it has been a long time since my last post and for that I apologize.  Part of it is that I just haven't had much to write about; there is no club soccer in the spring in South Carolina, save U-13 and U-14.

Recently, however, I have made some decisions on some reffing related trips.  The first is Memorial Day Weekend.  Last year my wife and I decided to travel North for the holiday to her parent's place.  The main reason I suggested the trip was for me to referee a large tournament - The Dayton Warrior Classic.  She would get to see her parents (and I didn't have too - just kidding honey!) and I would get to ref and get paid for the trip. 

It was such a good experience we decided to do it again.  It's about an 8 hour trip by car but I think it will be well worth it.  The tournament is well run from a referee perspective.  The games were on time, they worked in games off (I was on a 4-man rotating crew both days), there were plenty of cold beverages to re-hydrate, lots of food, marshals who actually help, and the money was brought to you in cash via envelope before every game in denominations easily divisible between the crew.

Last year I got to work with three state referees from Ohio North.  I did 6 U-16 boys games on Saturday and 3 U-17 boys games on Sunday with them.  Sunday night I had the middle on the U-18 final, originally scheduled as the semi-final but somehow turned into a final. 

I'm very excited to be working this tournament again and will hopefully have a similar experience to last year.  The second decision was much harder to make.  Having recently had a child I was thinking that I probably would not go to regionals this year, in an effort to help out my wife.  However, she gave me the 'ok' to sign up and now it looks like I'm off to Tennessee for my second regionals experience.

This is a huge honor for me, one for which I am very grateful.  Last year was a great event in Baton Rouge, LA.  It was a great learning experience and a chance to rub shoulders with some great referees.  I am also excited for this year's trip.  The games are going to be good, for sure, the instruction will be top class and the times spent with other referees will be memorable. 

While preparing for both of these events I am focusing on my fitness and my knowledge of the Advice to Referees handbook.  I have long loathed running; if there is not a ball involved I do not care to run.  I'm glad my wife likes to run with me so that we can train together.  We've been running lately and my goal is to be able to run 8 miles straight by mid-June, around regionals.  We're running just about every day with longer runs on the weekend.  Also, I just came across a workout in Muscle and Fitness magazine called the "Metabolic workout", also referred to as EPOC.  The theory is to do different tasks in quick succession creating a lack of oxygen so that your body goes into your fat stores for the oxygen it needs.  Hopefully I can shed  few lbs by the time regionals rolls around: I am shooting for about 10 total.

I'm also reading through Advice to Referees currently, highliter in hand.  My goal is to make it through that twice in the next month.

Here's to two good tournaments and that I can physically and mentally survive both!

Take a look around

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.

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.

Reffing for the next Ref

If you watched last week's Champions League game between AC Milan and Tottenham you know two things:

1. AC Milan is about to be knocked out of the tournament
2. Gattuso is a thug

Yes, that second one really is no surprise.  Gattuso has always been a bit of a fighter on the pitch, and not in a good way.  His work rate is terrific, but now that he is older, a step slower, he is relying too much on his strength to get him by.  He picked up a caution for his efforts which rendered him out of the return leg next week at White Hart Lane.

Two points about this, first, the referee must know these teams inside and out before the game, and second, the referee(s) must not let the players off the hook on serious plays for this will leave the referee of that team's next game in big trouble.

To the first point, with a game of this magnitude we would assume the referee had researched both teams inside and out prior to arriving in Milan.  I read last week that an MLS ref put in 10 hours of pre-game work for a regular season MLS game.  How much more important is a UEFA Champions League match (sorry MLS, you're not there)? 

Knowing that Gattuso was one caution away from a mandatory one-game suspension is vital, for when Gattuso picks up that yellow he now has nothing to lose - and he showed that last week.  He must have thought "I'm already suspended why not put a cherry on top"?  After that yellow Gattuso acted like a crazy person, both on the pitch and off.  He struck an assistant coach in the throat, had some very harsh challenges (none of which elicited another caution in the mind of the referee, definitely worth yellows in my mind), and then headbutted the asst. coach on the sidelines after the game. 

Tighter control on Gattuso may not have prevented these things from happening, but then again, we never will know because the referee never tightened his reigns on him.

This first point rolls into the second, in that as referees we dictate to the players what is acceptable and what is not.  If you never call offside even though there are clearly times when players are offside and involved, the players will react to that two ways: the defense will no longer play an offside trap and the offense will cherry pick the rest of the game.  The players adapt to the referee's style.

In last week's game Gattuso played like a caged animal, angry, fed up with the way his team was being dismantled by Tottenham - at home no less, and frustrated with the lanky Peter Crouch.  First of all, the referee needed to realize this and have a chat with Mr. Gattuso.  Second, there is no excuse for the AR1 to not send off Gattuso for the strike at the face of Joe Jordan.  You are standing right there and saw the entire thing - why are leaving Gattuso on the field!?  Gattuso cataloged the cowardice of the AR knowing that neither he nor the Center referee would do anything about his style of play.  He went on barging into tackles, pushing Peter Crouch and eventually headbutted Jordan. 

My question is this: what if this happened in our youth-level games and we didn't deal with it?  What do you think the player would think going into his next game, that he could run around the pitch making bad challenges and shoving other players?  More than likely, yes.  And since they travel over many states how would a referee in North Carolina or Georgia know that last week in South Carolina player A played like a lunatic but didn't get sent off for it?  What will that referee now have to deal with because the referee crew in South Carolina screwed up? 

We need to be working our games in a way that teaches young players how to the play the game, the beautiful game, not the physical rugby style game.  We need to help our fellow referees by dealing with misconduct in our games so that it does not carry on into the future and become a pattern where someone has to get hurt before that player cools off.

After all, player safety is the A1 responsibility of the referee.

Reffing a different game

Well, I've finally given in, I'm going to certify to be a college referee.  I did High School a few years ago, but due to my main job had to cut back and ended up giving up HS entirely.  But now I've been suckered in to the college game.

No doubt these will be much faster games than the youth games I've done, but along with that comes much more travel and time away from home.  With a new baby at home that may be hard to do, but I also know that the money I get will help make up for that time away from home.

I certainly look forward to the challenge but at the same time I feel comfortable doing youth games, so this will take me out of my comfort zone.  What also worries me is the rule differences between USSF and NISOA.  That only became more clear during the college playoff season with a series of mishaps involving referees.

Also, I hate drama.  Little drama, big drama, all drama.  But it seems that college soccer is filled with it - just go back to the massive thread on Big Soccer's referee forum which discussed college soccer.  Politics run rampant and it seems coaches have huge pull in the sport.

What I am glad about, though, is that the guys I will be reffing with I trust very much, from my assignor to my fellow refs.  I've had several discussions with them about this move and they have been extremely helpful and really set my mind at ease.

What are your thoughts on the college game?  Do you have any advice for a newbie to the college game?

Live blog of the Fulham-Wigan game

90:00 - And there is the final whistle.  A draw for Fulham when they really could have easily dropped all three points versus a lesser team.  Good game for Anthony Taylor; I thought he did very well through, maybe one or two less cautions, but it could have easily gotten out of hand too, with some of those tasty challenges.  The AR also made a great call to take away Dempsey's goal - spot on!

89:00 - And finally a goal for my Cottagers!  Andy Johnson is slightly lucky that the ball ended up in the net but it is deserved as Fulham have been the real aggressors in this game.

And on the other end Rodallega is called for a handball, just as he has an attempt on goal.  In real time I wasn't sure what the referee was calling but upon replay it was an excellent call.  He even got a yellow for it which is quite right as it was clearly an intentional handball.  And another caution for Di Santo for dissent towards the AR.  Things getting a bit out of hand here as the players would rather jaw at each other than play.

76:00 - Not much happening here, both in the game and with respect to refereeing.  Wait, no a goal is called back as Dempsey puts the ball in the net but as he's running away notices the AR with the flag up.  The referee immediately runs over to the AR as the AR is getting mobbed by Fulham players.  Great call by the AR, especially since he had to be 35 yards away from the handball.  Although I would have wanted Fulham to score Dempsey did use his arm to bring the ball down.

And now the referee decides to not call anything with Dempsey going down.  Upon replay I have to agree with him - I think Dempsey realized he was in bad shape and decided to just go down since he had been touched a second earlier.  Taylor has had a very good game today.  Only 9 minutes plus stoppage to go for him.

57:00 - We have our first goal of the game as the Fulham defense completely falls apart.  Rodallega produces a perfect touch over the goalkeeper, well weighted and well taken.  Game on!

50:00 - And our first big call of the second half as Figeroa take a nasty lunge.  Easily a yellow card and the referee is right on it.

45:00 - Our second caution of the day goes to Alcaraz of Wigan.  Maybe deserved, but I think it looked worse than it really was.  Halftime here at the DW as both teams play pretty squarely in the first half.  Not much attacking football and hopefully we will see better come the second half.

36:00 - Oh, and one of a referee's top ten worst nightmare's just happened.  Not only did the referee get hit with the ball but square in the noggin'.  He was roughly 8-10 yards away and the kick happened fairly quickly.  Luckily, it was in the midfield and really didn't affect the game, unlike when I got hit in the butt with the ball from a kick from team A, the ball bounced to team B who proceed to march right down the field and score within 20 seconds of the ball's contact with me.  Yeah, probably my most embarrassing moment as a referee.

31:00 - A great chance for Fulham does begging as Duff passes the ball directly at the goalie.  A great ball by Dempsey sprang Duff  towards the goal all alone, only for Duff to squander the opportunity.  A great no-call by the AR as Duff timed his run perfectly.

29:00 - A little bit of confusion here as the referee has whistled for a foul but strangely it was for Fulham, whereas I though Dempsey was the one who committed the foul.  Dempsey certainly barged in on the challenge but it goes the other way.  No harm done as the ball goes harmlessly out for a goal kick.

25:00 - Finally some controversy!  A yellow card is produced for Pantsil.  I'm not sure whether it was for the challenge, which was pretty light honestly, or for the reaction of Pantsil.  Either way, it might be a harsh caution especially since there has been nothing really to this game in terms of physicality.

Oh!  And now a header off the post for Wigan.  So close.  A very good buildup by Wigan, good passing and an excellent cross.  Now it's all going wrong for Fulham as Stockdale, the keeper for Fulham, drops a cross and almost gives a goal right into the lap of Wigan.  This game is finally heating up.

21:00 - Not much to this from a referee's perspective.  Taylor has made five foul calls, so roughly one every four minutes.  And now another on Fulham in the 23rd. Overall I think there is a pretty good flow to this game, though neither team is really taking the game by the scruff of the neck.  A lot of play in the middle of the pitch.  No hard tackles to speak of and so far, I think Taylor is doing really well in the middle.

9:15 - First real call (or no-call in this case) of the game at 9:15 in.  It looked like Pantsil took a knock to the head after his bad touch.  Referee doesn't flinch and play goes on leading to a shot off target by Rodellega.  There was no close-up of the play but it looked like the referee made the right decision.  Gotta better than a small knock in the EPL.

Kickoff - We are at the DW Stadium today and the referee is Anthony Taylor.  To be honest I'm not too familiar with him.  Wigan is sitting second from the bottom of the table and Fulham is 14th, but only a single point about the relegation zone.

Wigan are in the blue stripe and Fulham in a hideous green kit.

Today I'll be live-blogging the Fulham-Wigan game at 10am EST.  Why this game?  Well, Fulham are my team, so this is kinda like killing two birds with one stone.  Remember, you can watch this game and any other on www.atdhe.net.  I hope you'll follow along with me.

Handball or ballhand

Recently in the Manchester United vs. Arsenal match there was a penalty kick given for handball.  I saw this live on Monday afternoon (the 13th) and thought it harsh then.  I was able to find a video of the game, unfortunately not one of just the incident, and it is located here: http://www.footytube.com/video/manchester-united-arsenal-dec13-67803.

At 12:30 in the video Howard Webb has played a wonderful advantage.  Park had been cut down but the ball bounced right into the path of Anderson, who plays it to Nani.  Nani takes on Clichy and beats him to the end line, only for Clichy to slip on the wet turf and fall.  As Clichy is falling the ball is played by Nani but goes directly into the extended arm of Clichy.

Here is where we must decipher what Clichy is trying to do.  According to the laws of the game a handball must be deliberate.  The guidelines from USSF say deliberate is intentionally handling the ball, i.e. slapping the ball, or making oneself bigger.  From what I can see here Clichy does neither.  His arm is extended not to make himself bigger but to balance himself in an effort to stand back up and defend, something that ANY player would do, meaning it is a normal playing position.  He clearly did not intentionally handle the ball as he made no clear attempt to touch the ball with his hand.

The AR called the penalty, not the referee.  Immediately after being recognized by Webb the AR motions his arm indicating to Webb, the center, that Clichy deliberately moved his arm to handle the ball.  From the replay this is flat out wrong.

I don't want to just throw the AR under the bus as I realize this game is a very high level and is moving extremely fast, but to make that call in the box is harsh.  This call could have completely changed the game, putting Man United up 2-0 and really putting the game out of reach.  We as referees must be able to slow the game down in our minds and instantaneously replay the events that just occurred.  In this case, we need to immediately be asking ourselves whether the hand played the ball or the ball played the hand.  Clearly the ball was played into the hand, which was in a normal position.  Therefore, there is no penalty for me.

One last point about this situation.  Howard Webb does well to protect his AR after the call has been made.  I always tell my ARs that I will sell there calls, unless I see something 100% different.  If I'm Webb and I give the penalty I will also protect my ARs and Webb does that well here.  Nasri and Clichy, particularly Nasri, are moving towards the AR and screaming at him.  Webb comes in, gets in between the players and the AR and moves them back, even giving Nasri a caution.  Excellent teamwork here.

State Cup games

Sorry it's taken me so long to write another post.  Life is not the same with a newborn, that's for sure.

Tomorrow I have the opportunity to work two games, both semi-finals in the club state challenge cup.  The first game I am the 4th for a U15 girls game.  I'm not been a 4th before but I did get to witness a few games this summer at Regionals where we had 4ths.  Given what happened in the Akron-Cal quarterfinal game last weekend I am taking this assignment very seriously.  Here is a thread regarding that quarterfinal game: http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1604868

The second game is a U16 boys semi-final.  I get to center this one.  The two teams are actually part of the same "club"; however, they are in two different cities about 2 hours apart, Mount Pleasant and Columbia.  I expect a pretty high level match for this.

For me, in situations like this, I tend to get really nervous.  If this were just a regular season game with the same two teams I would be fine.  Just go out and do the games.  But because this is a semi-final, with these kids' whole season riding on this one game, I make myself freak out.  I played HS football, kicker, and did the same thing then.  I thought about it way too much and scared myself to death.  In the back of my mind, though, I know that once I blow the first whistle I will be fine. 

I tend to go into these games telling myself I will do everything I can to not be the focus of this game.  I want to call less and let the game be decided by the players.  Last week in the first round game I called a PK, which turned into the first goal.  Then, right after halftime, there were two penalty shouts by the same team.  Did the kid go down?  Yup.  By the defender?  Yeah.  Was I about to call another penalty?  Hell no!  It would have been a light penalty, not diving, just light, and I was not about to become the ref who gave the winning (and better) team a series of penalties to start the scoring.

Luckily the teams scored within 90 seconds of the no call, making it 2-0.  They scored two more to win 4-0.  Hopefully tomorrow's games will be just like the game last week.

Do you guys focus on particular points of your reffing "game" before "big" games?  Do you change anything going into what you would call a big game?

Holiday Special

Hi everyone!  Sorry for taking so long to post, but it's been pretty hectic around my home for the past week.  Miles is doing very well and so is mommy.  Daddy is back at work but everyday is a rush to get home and see the two happy faces inside the front door.

I just put in my order to Official Sports (www.officialsports.com) due to their reduced prices for the Holidays.  Every year OSI runs specials which are pretty good.  This year I got two long sleeved pro shirts, gold and green, as I only have the Eco shirts in long right now.  With that came a pair of the US ref socks.  I added a new pair of Coolwick shorts as mine have served me well for three years but are getting worn out.  I added two more pair of socks, one old style and one new.  I got a red mouth-grip whistle (for grins and giggles) and some velcro for next year's badges (thinking ahead!).  Lastly, due to the cold weather, I got some Under Armour gloves.

So to sum up I got two long-sleeved pro shirts (retail: 96), 3 pair of socks (retail 35), coolwick shorts (retail 28), UA gloves (retail 25.50), red whistle (retail 6.50), and three badge hooks (retail 3.00) for a retail total of roughly $197.00.  Before shipping my total was $177.  Not too bad, considering the gloves, whistle, shorts, and hooks weren't discounted at all.

I'll also be selling my eco long-sleeve shirts for $10 or $15 which will help pay for this order. 

What will you be buying this Christmas?

Live blog of the Arsenal - Tottenham match

9:41 - It's all over here and Spurs gain three points on the road at the Emirates.  A tale of two haves today with Arsenal completely falling apart in the second half.  Good attacking soccer today and a very entertaining game.  Hope you enjoyed.

9:36 - Kinda surprised at the decision in favor of Bale in the corner.  Looked like Bale was making the most of it and was just simply beat on that play.  Really one of the only decisions I've disagree with him on.

9:35 - Five minutes of extra time here and I'm not quite sure why.  Gallas was injured and he had a couple cards, but five minutes worth?  I was thinking between 3 and 4 at the most.

9:30 - And on the ensuing kick Tottenham have taken the lead!  3-2 Tottenham.  The cross in is flicked on and into the corner.  Nothing Fabianski could do as Kaboul vaults his team into the driver seat.  Unthinkable at halftime but Spurs have pulled ahead.

Van Persie nearly has an opportunity but misplays the ball.

9:29 - 84th minute - And here is a yellow card for Koscielny for a poor tackle on Bale.  Quite right to book him here.

9:25 - Very surprised that Denilson was spared a caution there.  Somewhat late, but light, challenge on an attacking Spurs player.  Denilson has been called for at least two other fouls which is why I'm surprised no card was shown to Denilson.

9:17 - I forgot to mention that Robin Van Persie has made his appearance, on for Chamakh.  And here come Crouch (Crouchy's having his nachos) on for Pavlyuchenko.  Walcott looking to come on for Arsenal in the next few minutes.

9:11 - And our first big call this game.  Phil Dowd makes a call for Tottenham about 8 yards outside the box, a foul on Sagna.  On the ensuing free kick VDV strikes it just over the wall.  Before the ball can get over Fabregas decides to stretch his arm over his two teammates in the wall, why is beyond me.  He handles the ball two yards inside the box for an obvious penalty kick.  VDV takes that and buries it.  Now afterward Dowd  approaches VDV and shows him a yellow, for what I don't know.  The announcers had said quite rightly that VDV was walking a tight rope and maybe he had used up his third strike.

Things getting very heated now and Dowd having to make a lot of calls, on both teams.  Wenger, of course, not to happy about this, but I think Dowd has had a very good game up to this point.  20 minutes to go.  Good offside call by the AR to take away a goal for Arsenal.

9:00 - Good advantage play by Dowd to let Modric take that shot from about 25 yards out.  Modric nearly put it on frame too.

8:55 - 50th minute - a good goal by none other than Gareth Bale.  Poor defending by Arsenal but they completely butcher it.  And Tottenham are back in it because of that mistake.  Expect the intensity to ratchet up here - how will Arsenal respond?  Van der Vaart making a meal out of a relatively small challenge here.


Halftime - 18 fouls so far in this one, but only one card.  Lots of fouls but I think it's been a pretty free flowing game - both teams want to play quickly and with Arsenal stealing an early goal Tottenham have no choice but to play attacking football trying to get back into the game.  Good play by both teams so far in this one and good decisions by the referee crew.

8:29 - I don't much like Efan Ekoku but he's gotten it right here - that was the final warning for Van der Vart.  Twice he's left his feet and not had any real idea of playing the ball.  Neither were particularly worth of a caution but now that they're adding up he's in danger of picking up a yellow.  I think a good warning from Dowd, letting the player know where he stands.  

8:24 - About 38 minutes in now, 2-0 Arsenal.  Does anyone else think the Tiger Stripe Nike goalkeeper jerseys look awful?  It seriously looks like a print you should see on a handbag or underwear, but a soccer kit?  Not to mention Fabianski is wearing the gayest of gay with his pink outfit.

8:13 - And another goal nearly 20 minutes later.  Wow, end to end stuff here and since we're focusing on the referee I have to say that it's really due to Phil Dowd that Arsenal have their second.  Dowd had the opportunity to call a foul just outside the center circle for Tottenham, but seeing that Tottenham could keep moving up field with the ball he played advantage.  An excellent call, but when Tottenham lost the ball Arsenal were able to counterattack and did so very well.  Lots of space and Chamakh made the most of it.  Good strike by Modric there but Fabianski equal to the task.  We are now a half hour in.

8:04 - Good call by Phil Dowd on VDV.  You could see on the replay that VDV made no attempt to play the ball, but looked at the man in the air the entire run up to his jump.  Easy call for the referee.  Dowd is making his presence felt - a card already and a stern talking to for VDV's challenge.  I think that is a good approach to this game especially.  He knows, and has seen, that this game will be very intense and he is making sure it doesn't get out of hand.  Good refereeing so far, now about 20 minutes in.

7:58 - And our first card here as Phil Dowd chooses to book Sagna.  Yikes, what a challenge, very hard, but lucky for him he kept his foot down and was relatively close to playing the ball.  Very good call and caution from Dowd.  He also uses the opportunity to possibly calm the game down early whereas some refs in the EPL may have just talked with Sagna and allowed that kind of challenge to happen the rest of the game.  Very physical game so far and I don't see that letting up too much.

7:55 - And a goal already in the 9th minute!  Samir Nasri makes a great run inside the left back.  Great no call by the AR.  Gomes came out very late, kind of confused by that, Nasri manages to get by Gomes and puts it in from an impossible angle.  This match will be end to end for the full 90 and I wouldn't be surprised to see some tasty tackles throughout the game.

7:53 - 8th minute and already 5 fouls from the two teams.  Can you tell this is a hotly contested derby?  Ref is in for a good one today.

7:47 - You know you're in for a doozy when a captain refuses to shake the other captain's hand.

7:45 - And here we go.  Should be an entertaining match as both teams are attacking teams.  Hopefully we'll get lots of goals here. Henry is in the house. Philip Dowd is the man with the whistle.

It's time for the North London Derby and I'll be providing a live blog of this match, mainly from the refereeing standpoint but also commenting on the play of the two teams.  Please watch along with me and provide comments throughout.

What a weekend

Nine games scheduled, nine games completed.  Still no baby!

The entire weekend I ran with my phone in my breast pocket just waiting for a call from my wife.  Had the ringer on as loud as possible...and nothing happened.  I did get one call from my mom, just about half way through my last game of the weekend.  My ring is the Godfather theme song, so once I heard that I knew it wasn't my wife as she has her own ringer.  I'm sure one or two of the players were surprise when a cell phone started going off.

Most of my games this weekend were blowouts, including the U18 girls final last night.  4-1, after being 1-0 at the half.  It was nice though, pretty easy games especially with so much on my mind.  Only 5 yellows in my games as center, not too bad for 4 games.

In a follow up about my shoes post - I've now worn my shoes for 10 games and I still like them.  Did my feet hurt last night - absolutely.  But it wasn't the shoes, it was 9 games over a 48 hour period, 6 of them were full 90s and the other 3 80 minute games.  I did have one blister on my middle toe, left foot, but it was not painful at all.  Other than that my feet are in good shape and my legs, although tired, feel pretty good.  Definitely a good buy, and I feel much better than I would have had I been wearing my turf shoes.

So, what happened during your weekend games?  Anything out of the ordinary?  Did you watch any pro games this weekend?  What about the referee sparing Dema Kovalenko in last night's Galaxy - Dallas ballgame?  Could have easily been a second yellow before the break, but Jair kept him in it.  Good decision?

I'll try to have a post later today bout US Soccer's week in review from last Friday.  Send me your thoughts!

Looking for better shoes?

A few months ago an avid runner looked at my feet as I had been complaining about them for a while.  She recommended I look into custom orthotics.  I looked into them and got them just before the Youth club season began.  I worked into them over a few weeks and eventually used them for all my games.  The foot doctor also recommended that I look into different shoes, mainly because my feet are wide and could benefit from a wider shoe, especially in the toe box.

So, two weeks ago I visited a well-known running store called Fleet Feet.  He helped me find a good shoe, and honestly at this store I'm sure all the shoes were good as this isn't just a Dick's store where they carry all kinds of running shoes.  I got the Asics GT-2150, width 2E.  I took out their insole and put in my orthotics and wore them in a game for the first time last night.  Although it was only a U14 girls match and I was only the AR, they fit pretty well.  My assessment after one game is that they were a really good fit, very comfortable and the extra width makes a huge difference.  The space inside the shoe feels very roomy, but at the same time the shoe still stays on my foot.

For clarification, these are just running shoes, not turf shoes.  I would not recommend wearing these in the rain, but last night on pretty dry grass they performed well.

This is only one game, but I like the shoes so far.  I have nine games this weekend so, come Monday, I will be able to give a better opinion on them.  Cost at Fleet feet was roughly $90 after tax.

Are there any shoes that you can recommend to me?

Here are Bill's shoes: