GOM posted:Get your shorts here. Yeah, I might order a bigger size since they're stretcy waistbands. I'm a S, and the shirt fits perfectly, but christ - the shorts are absurdly, absurdly small. That's where I got my "official" ref kit though - I bought the package with everything...but I'm thinking coolwick shorts might be better. I don't want to imagine smelling myself after 5 hours of games in that shiny ref outfit. Undershirt will probably make it worse, as layers = bad. Hopefully somebody local has these so I can grab them tomorrow. As far as cleats/boots - I bought a pair of Adidas Mundials....these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O3TV4Y/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00 Please tell me that these are solid for both being the ref and actually playing. I've had the same pair of yellow Pumas forever, but - black with minor white markings = USSF/AYSO requirement.
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Aug 31, 2012 07:38
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AVBadvertising posted:Yeah, I might order a bigger size since they're stretcy waistbands. I'm a S, and the shirt fits perfectly, but christ - the shorts are absurdly, absurdly small. Copa Mundials are pretty much the best football boot going, seriously. These are look like a cheaper version of them maybe? And obviously Astro-Turf instead of studs but they should be totally fine as long as they fit. As a last bit of advice, give yourself 5 or ten minutes at the start to judge what the ref is letting the players get away with. Like someone said, in that type of game the ref technically could be blowing every minute of the game. Clearly only a jackass is going to do that so try and get up to speed (ask before as well) with how the ref if going to handle it, where (s)he draws the line on what's going to they're going to let slide.
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Aug 31, 2012 11:32
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Also, now I think about it, I used to work at a football club nearby (League 1 sort of level UK) and had a cup of tea with the reffing team before a game, one of the linesman was new but the Ref had done it all the way up to Premiership games so he was giving out advice. Assuming your games will be playing offside, apparently the best way to keep track is to constantly be talking under your breath. "off, off, off, on, on, off, on, on" and then whatever you're saying when the pass is kicked decides if in your opinion they were offside or not. Admittedly this was advice for a much higher level, where apparently, when an attack starts properly it goes like lightning, and so judgements are much harder to make, but it might help if you have a bit of trouble.
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Aug 31, 2012 11:37
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I always talk to myself on the line, it's good advice (except I say "yes" and "no" because I'm contrary like that); and the flag doesn't go up until I say "no, no, no, and involved" once the ball actually goes through.
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Aug 31, 2012 12:22
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AVBadvertising posted:Yeah, I might order a bigger size since they're stretcy waistbands. I'm a S, and the shirt fits perfectly, but christ - the shorts are absurdly, absurdly small. Call your local ref association. We have a guy who stocks Official Sports kit, so if I need something in a hurry, I just give him a call. Your association may have something similar. And I hope you all are saying that you talk to yourselves in your mind, not out loud, ffs.
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Aug 31, 2012 19:13
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GOM posted:Call your local ref association. We have a guy who stocks Official Sports kit, so if I need something in a hurry, I just give him a call. Your association may have something similar. Yeah, there is a store here that has the Official gear...probably going in a bit. The realization that before I am reffing the LA Galaxy or FIFA events, and that I'm getting $60 to sweat my nuts off in the desert for 14-16 year olds is fully settling in. It sounded a lot cooler than it is, at least until you get to ref games that are fun to watch. The u14 girls match is going to probably bore the poo poo out of me. EDIT - it's going to be loving weird.
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Aug 31, 2012 20:29
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AVBadvertising posted:But - thanks for the tips. I'll sure I will provide TRP with some gems of me awkwardly popping my ref cherry in a u14g game in the middle of 110 weather. Poker face...gotta have the poker face. This is an absolutely outrageous paragraph.
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Aug 31, 2012 21:01
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AVBadvertising posted:But - thanks for the tips. I'll sure I will provide TRP with some gems of me awkwardly popping my ref cherry in a u14g game in the middle of 110 weather. Poker face...gotta have the poker face. What the 
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Aug 31, 2012 21:59
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Adulterous Hitler posted:What the Yeah that was a really lovely way of putting "I don't think I'll be able to keep a straight face during the first game I have." I was actually thinking that the keeping track of potential offside players is to just keep track of the 2nd to last and matching the sound of the pass with whether they're on or off.
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Sep 1, 2012 01:50
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I thought it was more the "popping my cherry in a under 14 girl" part
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Sep 1, 2012 02:14
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Abu Dave posted:I thought it was more the "popping my cherry in a under 14 girl" part Right, using the term "ref cherry" and "u14g" was a bad idea. If I'm looking for anything tomorrow, it'll brown envelopes full of cash, as that's how this all goes from what I hear. I'll just wait until tomorrow to post anything else. Side note - these Adidas boots are goddamn amazing.
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Sep 1, 2012 02:24
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Now that I see this I wish I checked TRP during the off-season. I'm a Grade 8 USSF ref as well, and yes, the kit is horrendously ugly compared to England's. We know. Please don't rub it in.  :The season starts up for me tomorrow with four short-sided games in a row, and assuming none of the kids dropkick each other it should be fun and relatively painless. AVB, I can't wait to hear how your first batch of games went. The only advice I can think of right now is to keep your data wallet on you and get in the habit of taking down goals as an AR (see Guide to Procedures, pg 25) -- you'll have to do it later anyway, it's good practice to be able to do it sooner than later, and if there is a fuckup somewhere you've got an extra set of records. Also, the USSF offers PDF copies of pretty much all of their works, from their copy of the LOTG to the LOTG/Offside made Easy at http://www.ussoccer.com/Referees/Resource-Center.aspx -- there's a copy of the LOTG in web form, too, which is great for reference.
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Sep 9, 2012 01:00
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E4C85D38 posted:Now that I see this I wish I checked TRP during the off-season. I'm a Grade 8 USSF ref as well, and yes, the kit is horrendously ugly compared to England's. We know. Please don't rub it in. EDIT - this is good advice, and I've been keeping time and also running a backup data sheet for the center, as I've realized that not many of them are very good, or there for more than just booze money. I'm about to do a mega-post of my first 9 games. There are pictures, stories, and everything in between. I've sort of slacked off on this, but I've found that getting home after 3 full games in 105 degree weather has led to me sleeping through Saturday and often well in to Sunday. This week had the first situation that was just "uhhhhhhhh what the f/uck." My friend who is all of a sudden in to photography/video editing has a good 500 pictures/videos of all the high-flying Grade 8 action, so I'll upload those tomorrow afternoon. If you want the first situation where I'm 99% sure the center blew the loving game by making an awful, awful call - see the YATR thread. TL;DR - giant dog enters field, pandemonium ensues, I'm yelling for center to stop game, he plays on, then denies a team a goal due to an offside that nobody actually called. It's been a blast, but man - I understand all the frustrations of all of you so far. But - tomorrow there will be a photo/video update on the life of a Linesman.
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Sep 24, 2012 04:49
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AVBadvertising posted:
correct response here is to sing this song in its entirety (the version from Shrek) then both teams cheer and carry you off on their shoulders and you get promoted to reffing MLS games overnight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvwA7BK4-6A
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Sep 24, 2012 05:33
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As a kludge, I can certainly think of worse ways to get out of a hole than what he came up with; but then, it takes a special kind of person to get stuck in that hole in the first place. But two lessons here. Number one - there's a saying that you've either heard recently or will hear soon: assist, don't insist. There comes a time when even the best referee will see something different from you and you have to be prepared to just put the flag down and get on with it. If he's less good, that'll probably happen more often, but you don't solve any problems by trying to insist on something. Whoever the referee is, you're there to help him and if he doesn't want the rope you're trying to throw, that's his problem. Number two - keep officiating. If players are still playing you need to go with them. If the ball is dead and they're talking to opponents, or standing in touching or hearing distance of opponents, you need to know what they're doing. This pays off maybe one game in a hundred, or one game in a thousand; but when it does pay off you look like a complete pro while everyone else is going WTF and you're all "It's ok guys I got this  " You can run and flag at the same time - and if you'd been doing that he'd probably have seen you when the break happened, and stopped play. If nothing else, it makes the idiot solution ("dog didn't matter but someone was offside") more credible.
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Sep 24, 2012 10:39
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Trin Tragula posted:As a kludge, I can certainly think of worse ways to get out of a hole than what he came up with; but then, it takes a special kind of person to get stuck in that hole in the first place. Good advice....the players (about half, maybe more) had stopped playing and were sort of waiting for instruction from the center, as they saw my flag was up and I was yelling the center's name. He couldn't see the dog until it ran past him (he was on the opposite side of the pitch from me), and at that point the breakaway was on, which I was close to being on the line with and didn't put the flag up. I didn't see an offsides play (I was watching air bud), and once I realized he wasn't calling outside agent/drop ball, I hauled rear end towards to goal. Thinking back I'm 90% sure that the player broke from midfield and went all the way to goal, but the majority of players also had stopped play because they were avoiding the dog and/or saw my flag up and being waggled (I hate that term) like I've never waggled before. This, and the u14 girls game where a rather emo-ish girl yelled "get the gently caress out of my way" and oval office punted a defender have been the my surreal parts of my adventures so far. It's a blast, and I love that you get paid cash in an envelope.
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Sep 24, 2012 20:46
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drat, you got lucky. My games have been going well but uneventful so far, and I'm kind of jealous you got something so interesting so early. The best I've gotten is an angry parent getting thrown out of a U12 boys game for very aggressively yelling about an alleged handball. The supposed offender had the arm on that side amputated at the shoulder (or in any case very definitely "not there"), and the parent was arguing that since the ball struck the spot on his side where his arm would have been, it should be a direct free kick for the opposition. He ended up getting escorted out by the groundskeeper. I also prefer to say a "short/quick/slight wave", since it doesn't sound completely silly.
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Sep 24, 2012 22:54
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Honestly as a kid I had no idea that most of the refs were just there for the beer money, etc. That explains a lot actually.
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Sep 25, 2012 00:31
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Just got my first set of assignments, ARing for U14, U12, and U11 boys this Sunday. I'm totally psyched but also a little terrified. As long as I don't embarrass myself too terribly I'll be satisfied.
Lamont Cranston fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Sep 25, 2012 |
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Sep 25, 2012 16:08
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Mercaptopropyl posted:Honestly as a kid I had no idea that most of the refs were just there for the beer money, etc. That explains a lot actually. There seem to be 3 types of refs, if you don't include the ARs that are 2 years older than the players (14 year old AR'ing a U12 game, etc): 1. Dudes that really don't give a gently caress, do 3 center games on Saturday, take their $120-$180, and get hosed up. They rarely call fouls or do anything to stop play, as that means they have to make the game longer. 2. Dudes that have day jobs that are actually taking the games seriously, like me. The cash envelopes are nice, but I'd like to work my way up to doing some serious games and make a side-career out of it. Most of these people are former players who either had an injury, or just haven't played enough in the last 5-10 years to be on par with people their age in club/rec leagues. 3. Annoyingly serious people who seem to lack the ability to let the game flow and/or have fun while properly calling the game. The center I worked with this weekend was definitely in this category, as he made awful calls and then showed no confidence in what he was selling as the call. This leads to reports, which are bad. I finally got the photos in from my friend, and I seriously look like a tool in the yellow shirt. I don't get why the USSF makes us wear puffy shirts and tiny shorts. FWIW, the shirt is a USSF small, and it's still huge. AS PROMISED - some pictures of the glorious life of AVBadvertising, the "best AR I've ever seen," according to the coach of last weekend's U14 game. These should be in order, as these are all during/after the dog causing a DOGSO and having the center give advantage (I guess?) to the team which he then retracted the goal from. Only advice I feel qualified to give for your first game is to make your calls like you mean it - don't look unsure, as you'll get torn apart. Look at the center every time you make a call, and don't worry about fouls - just cover the line and signal throw-ins confidently. The rest sort of just comes to you after about 3 games. In order: Covering the line like RoboRef:  My (unprofessional/not recommended) reaction to the center ignoring my "THERE IS A loving DOG ON THE FIELD!"  My friend asking me what I was thinking after the DOGSO incident:  Post match discussion about how we're all going to be reported because the center didn't know what an outside agent was, and/or that when the play stops over a dog, we can't play on and then deny said goal. Also, the coach is calling us loving useless:  I'll keep things updated as time goes on. However, I'm at 12 games now
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Sep 25, 2012 20:38
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AVBadvertising posted:Only advice I feel qualified to give for your first game is to make your calls like you mean it - don't look unsure, as you'll get torn apart. Look at the center every time you make a call, and don't worry about fouls - just cover the line and signal throw-ins confidently. The rest sort of just comes to you after about 3 games. This, a thousand times over and then some. Even if you don't have complete confidence in yourself, act like it. Keep an eye on the other AR in case you need to mirror a signal (for instance, a foul). And while I wouldn't worry about actively looking for fouls for your first game, if you are drat sure you happened to see a handball or something and the referee doesn't call it or play advantage, wave it and call it. Each of your mechanics should be confident, crisp, and clean—if your flag goes up for a foul or to signal that the ball is out of play, you should be able to hear the snap (and for that matter, so should nearby players). Don't put the flag straight up when the ball goes out of play unless the players are still playing the ball, as while it might buy you an extra half-second of thinking time assessors are docking points for that now and it's best not to get in the habit. Don't run with the flag, just stand upright like a statue with it until you lower the signal or make another one. And the signal for a corner kick is not to point your flag towards the corner, it is to point your flag 45° downwards in the appropriate direction. Talk with your two partners at half-time, about what you saw, what you expect, etc. If your center is any decent they'll be able to give you some passive advice on what to improve and what they liked. This all might seem like a lot, but none of this is expected of you on your first game, simply what you want to aspire to. After a game or two it'll pretty quickly solidify as long as you remember to pay attention to improving yourself and don't develop bad habits. Also I'm pretty much stream-of-consciousnessing this before I pass out. AVB your friend has good taste in image composition although if I were him I'd tighten up the depth of field juuust a bit. And Official Sports shirts are good, but for entry-level ones I personally prefer what Law Five offers, there's velcro on the pockets and the huge US Soccer logo on the right arm isn't there.
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Sep 25, 2012 21:51
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E4C85D38 posted:This, a thousand times over and then some. Even if you don't have complete confidence in yourself, act like it. Keep an eye on the other AR in case you need to mirror a signal (for instance, a foul). And while I wouldn't worry about actively looking for fouls for your first game, if you are drat sure you happened to see a handball or something and the referee doesn't call it or play advantage, wave it and call it. Each of your mechanics should be confident, crisp, and clean—if your flag goes up for a foul or to signal that the ball is out of play, you should be able to hear the snap (and for that matter, so should nearby players). Don't put the flag straight up when the ball goes out of play unless the players are still playing the ball, as while it might buy you an extra half-second of thinking time assessors are docking points for that now and it's best not to get in the habit. Don't run with the flag, just stand upright like a statue with it until you lower the signal or make another one. And the signal for a corner kick is not to point your flag towards the corner, it is to point your flag 45° downwards in the appropriate direction. Noted....I just ordered the Yellow, Green, and Red "Pro" shirts, since my yellow one is an economy. I was assessed on my very first game, and the assessor said that he was mind-blown with my pace and line coverage, but that I looked unsure of a lot of my throw-in calls, and that if I don't look confident, it's like a bad sale. He came and watched the 3rd game and told me that he wouldn't have known I was new if he hadn't seen the 1st. I did have a Serano coach (the Chelsea FC infancy team here) tell me I was the best AR he'd ever seen on my 4th game, so you can improve fast. The other thing I picked up on quick is to get used to the crabwalk, sprinting with the flag in the hand that faces the field (if you're on a break), and to back up a good 4-5 yards if players are running right at you on the touch line. When the ball goes over, you want a good view, and an instant signal with eye contact between the center. I use a system where I move the flag between my right and left hand when crabwalking based on who had the last touch. If the team attacking to my right has the last touch, the flag is in my left hand (since it's going to be that direction for the throw), and vice versa. You want to have the flag visable at all times, but I find this helps immensely with making your calls quick and accurate, since it forces you to pay attention to which team had last touch, and thus allows and immediate signal for throw ins. I'm gradually going to upgrade my jerseys, as I started with the officialsports "complete kit," which is really poo poo, and am now getting nicer/better shorts and ref jerseys. I've got two Adidas pairs of shoes that are A++, and I'd recommend them any day. EDIT: my friend is actually pretty amazing, and sort of half-assed it and also had never shot any sporting event before. I'm downloading the 1.6gb file of all his stuff from Saturday, and I'm sure there are some gems in there.
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Sep 25, 2012 23:15
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Baseball cap? Ding! Old shirt pattern? Ding! Gives you crappy cheap flags that spend half their time trying to tangle themselves up? Ding! Congratulations, you have just won this week's "That Guy" lottery. Call at the sheds to recieve your prize.
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Sep 26, 2012 01:16
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Trin Tragula posted:Old shirt pattern? Ding! Hey! There's nothing wrong with the old shirt pattern The next two weekends down this way are tournament weekends! Those are always the best. Getting to see some of our up and coming State Referees who are working on their National candidacy is always fun. Plus, just seeing all of the "brotherhood" from different parts of the state get together and share stories and help one another learn and grow is awesome. I love the environments that tournaments have as opposed to a normal weekend at one of the local clubs.
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Sep 26, 2012 05:52
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Looks like I spoke too soon - my first assignment looks now like it'll be Friday night, refereeing U10 boys. I was hoping to get a few games as AR before my first as proper referee, but I guess I'll have to grow up a little quicker than I expected!
Lamont Cranston fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Sep 26, 2012 |
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Sep 26, 2012 16:49
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Im enjoying the adventures of AVBadvertising, keep it up mate
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Sep 26, 2012 17:19
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Hopefully it'll get better within a week or two, since at 3 games a week, I'll be at 25 AR assignents by end of October, and then I can start center reffing and really have it all get interesting. I'm looking at doing ECNL (looks much more intense/pro) and State League also. They pay is $50 a game for ARs, and it's serious players. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks.
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Sep 26, 2012 20:29
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chaoslord posted:Hey! There's nothing wrong with the old shirt pattern I actually blagged one of those because I used to do Sunday mornings in the same league as the guy who'd come over to set up and run Official Sports UK (they've gone bust now, which is a bit of a shame), and one day he just showed up with a bunch of these shirts and said "anyone want one?" I still use it sometimes as a warmup/training top.
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Sep 26, 2012 20:38
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Whew! Just got finished with my first match, which was also my first match in charge. Everything went off mostly without incident, had one of the coaches yelling for a foul I didn't see which I don't think he got over for the rest of the match; but other than that I think it went pretty well. Definitely a baptism by fire though. No assistants so I more or less had to be everywhere at once which was not easy. I guess that's the kind of thing you can really only learn by doing. I've got five matches as assistant this weekend and I'll be very grateful to be taking the backseat and having the chance to observe a little more, especially the administrative side of things (pre-match routine etc.).
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Sep 29, 2012 02:43
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Lamont Cranston posted:No assistants so I more or less had to be everywhere at once which was not easy. I guess that's the kind of thing you can really only learn by doing. When you say no assistants do you mean that you were the only person out there? If so, how did you judge offsides?
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Sep 29, 2012 04:04
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Gin Soaked Ape posted:When you say no assistants do you mean that you were the only person out there? If so, how did you judge offsides? Correct, I had two club linesmen with flags helping to judge when the ball left play, but that's all they're allowed to do. For offside, when it looked like things were about to get tight I would try to sprint up even with the defender and get as good a look as I could. Luckily for me there weren't very many close plays like that, and the only violation I ended up calling was a fairly simple "gaining an advantage" ricochet off of the keeper.
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Sep 29, 2012 04:24
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Giving offside on your own is easy once you get used to it; the trick is to avoid at all costs getting stuck in the middle of the pitch and being straightlined on the guy who tries to break through the middle, and as long as you have some sort of angle on the relevant player you can take a decent best guess. Any half-clever team that plays in that situation regularly will just defend as deep as possible because they know they can't count on being saved by offside.
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Sep 29, 2012 20:24
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I don't know if this is the norm, but around here I believe any U9 or less is just a single center - no ARs, but its also like that Sotuth Park about hockey. You wouldn't need one. I did 4 games this weekend - 2 for the regular youth league, where I had a 15 year old center and a 16 year old AR. The 15 year old played for the home team coach (Ahwatukee), and beggeed me to center for him, because he was afraid to make calls against his team. I told him that I wasn't letting him cop out of having to call it fair. He then told me that this coach has won 6 national championships in the last 10 years, and that he's some youth coach god who was a Uruguay International player, and also just came from CA. I guess he's really, really good, and I ended up having to make all the calls for fouls for him. I felt bad for him and think I really should have centered for him (when you have two teenagers and a 28 year old, it just seems odd to be on the line). Nothing terribly interesting happened, other than he wouldn't card his teammates (two of them at least should have had yellows, one arguably could have been given a straight red). I then, mostly just by pitching myself, got to AR two ECNL top-team matches. ECNL appears to currently be the highest league before college for girls/women. There were something like 40 college scounts there, and I saw players get offered scholarships after the 2nd game. I'm not sure why the assignor thought that it would be a good idea to have a new Grade 8 mixed in with Grade 7+s with 2-10 years experience, but - I guess I nailed it. I've been offered basically the option of every weekend and tournament this assignor does and the pay is $60 per game (as an AR).....not too shabby. Thank you Roman Abramovich - I guess Serano, the Chelsea sponsored infancy farm, paid for the whole thing. I took some pictures of the setup, but nothing worth posting (it was spread out, so the presence of Nike/Gatorade/etc wasn't easy to capture in any way. There was one girl that played for a team from Texas called the Eagles that was easily the best player I've seen yet in any game I've reffed. There was also a girl who looked like and played like Marta on the youth game I did Saturday (ECNL was today). Watching a 12 year old girl juke out entire midfields and clean tackle nearly every oncoming payer was badass, given that it is a boy's league. SIDE NOTE - this Wednesday is the AIA registration/orientation, and I seem to remember somebody saying to steer clear of AIA and the high school organization too....is it worth at least just going and registering, in case I want assignments and they're my only choice? SIDE SIDE NOTE - As I was typing this I just got two top tier club games on Saturday evening, from the same assignor who gave me ECNL...$60 a game. Am I over-committing if I do two U12 games in the morning, then two real games at 4 and 6pm? It seems very doable having done 3 u16/u18 games in a row with no breaks. ADVICE - what I've been doing on the line is keeping the flag in the center and moving it from right to left based on who had last touch. If the team attacking to my left has the current touch, the flag goes in my right hand (since it's basically setting you up for instant correct direction on throw-ins, without getting confused. Sprints are different/by the book, but - is this system going to bite me in the rear end if I don't just do the exact mirror like the books say? I'm actually liking this whole thing.....it's fun, and then you get cash at the end. Also, AR almost seems preferable to being a center, despite having it be more physically intense. Anybody else just do AR work and not center on purpose?
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Oct 2, 2012 05:30
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AVBadvertising posted:SIDE NOTE - this Wednesday is the AIA registration/orientation, and I seem to remember somebody saying to steer clear of AIA and the high school organization too....is it worth at least just going and registering, in case I want assignments and they're my only choice? Whether or not your high school organization is worth the time or trouble is different all around. Here in Arkansas, the soccer part of AOA is handled 100% by USSF guys, and so there isn't any problems. Three man crews still (some HS games use two whistle systems), so while they don't count for upgrades and such, it is familiar to everyone and there aren't any problems here. I wouldn't say doing two U12 in the morning is over-committing. U12s aren't that difficult, and shouldn't really take a lot out of you. If you were coming back from an injury or something, then maybe (still doubt it), but if you could handle three u16/u18s in a row, you should be fine doing two U12, break to put in more liquids etc., two upper games. As far as your system with the flag goes, if it works for you it works, but as you start to pursue upgrading, your assessor(s) may tell you to knock it off. Something that might be "better" (it's not actually in any way superior, but is less likely to get any comments from assessors) is whispering under your breath either who is going to receive the ball, or who the ball last touched.
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Oct 2, 2012 14:44
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BIG UPDATE + THREAD CHANGE Soooooooooooo, I did 12 games (3 Friday night, 3 Saturday morning, 2 Saturday evening, and 4 Sunday morning/afternoon. 10 were at this fine complex, known as SSC:  What a nice pitch it is, so fresh and so clean - I was so sure it would be a nice, professional bunch of players, like these chaps:  I did I believe like 8 the weekend before, and I am starting to think that I've crossed the line between over-booking myself and literally over-committing my physical body. Today, and last Monday/Tuesday, I was hours late getting up (multiple alarms going off), and basically just remember a haze of running, crabwalking (not the drop-C kind), Gatorade juice thingies, and being told I was an excellent AR and a dogshit wanker who wouldn't know "offsides from a touchdown." The last part was funny, as I told whatever coach the player wasn't offsides, he was offside, but I will document his claim on the match card." In all seriousness - I've actually successfully made it from starting what I assumed would be a mostly fun comedy thread (in the vein of the South Park about Stan playing hockey to a thread about maybe taking this seriously and having every assignor booking me every chance they can get. I'm not sure what to do...the money isn't bad with most of the assignments ($30-45 a game usually), and I've apparently got a great reputation with everyone who assigns here. I've just got a few questions for those of you with more than 35-some games under their belt: 1. If you're "fit" and or "match fit," what would you consider physically over-committing? I'm pretty sure I'm suffering from lack of vitamins/energy/protein/something after these huge blocks of games, and I've lost 10 pounds in the last two weekends. 2. I've realized that there is a mob-esque mentality between the assignors here...for example - the state assignor hooked me up with 3 games I (in hindsight) was absolutely not prepared for, but then was impressed and moved towards 2 higher level assignors. One is sort of OK with me working for multiple leagues/assignors, but the other vaguely threatens to pull me from the high paying gigs if I ever choose to work for the other guy. Is this pretty common? 3. As an AR2, do you ever bother keeping time and a backup book? 4. Is center reffing easier/less physical? I hear both yes and no from proactive mentor type refs. 5. I seemingly missed my chance to do AIA, but I hear it can be wonky. I have a data wallet, and it has a blue card with a 2 on it...I haven't the slightest gently caress. I hear it pays well.....is it worth joining that and having my biometrics on file? 6. MOST IMPORTANTLY - have any of you made it far enough, or had the choice to go far enough, where you could have lived off this (or being an assignor or instructor), and if so, how long did it take? A center (worthy of his own thread) told me about some of the epic badassness that his friends have gotten to partake in, and the payouts were something like: USWNT Scrimmage - $260 for Center, $200 for AR Division 1 College - $250 MLS - $500 for AR I have no idea if this guy is a bullshitter or not (everybody around town knowns him, he speaks in the third person). Those are good rates, but I can't see how many games you could get without also grinding away at some AYSO or whatever. He is apparently a regular at my favorite pitch - Friendship Park. I used a Google Maps picture and drew in about how the field actually looks.  The touchlines are done both manually, and the entire place has potholes/anthills, no corner flags, goals that I don't think are the same size as each other (one will be different than the other). After about 7-8pm there is a Hispanic gang that moves in to the playground around and plays basketball and seemingly deals drugs, so I usually ask for the other side of the field. Lightning bolts are the espeically dangerous area, and I actually rolled my ankle, tripped while sprinting for a potential offside through ball, and did end up doing a somersault out and popped up and raised the flag (as I watched him get the pass while I was falling. He was also playing for Barcelona FC U18, and I have a hard time disassociating my loathing of that club from PS3 Fifa and actual Barcalona FC. Also - let's talk about boots/cleats/shoes. I have now decided that these are absolutely horrible for anything more than 1-2 games, and am wondering what you all wear. I trusted Amazon with my knees, and I want them back: Adidas Copa Mundial http://amzn.to/RyYrGc  Latest Batch of Gaffs 1. U16 Gold Girls Semi-Final - 7 goal margin, 3 of which were passes that accidentally went in. The last goal came when the ref yelled 1 minute and the losing team just stopped and let them score. It was very Fifa 13-esque. 2. I saw a titty twister in a State League Girls U18 game, and the parents encouraged it after the receiver punched the girl in the face. "gently caress of you fat bitch" came with the punch.....and "why don't you....tuck in your shirt you skinny bitch!" 3. I had a coach charge the field and yell at me when I called a foul as his player plowed through the last defender (in the box) after he realized it wasn't a penalty kick. 4. I am 99% sure that a team from a rich, white part of town is called "Scottsdale Black Kids 95" 5. I did a U19 girls game that was division Gold A, and two of the girls on the side I was doing the line on said "we're all legal, in case you're wondering..." I wasn't, but I legitimately wondered if that tactic ever works on the 18-20 year old refs who also might be playing in the same tournament. 6. How many (other...  ) of you guys, or refs you work with, take Somas or Vicodin in between games? I'd say about 50-60% take Somas after the 2nd game, and maybe 3-4 I've run in to are downing the pain pills like that Zombie shootemup game. I'm guilty like them - after about 3 games or so, if somebody is offering Somas, I'm taking one. Vicodin seems to be rampant, but that ain't my thang. I have some pictures I'll upload of the tournaments and whatnot, but my conclusion so far: Football is a hosed up sport from the ground up. Once you get to U12+ club leagues, it's on par with what you'd expect from FIFA. I may edit this rant later when I put nutrients and things to make you survive in my stomach...I've learned that this is a must, before and during every game. All in all, it's a fascinating ride, but it's now at the level of impacting my social life (assignors shouldn't do games ending at 11pm and then starting at 7:40am), and possibly causing me to slowly crumble like John Terry's knees. As of now I have a pending tournament but no actual confirmed games....I'm deciding what to do with this whole "Grade 7 by next available chance" thing. LATE EDIT - the girls coaches are sometimes absolute creeps, and the poo poo you overhear while a team dominates and you're standing at the midline is worth a post in itself some other day.
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Oct 16, 2012 00:35
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I've only been at it for a few weeks now, but I know what you mean about overdoing it. Typically it's been 3 games each on Saturday and Sunday. For this upcoming Saturday I got 3 solo games (2 U10s and a U9) so I went ahead and put a block on for Sunday. I'd rather take a bit less cash than risk injury or whatnot. I always keep a backup book regardless of which side I'm doing. I have never been offered drugs at a match. I've never been propositioned either (of course the oldest girls' game I've had was U14 so..) Had my first full-sized 11v11 match yesterday (with assistants and all!). My nerves quickly melted away as the one team completely dominated the other, going up 5-0 at halftime. Of course, our league has a rule that if the goal differential is 7 at the half or any time in the 2nd half, the match is abandoned and the winning team faces sanctions. So the entire second half the winning team hung back and made no attempt to bring the ball forward. I didn't call a foul the entire time and my assistants confirmed I hadn't missed anything. It was simply the Most Boring Match Ever. Also doing three straight games on turf makes my feet and knees want to murder me.
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Oct 16, 2012 01:31
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I was reading the LOAF today and I noticed this tidbit: quote:The reproduction, whether real or virtual, of representative logos or emblems Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that make the corner flags in most EPL stadiums illegal? I'm pretty sure most teams have customised flags on the corner posts.
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Oct 16, 2012 04:55
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My answer would be "but what are they going to do about it?" They'd probably only bother if it is particularly egregious.
algebra testes fucked around with this message at 05:35 on Oct 16, 2012 |
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Oct 16, 2012 05:31
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Popehoist posted:I was reading the LOAF today and I noticed this tidbit: I think the associations can alter the laws with regards to things like that. And/or yeah, but what is anyone going to do about it? (As LordPants pointed out) With La Liga in the past, the "virtual" part about club logos came up pretty often. Don't know if they still do that.
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Oct 16, 2012 06:36
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AVBadvertising posted:In all seriousness - I've actually successfully made it from starting what I assumed would be a mostly fun comedy thread (in the vein of the South Park about Stan playing hockey to a thread about maybe taking this seriously and having every assignor booking me every chance they can get.  quote:1. If you're "fit" and or "match fit," what would you consider physically over-committing? I'm pretty sure I'm suffering from lack of vitamins/energy/protein/something after these huge blocks of games, and I've lost 10 pounds in the last two weekends. There's an old cliche that will continue to circulate until the heat death of the universe because it's absolutely correct. "Get fit to referee; don't referee to get fit." Having said that, you're doing far more than anyone in  would ever consider reasonable (I never refereed more than two games in one day and three over a weekend, and then I only ever did that as a special favour to the appointments officer), so it's probably okay to turn the wick down a bit. I find that when I push myself too far, it's my brain that goes first, before I become physically unable to keep up with the match, and I just start drifting without paying attention to what's in front of me - first during downtime, then while the ball's in play at the other end, and I've never gone any further than that but I've been close a few times and I've felt myself making crap decisions because of it. Pay attention to when you start to get spacey, and set that as your limit.quote:2. I've realized that there is a mob-esque mentality between the assignors here...for example - the state assignor hooked me up with 3 games I (in hindsight) was absolutely not prepared for, but then was impressed and moved towards 2 higher level assignors. One is sort of OK with me working for multiple leagues/assignors, but the other vaguely threatens to pull me from the high paying gigs if I ever choose to work for the other guy. Is this pretty common? I've always been vaguely aware of this weird assignor politics stuff that goes on over there and I've been dying to know how bonkers it can get, so please keep the crazy feudin' assignor stuff coming  quote:3. As an AR2, do you ever bother keeping time and a backup book? Yes; and I keep everything in the backup book that I'd keep in the middle. Always remember that Graham Poll's three-card trick happened with a world-class referee and two world-class assistants and a fourth official and a fifth official. quote:4. Is center reffing easier/less physical? I hear both yes and no from proactive mentor type refs. I think it is. Other people will tell you exactly the opposite, but I definitely prefer to referee. I don't like offside. It's far too difficult for me to enjoy being responsible for it. I hate that a foul can happen right under my nose but I look like a twat for missing it because I was looking at the offside line, or down at the football for in/out of play. I hate having to keep the touchline clear so I can do my job properly, and I hate not being able to get away from the guy who parks himself three yards from your earhole and doesn't shut up. Also, I find that my knees get utterly hosed when I line, because it involves a lot of stopping instantly from full speed and changing direction; and a lot of the time you're moving sideways, which is not the direction that the knee is designed to bend. Refereeing there's far fewer sudden stops and they're usually when going forward or backwards, so they hurt far less. That's just me, though. In terms of muscle fatigue it's about the same, but the direction changes kill me. quote:6. MOST IMPORTANTLY - have any of you made it far enough, or had the choice to go far enough, where you could have lived off this (or being an assignor or instructor), and if so, how long did it take? If you mainline every possible source of games (high school, college, indoor, the works), you could probably support yourself, but you'd probably be much better off behind a bar, or flipping burgers. If you really want a career in officiating that won't take 20 years to start paying out, then go to umpire school. quote:Also - let's talk about boots/cleats/shoes. I have now decided that these are absolutely horrible for anything more than 1-2 games, and am wondering what you all wear. I trusted Amazon with my knees, and I want them back: I swear by the latest model of what used to be known as the Asics Gel Lethal. Switched to them after a horrible bout of shin splints, not had a problem since. The newest version probably looks something like this. Ignore the bollocks about "specially designed for lacrosse"; in Australia that's "specially designed for Rugby League" and in Ireland it's probably "specially designed for hurling". The trouble with soccer boots is that they're all stupid thin and cut low, designed for touch and control when passing; these were designed for players who don't kick, and appreciate the extra ankle support. Makes an absolute world of difference. quote:6. How many (other... My body has weird ideas about pain, so I generally drop an OTC paracetamol about 20 minutes before kickoff and that lets me concentrate on my fatigue level without getting a bunch of other weird pains that make no sense; but that's just me (and in any case I don't need it just to physically get through the game), and anyone under 50 in this country who was popping pills routinely to keep taking multiple games a day would definitely be thought to have hosed-up priorities. Staying properly hydrated is critical; you'll get a lot tireder a lot faster if you don't. If you wait until you feel thirsty to take on fluids, it's too late. quote:LATE EDIT - the girls coaches are sometimes absolute creeps, and the poo poo you overhear while a team dominates and you're standing at the midline is worth a post in itself some other day. I'm curious - there's a concept over here called safeguarding, and if I heard anything like that I would be writing down exactly what was said and exactly who said it, and reporting it to the County FA safeguarding team as soon as I got home; even if the girls are technically legal, there's all kinds of horrible duty-of-care implications. Is there anything like that for USSF or your state association? If so, you should report this (if not, you should find a relatively senior peron who you trust not to Paterno it out of hand, and talk to them about it). It's completely inappropriate. Lamont Cranston posted:I have never been offered drugs at a match. There's a team I used to know where you'd go into the sheds and everywhere within 20 yards of their changing room would absolutely reek of exotic cheroots. Then they'd go out to play, and they're the only people I ever met who got more aggressive when they were on ganja. They must make more money for the County FA in fines than the rest of the league put together.
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Oct 16, 2012 20:42
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