It has been a busy and somewhat crazy spring season that is winding down. The NH referee community has seen some very unique occurrences along with some outstanding performances by our referees in Regional events. Please check out the "In-Service Training" tab as there is some very important information concerning a change to in-service training for 2012. In addition, there has been a slight increase ($5) for registration fees for 2012. The State Referee Committee decided to implement this to help us cover expenses, such as development assessments, coverage at league jamborees, etc., going forward. You should be receiving an email from US Soccer in mid-July giving your login information and a reminder to register online at www.ussoccer.info. Make sure your email and other contact information is up to date on this site as things like email are the most common way to distribute important communications to you. Now onto some of the news from this past spring!
First some of the good news as of late for the NH referee program. Most recently Cullen Madden was selected to attend the Region 1 U23 tournament in Horsham, PA as the NH representative to this event. To quote the US Soccer Instructor assigned to the event, “Cullen hit a home run in this tournament”. He was selected as one of the four referees from Region 1 to attend to USASA National Cup Finals in Bowling Green, KY in late July. What makes this doubly great is Cullen was the only Grade 6 referee chosen for this event. The other three were either Grade 5 (National Candidates) or National Referees. This is exciting for NH as Cullen is the first referee from NH to be selected to this prestigious tournament and I am confident he will represent all of the NH referees well. If you see Cullen please pass along your congratulations as well a handshake or pat on the back for a job well done.
Along with Cullen, a NH alumnus was one of the other referees selected for the National Finals. His name is James Brooks and he is currently a National Referee from Virginia although if you ask him, he will tell you he still considers himself a NH referee. While James was visiting NH a few times this spring, he came around to the NHSA State Cup games to give some advice to our young referees working this tournament. For those who think there is no future for them, looking at these two individuals is proof positive a young referee can get to high levels. Both started when 12 years old and doing local recreation level games. In Mr. Brooks’ case, I can personally attest it was asking a lot of people for help and advice even when some of the feedback was not pleasant to hear. IF you want to advance and reach the top levels, it can be done with hard work and perseverance.
On the youth side of the coin, NH referees have done very well in Regional events all spring. Cullen Madden along with Anna McGuire and James Cooper were selected to attend the Region 1 Premier League finals this spring. In addition, NH sent a great contingent to Region 1 President’s Cup finals in Albany, NY over Memorial Day weekend as well as the Region 1 ODP tournament in NJ in early June. From the ODP, Cullen Madden and James Cooper were selected to attend the Region 1 ODP Finals in DE in late June. From this, they have the opportunity to earn their way to the National ODP tournament this winter. More details on the delegations for these events in the SYRA Corner. All in all, an excellent job done by NH referees at these events and this has been recognized by the Region 1 Youth Referee Committee.
On the not so good side of the things, to say this spring has seen some bizarre events would be an understatement. There have three issues I will describe in brief detail that highlight the need for referees to keep updated in their training as well as follow the guidelines of the Laws of the Game, Guide to Procedures, etc.
· The referee allowed a substitute to enter the field of play before the field player completely exited the field. While leaving, the field player struck an opponent, who in turn struck back. Both players were shown the red card and sent off. Of course, now one team played full strength and the other played down one which is the correct thing per US Soccer Advice to the Referees. Of course, the angst and protests from one of the teams (can you guess which one?) would have been avoided if the referee simply followed the Laws and held the substitute
· A goal was “scored” by Team A in the second half of play, however upon further review; the referee team discovered the goal was not placed on the goal line but rather 3 feet off the field. And the goal was not anchored either! The referee awarded the goal, which after review with the National Office, was determined to be the correct decision. Team B that was scored upon was not happy and again did a lot of complaining. Luckily Team B did not protest since they would have won not because of the goal but because the very simple guidelines of Law 1 were not applied during the pregame field inspection by the referee team. Let’s not even think about the ramifications if the goal had fallen over and struck a player…..
· Kicks from the mark taking place in a playoff game. After five rounds of kicks, the sixth round begins and Team A wins by scoring while Team B missed. So you ask, what was the problem? Well it seems the sixth kicker for Team A had already kicked and thus was ineligible until all his teammates took a turn. Of course, Team A was declared the winner and Team B was not very happy. Here is a case where although there was a violation, Team A was the winner simply because of sloppy procedures by the entire referee team.
The morale of all these stories is rather simple. Follow the Laws of the Game as they give you all the answers. Mistakes happen to all of us especially when presented with an unusual situation we have not seen before. Those “mistakes” are understandable and lessons to learn from. The situations described above were all preventable by following the most simple of items in the Laws of the Games. The lesson to be learned here is go to training, discuss strange situations, and learn and grow. There are going to be some changes in regards to in-service training starting this summer so keep checking your email to understand these changes.
I hope all of you have a great summer season whether working games or just enjoying the good weather. I hope to see you all at some training this summer.
