Tuesday, June 29, 2010

FWR Photos

Once again a big thank you to all the volunteers that made this possible.  Our referees performed extremely well; five of them received assignments on Championship matches!  We should be very proud of our referees.  If you would like to attend FWR next year make sure to stay tuned as information goes out around December or January.  Remember that final selections are usually made in late April so you want to get started on it early.

NM Referees on Championship Games


Santos Toquinto - Oscar Toquinto - Kris Grano - Christian Sanchez - Orion Stradford


Monday, June 28, 2010

FWR 2010

The tournament is over and, while the newly crowned champions are still catching their breath, the many volunteers who made the tournament possible are breathing a sigh of relief. 

A big thank you goes out to everyone who volunteered!  We had people hauling water, refereeing games, babysitting the fans and mowing fields late into the night.  Everyone who helped was vital to the overall success.

Stay tuned for some more updates once I have time to get pictures uploaded from the tournament. 

Sunday, June 6, 2010

NMSRA Group Run

This week's group run will be at the Merritt residence, located here.  We will be running at 6:00pm and then have dinner afterward.  If you would like to eat please bring $10 to help defray the cost of food.

It is very important for FWR Referees in Albuquerque to make an effort to attend this run.

See you there! 

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Terry Vaughn: The 4th Official

Being a 4th Official is not an easy job.  This is especially true for those of us in New Mexico, since we don't have the opportunity to practice the position very often.  Referees going to FWR should pay special attention to this but it is helpful to everyone.  If you have any inspiration to move up in the world of refereeing you'll need to master the role of 4th Official.

Terry Vaughn on 4th Official

Thanks to Steve Schafer for calling attention to this article...

Off the Pitch

Off the Pitch
Steve Schafer, DRA-East


Road warriors, listen up. This one is for you. In our office we had one guy retire, another guy left the company, and another guy decided to have a baby (his wife anyway). Suddenly, we had fewer people covering meetings. I ended up traveling 5 weeks in a row during March and April. Traveling for work makes it much more difficult to maintain fitness for weekend refereeing. The following are some of the workout strategies that I use when I’m on travel.


First, I try to fly out later in the morning or afternoon. That way, I can get in a workout, in familiar territory, before I leave town. Second, I research hotel locations that are workout friendly. I repeat at hotels that I have stayed at previously and already have figured out a good running route or workout routine. Some hotels have relationships with local gyms that can expand your workout options over the little workout room at the hotel. Finally, a lot of my meetings are on military bases which have really nice gyms on base that are available for use.


A big challenge while on travel is keeping in good habits. Making yourself get up early and workout is hard when you don’t get a goodnights sleep in the unfamiliar hotel bed. Working out when you get back to the hotel at the end of the day is harder than going to the free happy hour.  You can do little things too while on travel. I try to take stairs as much as possible rather than elevators. I also have done walking tours of many airports rather than sitting waiting for connections.


Thanks for listening. See you on the pitch.


Schafer

Thursday, June 3, 2010

State Cup 2010 Pictures

Pictures from State Cup are posted, feel free to take a look by clicking here.

I tried my best to get pictures of as many people as possible.  However, since I also had games to do I'm sure I've missed a few people.  Everyone should be proud of our performance during the tournament.  A big thank you goes out to the following people:

Sonny Singh (mentor)
Bob Linebaugh (mentor)
Paul Quan (extraordinaire)
Craig Vencill (filmed championships)
Gary Webster (mentor)



Please email me if you would like a high quality version of your picture.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Week in Review: Week 9

The latest publication of Week in Review is available on US Soccer's website, or by clicking below:

Week in Review

A lot of discussion has come up lately related to situations at State Cup and other summer tournaments.  One of the critical elements of being a successful referee is to become a student of the game.  There are constant changes at play in how the Laws of the Game are applied and we must adapt by staying current on the updates and applying them to our matches. Week in Review is just one way we can stay on top of it all.

Do not think that you can rely solely on your instructors or assessors to convey this information to you.  First of all, we don't have enough time to cover every item during the recertification clinics.  Second, consider the fact that its "too late" if the assessor is having to remind you of a change in application during your post-game debrief. 

If you feel like you need clarification on anything mentioned in WIR articles please don't hesitate to ask.  Frank Serianni can take requests if you feel that a subject would be good to review at an ASRA meeting, as well.