Risk Taking

By now most of you should have seen this diagram at least once. This representation of Game Management isn't really something new; in fact, its a concept that has been around for sometime. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the elements of this model and struggle to apply these "new" concepts in our games. But in reality we are likely applying all of these concepts in our matches without assigning the terms to them. For example, when we choose not to call a trifling foul near midfield to keep the ball moving we have just demonstrated the Risk Taking element. Or when we issue a caution for a player removing their shirt to celebrate a goal (even though its not a "big deal") we are adhering to 100% Misconduct.


Over the next few weeks both on this blog and at the ASRA Meetings (if you live in Albuquerque) we will continue to examine some of the elements of this model. I find drawing the correlations between this model and previous procedures is helpful. Take a look at the clip below and think about Risk Taking.




The Advice to Referees on the LOTG is very clear when it talks about Law 5 and the referee's power "to decide that an infringement is trifling or doubtful and should not be called at all." We see in the video that if the two minor fouls were called that a goal probably wouldn't have resulted (affecting the Entertainment value). So in this case we saw that there was enough game control to allow play to continue (take a risk) and getting more flow in the game. Keep in mind we must be careful when risk taking. Never do we want the player's safety to be endangered or lose control of the match. Watch how players react to the foul being ignored: Do they keep playing? Are they frustrated? Do they look for revenge? Communicate with players to let them know you see the contact, but are allowing them to continue. If you have less game control you will not be able to take as many risks.

F-I-R-E

Keeping with a tradition I started but didn't stick with here is another acronym that is commonly referred to when gauging contact about the shoulders.


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The F-I-R-E Principle for Dealing with Above-the-Shoulder Challenges

Actions aimed at the face of an opponent must be dealt with severely REGARDLESS OF THE FORCE USED if the actions are:

• Deliberate
• Intended to intimidate
• Endangering the safety of an opponent
• Insulting and/or offensive in nature
• Potentially inciting further action on the part of opponents

The following lists some specific examples (but not all examples) of the manner in which the contact can be initiated are:

• Use of the backhand
• Open handed slap
• A push/slap to the face
• The jabbing of a finger(s) to the face
• Grabbing hair
• Use of a fist

To assist referees in recognizing and properly addressing these situations, the acronym F-I-R-E was provided to assist officials with the identification of elbows that should be defined as red cardable offenses (violent conduct):

• Frustration
• Intimidation
• Retaliation (payback)
• Establish Territory or Space

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Far West Regionals 2009

The weather sort of reminded us of New Mexico over the seven days spent in Lancaster, CA for FWR 2009. A total of ten referees and one assessor represented NM at this large event. Days consisted of usually 2-3 games, several hours out at the field, evening meetings and later meetings to get yelled at by the SYRA (or given assignments). Even though the days often started early and ended late the group had a good time overall.

Congratulations to those that were selected to attend this year (roughly from left to right): CJ Merritt, Amanda Forletta, Santos Toquinto, Mark Merritt, Frank Serianni, Kerstin Shrader, Oscar Toquinto, Jorge Garcia, Kris Grano and Seth Gilpin [not pictured: Nigel Holman, assessor]. Once again we had a great showing on the final day of games with four of our referees getting final assignments:

Mark Merritt - 4th Official Boys U-12













Oscar Toquinto - Referee Girls U-12
Santos Toquinto - AR1 Girls U-12













Kris Grano - Referee Girls U-18














Would you like to attend Regionals next year? Since the process can be a bit ambiguous look forward to a post giving you the steps necessary to better your chances of being selected. Remember that next year FWR is coming to Albuquerque so we'll have more opportunity to provide local referees!

Change to Procedures

Effective immediately the following changes have been made to the Guide and Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials.  US Soccer is suggesting the changes be implemented immediately.  I would suggest that you discuss the following points in your pregame so that the entire crew is on the same page.  Don't worry the changes are miminal and should be very easy for you to incorporate into your game! 

From the U.S. Soccer Communications Center:

A new and slightly revised edition of the long-standing USSF publication, Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and 4th Officials, will become available this month.  Only two changes will be found in the 2009-2010 edition:

• Page 37 (Penalty Kick, Indicated By The Assistant Referee).  The fourth bullet point has been modified as follows: “If referee stops game, assistant referee first indicates penalty kick by holding flag across the lower body and then begins walking toward the corner flag
• Page 40 (Substitutions, Referee procedure).  The first bullet point has been modified to be consistent with International Board guidelines mandating the use of the whistle to restart play after the referee has delayed the restart for a substitution.  The revised bullet item now makes it clear that a whistle is required in all such cases.
  

Until the new edition of the Guide becomes more widely distributed, you are asked to begin immediately in your respective capacities to pass the above procedure changes along to other referees, instructors, and assessors so that they may begin implementing these modifications as quickly as possible.

Some of this information is subject to copyright under the policies set forth by US Soccer.  All use and dissemination is covered under the usage policy which can be viewed at USSoccer.com and all rights therein.  

How to Gauge Serious Foul Play

As a referee commented during the State Cup meeting, there are a lot of acronyms out there in the referee world.  "Aw, man, another one?  Geez there are so many to remember!"  

Regardless of how you feel about them they are here to stay and its important to know what they mean.  For many people suck abbreviations make it easier to remember the concepts.  But according to Wiki:

"Acronyms often occur in jargon. Acronyms may have different meanings in different areas of industry, writing, and scholarship. The general reason for this is convenience and succinctness for specialists, although it has led some to obfuscate the meaning either intentionally, to deter those without such domain-specific knowledge, or unintentionally, by creating an initialism that already existed."

So what this means is sometimes people will constantly throw around the acronyms in order to make others feel "out of the loop" and uncomfortable.  Well, if you can interpret this special language then you'll feel confident, not embarrassed!

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SIAPOA 

Speed of play and tackle 

Intent: to send a message or win the ball 

Agressive nature, lunging with the feet 

Position of the legs; pay attention to both the leading and training leg 

Opportunity to play the ball.  Within playing distance?

Atmosphere of the game. 

The elements of SIAPOA will help you when deciding if a tackle is to be a send-off offense.  Remember that its important to study this concept thoroughly but be able to apply it quickly.  Most of us use information like this to build a "threshold" that is easy for us to recognize.  That's why you don't see a moment of hesitation when a top referee sends someone off for a SFP tackle.  They have trained themselves to recognize such tackles quickly and act with courage.  

State Cup - 1st Weekend

Except for a brief period of rain it was a great weekend for soccer. US Soccer was kind enough to send us Kevin Yant to help with the pre-tournament meeting and give us feedback throughout the weekend. An added bonus was that his wife, Christel (Region IV Administrator) was also able to be with us.

Kevin gave us a great review of the US Soccer Directives on Friday night, as well as review some amazing FIFA training videos. I can't stress enough the importance of knowing the Directives. If you haven't read them already (or just want to read them again) then click here. Saturday night a smaller group of referees meet and we reviewed the games as a group. As a wrap up the group took a FIFA video test for offiside offenses. It was a real eye opener!

Overall we started the tournament off right. There are still some things that we need to work on but we're moving in the right direction. Thank-you for all of your hard work and please keep up the good effort. The games will only get harder as the intensity level rises and players get more tired. We must continue to be at the top of our game!

Check out some of the photos by clicking here. If you would like a full-size copy of any of the pictures please email me.

Become a Student of the Game

You're already starting to become a student of the game by reading this. Time to sit back and relax while a select few tell you their opinions? Hardly.

The longer you are a referee the more you realize there is a lot to learn. Even if you were to master the "basics" and memorize the Laws of the Game you still have the Advice, all the USSF Memos, FIFA documents, blogs, books and then of course the all-important experience. I'm sure I have missed some other great sources of information. How about the big one? Other referees!

The point is that in order to do this well you must absorb as much information as possible. Today after a nice relaxing group run (join us next time, by the way) some of the group gathered to have some food and much needed water. The discussion strayed to different sources of data available on the art and science of being a soccer referee. It got me thinking about what being a student of the game really means and how it can really make a difference for everyone who puts a little effort into it.

Start off by taking advantage of the information that's already being brought to you. This blog, clinics throughout the year, monthly meetings and peer/assessor feedback on the field. When you have some free time read up on the Laws of the Game and the Advice to the Laws of the Game so that you have an integral grasp on the foundation. Check up regularly on USSoccer.com and read the memos, watch the videos and listen to the Week in Review. Maybe you have some other sources for info, too, like blogs or other publications. Go for it!

Then its time to take it to the next level. Ask around and see what some upper-level referees are doing to delve deeper. I'm sure many of them can give you some reading suggestions and maybe even let you borrow one of the titles. The more you learn and apply the knowledge you've gained the better you will become. You might just find being a student of this subject is strangely addictive.