It's a matter of perspective ...

For those of us who have followed, and follow the adventures of the star ship Enterprise, the image to the left may be familiar. It is from the second season, and is episode #33, broadcast on October 6, 1967, Mirror - Mirror. A full briefing can be found here.

This episode goes into an alternate universe Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Uhura and their mis-adventures on the ISS Enterprise (as opposed to the USS Enterprise).

I can see the eyes rolling now, both from my wife and a certain FIFA AR that has been checking this blog out recently and understands my love of Trek lore, and asking ...

What's the point?

Things can look polarized at times, really one way, and not the other. But, if you stop and change your perspective, it can open up a world of possibilities.

Here is a little bit of a disclaimer, and a little bit of a glimpse into a behind the scene look into what is going on here at Kicking-Back. Both can be handled in one bite.

From a disclaimer standpoint, I want to be clear that I am not intending to give out any sort of referee advice that is sanctioned by US Soccer or the National Office. (Your crazy if you listen to me anyway) A far better forum for technical questions is here. This is a tremendous site that is moderated by who I would consider is one of the great minds of the game in the US, Jim Allen. He has quite a staff behind him too as noted in the about page. This team of folks have helped shape the referee program at the National level for some time, and is an excellent resource for questions about the laws and their application.

This blog is not intended to be instructional in nature in any official capacity. I do wear that hat when I am asked to referee a match or provide an opinion and advice to other referees and soon-to-be referees from an assessment standpoint, and maybe (likely) an instructional one.

This fora was originally conceived (over 50 posts ago!) and continues to be a free exchange of ideas that relate to refereeing in the context of the game, and the greater game of life. While it will contain specific advice and reference about the LOTG, it will in every aspect attempt to be technically correct and consistent with the advice given to us as referees ... and more.

I do hope however it provides more than text of the laws, or interpretations that are well understood. It is my intent to make people think about how small things, seemingly meaningless details at times, can make a big, big difference in the game, and life outside of the lines. There are others when it will be a repost of some event that may be relevant to what we are discussing at that time, or just something out of the blue that seemed fun. In all cases however, it is intended to be worth the read.

In short, I'm trying to get everyone to think a little off the beaten path. Sometimes it is just in the form of a reminder, sometimes it is just the ramblings of someone who has been there ... as so many of us have. We are after all, one community with many common experiences.

In all cases take the posts with the grain of salt they are intended to have standard with them. As a great assessor once told me, "Take what you like and use it. Just throw away the rest".