It's the people, not the rules

I caught an interesting article from Mike Woitalla in Soccer America titled, Put refs and coaches in the same room. Similar in venue to what we discussed last week with He Blinded Me With Science!, this discussion too was from the US Youth Soccer gathering in Philadelphia. The .pdf of the slide deck can be found here.

In the ether, the points have some merit. While I am sure that some actual polling went behind the conclusions, I have to believe the sample size was so small and the focus so narrow that the actual results are not quite on point or at least so general to be not helpful to anyone specific.

Don't get me wrong, they are worth reading as again, each has merit, at least at the highest level of abstraction. Also, the title is a good idea unto itself as well ... provided they are the right referees and coaches. At the professional level this is an absolute necessity, but even there, with the right people. Can we really imagine the outcome of placing a group of young, youth referees in a room with a bunch of older coaches? Are the issues all rules and regulations, or is there something else at play here?

Do we really think that if we take Peter Walton's advise from this article and have referees be more demonstrative in signaling fouls that the types of issues hurled on referees, such as abuse, will end?

How about inconsistency? Do we as referees always want to be consistent regarding fouls all the time for the same reason? I hope not as any number of situations may cause us to intentionally stray from this course of action.

Two very concrete points I really like are (a) make players and coaches take a referee class and exam. This sadly was recently removed from anyone who was getting their "A" license and to the best of my knowledge the certification requires no actual referee classroom work or experience. (b) Is to require coaches to referee a set of matches to feel what it is like to referee.

Some have commented this is not very practical and I disagree strongly. With these (2) steps you could make at least coaches feel empathy for these young youth referees which is what I believe is the intent behind "getting in the same room."

I think we keep forgetting, it is not about the silly rule book or how it is executed in the majority of the youth soccer games across the planet ... it's about the people and how we choose to manage each other. I believe humility and empathy are far more important than demonstrative signals and consistency.

Don't believe me? Try using NFL type signals the next time out and see the reaction you get.

Last ... but not least

On July 2nd I posted the Region I Massachusetts Youth National Appointments.

I did neglect to post one announcement however, which was Randall Kelly, who has been invited back to Nationals this year.

Well done Randy!

A Hopeless American View

Well I am back and mostly recovered from my experiences at the Region I tournament in Lancaster Pennsylvania over the last week or so. There are several stories to share, some funny, some very serious. The first one however was an indication of just how myopic the American view of the sport is.

Here is the scenario:
I was asked to assess a variety of matches over the week. This particular one was a "boys" U-19 match between Eastern PA and Virginia. As some may know these teams are tremendously skilled, and I took note of at least one US National pool player. Also noteworthy was the fact that the referee was a National candidate.

After about 19', play was excellent and moving at a breakneck pace with the referee doing a tremendous job in understanding that the players were there to play, and managed them to perfection in my estimation. In that time the referee had (2) match critical decisions, managed through what could have been a caution, and each team had no fewer than (3) goal scoring opportunities each.

As I was standing there enjoying the match, a parent of one of the teams came by and asked me, "Is there any score?" I replied "Yes, it is currently nil, nil."

He stopped and look perplexed for a second and reflected by stating, "Good, I haven't missed anything" as he strode away.

Wow, I thought to myself. With all that had happened in the match so far, to say they haven't missed anything was stunning. It demonstrated how so many see the game today, any game today, as the only excitement is scoring.

I firmly believe that is why ice hockey has poor acceptance as well, and frankly if it was not for the fights, would be on par with soccer in the US.

Imagine if we counted a goal for 7 points, instead of 1? Can you see the headline? New England Revolution 14, Chicago Fire 7. On some level that does seem more appealing I guess. Maybe not.

I suppose that's why no one likes chess either, or an even better sports analogy is bicycle racing. I mean, most of the world this month is watching the Tour de France (go Team Radio Shack!), and when I bring it up to most, I get a blank look expressing, "What are you talking about?"

Maybe it's me ... I guess I have patience for matches that have no scoring or immediate results. Maybe I just really enjoy the tactics and strategy that go into a match, or something like the TDF. It is truly amazing what goes into such a competition (just look below or here at a Team Radio Shack meeting), and to dismiss it without appreciation is incredibly short sighted, and I hate to say, when it comes to sports, incredibly American.

LIVE from Lancaster PA, it's Kicking Back!

Friends ... I am beat.

It is early morning day 4 of the tournament and it has been a whirlwind.

Days 1 thru 3 are generally the same where referees and assessors will work 3 matches in a day, sometimes 4 in the case of assessors. You are up early (5 or 6 AM) to get ready for the day, and usually down late (midnight) after the meetings, post meetings, post meeting debrief with your delegation, and late night meetings over specific incidents.

Last night a few of us were up to 2 AM discussing the finer points of laws 3, 4, and 5 and how you must restart for equipment changes versus injuries versus bleeding. It was a surprisingly riveting conversation that demonstrated just how convoluted interpretations of the laws can get.

BTW to save everyone from getting a flat spot on their head in finding the CURRENT interpretation of the LOTG (i.e. Advice to referees), a link can be found here at the AYSO site ... not ANYWHERE on the US Soccer site. Check out section 5.8 and 5.9 specifically to get a flavor of the discussion (noting they had recently changed).

Today is semi-final day here, and as I write this at about 7 AM, I can see some unhappy campers. Today is the first day that selections are made and some players, referees, and assessors have not "made the cut."

JAFO puts it well in their post "Testing ones mettle", as these certainly are the times that try men's souls. Soccer is life, and right now THE game has dealt some a tough road to hoe for the foreseeable future to sort out what they believe may be a refereeing issue.

Dear hearts, let me opine that refereeing is an extension of ones self, and to really sort out why one may not have received assignments as a player, referee, or assessor today should invoke some deep introspection to think about what is going on.

As a referee and assessor in regionals past there have been times I have not received such assignments, and it was very refreshing to sit, reflect, and watch a match ... for a change. Going through a tournament like this is a pressure cooker that some distance, and perspective can aid greatly in helping ones understanding of the game, and themselves. Some of my greatest personal victories have come from my most epic failures. This tournament provides great opportunities for both.

When you get down to it though, they might be one and other in disguise.

This time, Pennsylvania

As I write this, I am making my last preparations to depart for the Region I Championships in Lancaster PA.

While I certainly am not looking forward to getting up at 3:00AM (literally) and drive 7 hours to the final destination, I can say that I am looking forward to the camaraderie and experiences of the week.

Being away from my family for a week is no small thing, especially over the 4th of July. It is a great time for picnics and BBQ's and fireworks and stuff that makes lasting memories for years and years. When I was actively refereeing there was a span of half a decade that I did not see 4th of July fireworks because I was out refereeing at this tournament and I really missed those experiences with family and friends.

I write this not lamenting my decision to attend this tournament, but to convey its importance. For referees this is a critical tournament. For some it is the beginning of their "regional career", where they are exposed the very first time to teams outside of their state, or even an assessment for the very 1st time.

Others are at the end of their youth career. They have traversed the gauntlet of youth soccer and will got to Youth Nationals, essentially ending any significant involvement in youth soccer as a referee, until of course they come out the other end of the pipe and do what I am, and circling back around.

Most are in the middle, some know they want to progress and be that referee that goes to the Nationals soon, others might be saying, "Is it really worth it?"

In all cases, these are critical times for a youth referee.

Here is why my particular role, and those of the other assessors and instructors at this tournament are so critical, they have the ability to influence what happens next with these careers. Open and honest feedback is so critical in these cases. So too however is a positive disposition to assure the referee what they did is okay, and here's how you can change it for a different result.

It is pretty incredible to have the opportunity to be able to reach so many young, eager minds in one place, at one time. It's rather rare actually.

At this point, that's why I'm going, to reach those minds and hope to make a difference.

I will do my best to get a post in now and then when I am away, but no promises. In the mean time Nigel and JAFO may jump in and fill the void.

Keep and eye on @Kicking_Back on Twitter as well as I can assure you, that will be popping over the week.

Is it worth it?

I am very lucky. I was one of the generation of referees who was given the glorious opportunity to traverse the entire spectrum of matches in the United States from local youth matches, to professional (MLS) and international matches.

Those referees who came before this generation were not given the opportunity to experience the youth game in the US but largely came from the ranks of ethnic league matches, which in their own right served as excellent preparation for the professional (NASL) and international game.

Both routes have their merits and have produced exceptional referees such as David Socha, Angelo Bratsis, Jen Bennett, and Tom Supple. Currently however, there is a particular purgatory that every youth referee making their way through the ranks must endure. It is the often surreal dealings with the youth fan(atic).

This single topic alone would take up chapters of books I will write some day about my experience and those of my peers who had to struggle as a youth, and a youth referee, to find their way through the fog of youth sports.

Don't get me wrong, I don't believe soccer is unique in this respect as adults in all youth sports seem to loose their marbles at times. Nor do I believe that all adult participants are responsible for such behavior as I have had so many more positive experiences than very negative ones. The issue of course is that the very negative ones leave a much stronger and lasting impression.

Recently I was reintroduced to a long time friend of THE game, Paul Levy, who in his blog, Running A Hospital (now linked at right also), wrote an excellent article, entitled "Dear Coach", about just how wide an effect such conduct can have on the participants of a match, not just the referee. From the article:

Dear Coach,

I was refereeing your team's game yesterday afternoon in the Natick Columbus Day soccer tournament. (This was eleven-year-old boys.) You didn't like one of the calls I made, the one awarding a penalty kick to the other team. You demonstrated this, first, by throwing your clipboard energetically on the ground and yelling. Even after the kick was taken -- and missed -- you loudly yelled out to me across the field in complaint. ...

I implore you all to read this as it eloquently details the plight of the youth referee today and what they must endure for the sake of a group of children trying to have fun playing a game. The blog itself is excellent also, and provides a wealth of information on a variety of topics I am finding fascinating.

So from all of this I have one question to ask and answer for the youths growing up as youth soccer referees across the United States: Is it worth it?

My answer: An unequivocal Yes.

Your question: Why?

Well, that too could take up chapters of books I have yet to write, about how soccer can be transformative to life itself and provides such tremendous opportunities to learn some life lessons that so often are never realized without that spark to do so. THE game provides that spark.

To be sure, these are heady topics, and ones that were furthest from my mind as a teenager trying to do their best at managing a group of children playing a game, while reconciling the truly brutal affronts of some adults who were maligning all the participants for their efforts. I do not believe my teenage situation to be unique, this is happening all over the world.

This is the fog of the youth game today. This is the plight of the youth referee.

It is not the end of the story however. There are ways through the fog. Family, friends, and a host of communities such as the refereeing community itself. There are those out there who have been through the fog and want nothing more to help others do the same. I urge you to take advantage of those people. They can help.

For me I also found solace in a birthday card my dad gave to me. To this very day, it makes me stop and think about how to get through that fog. I offer it here for any in the fog of the youth game today.

If - Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Parents gone wild ...

Kicking Back Comments:
My answer to the byline question is ... NO! Book the guy and throw away the key for assault and battery of an 11 year old. Read on to see just how people lose their minds when it comes to youth sports. Granted I can empathize as I have seen my son tackled pretty hard in a match, but not to the point where I ran out into the field and do what this guy did. Take a look at the video too ... and the offending players coach who was flirting with blaming the referee, but never quite got there ... it was close though.

After Kids' Soccer Game - Arrest Over the Top?

Brighton, N.Y.- After a nearly month-long investigation, Brighton Police have arrested a Victor man for an incident at a Rochester District Youth Soccer League game.

It happened on July 16th at French Road Elementary School in a game between the Brighton Stormers and Victor-Farmington teams.

Police said that during the game, contact between 11-year-old players began escalating--and that's when Kevin Merriman, 41, of Victor, parent of a Victor-Farmington player, went onto the field, picked up one of the Brighton players and held him in a "bear hug" that resulted in the child being lifted off the ground. ...

Read the full article here, courtesy of WHAM.COM out of Rochester NY.

Special thanks to CW Rice for finding this gem of an article.

Steady Growth for Soccer in U.S.

The vuvuzelas have gone quiet, the national flags have been put away, and the cable sports networks are back to talking about baseball. But the World Cup in South Africa has left its mark on soccer in the United States, and, if pattern holds, it will help the sport continue to grow in this country.

Even though the American team had long since left the tournament, more than 24 million fans watched the championship match, between Spain and the Netherlands, on ABC and Univision, a figure more than the average viewership for last year’s World Series games between the Yankees and the Phillies.

Midfielder Landon Donovan became a household name thanks to his on-field exploits for the United States. Americans bought more tickets to World Cup games than fans from any country other than South Africa, and more than half a million fans are expected to see Europe’s best teams play in the United States this summer, including the 44,213 who saw Manchester United beat the host Philadelphia Union, 1-0, on Wednesday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Article continues in full here, courtesy of The New York Times.

Day 6: Enjoy the experience

Back in 1994 the Regionals were held in New Jersey. It was that year I learned this lesson the hard way. A lesson that all these experiences with the youth game should be enjoyed, because they are not around forever.

It was that year I was fortunate enough to be selected for Youth Nationals. I remember it clearly, I was in some shock as I stood in the parking lot just after leaving the fields after being told. My dad was near by, he was assessing at the tournament and had taken some time to watch me that day to make sure I was behaving myself. He didn't know yet, or at least didn't let on he knew about me going to Youth Nationals.

I was just standing there watching a match from a distance and the SYRA came up and said, "Well, I guess that's it." I snapped out of my daze and said something to the effect of, "Just what are you talking about?"

"That's it. You're done with the youth game after Nationals. Time for you to move on." He pated me on the back and he and my dad walked off discussing if it would be okay for my dad to watch me in Minnesota.

I just stood there dumbfounded ... and started to cry.

That was it? All that time, all those friends and experiences ... done? Years of refereeing flashed in my head.

Yes. That was it. It was just about the end of my competitive youth refereeing career.

I barely took the time to take it all in along the way. One day I was refereeing 6 a side matches in Walpole when I was 12 years old ... the very next it seemed, I was on a flight to referee in the most prestigious youth tournament in the US for me. It was too much. I continued to choke back tears for a few minutes just watching that match from the parking lot. Trying to cope with having to let that part of my refereeing career go.

So why do I offer such a personal story?

Just as a thought.

Take the time to enjoy the ride. It does not last forever, and may just end sooner than you may like.

Day 2 of matches is down ... yet we are all still standing

I have to say that the area we are in for the Region I Championship is really beautiful. Above is a shot from both of the mornings here. Let me tell you that it gets *cold* here in the morning as the fog would indicate.

Despite this fact, by 11AM the heat is up ... and we are ALL baking.

Over the first two days it has been a stark reminder just how much fitness is required at a multi-day tournament like this. Each referee is generally asked to serve as a referee, and then generally as an AR for (2) more matches. These can include shorter halves for younger ages (e.g. U12) or "regular" halves for the older ages.

Now while refereeing multiple youth matches is nothing really new for a referee who has been through "the program" (a euphemism I sometimes employ to describe a referee who has transitioned from the youth to other levels of the game), to do so at this very high level of play can be daunting, and require amazing focus. It can be read in their faces and gait as they walk to a field.

That noted, the spirits are buoyed and it is so clear they love what they do.

Now sometimes silliness sets in as it did tonight at dinner and while we were waiting for the presentations to begin, some members of some delegations were counting how long it took for a plate from the buffet table to be picked up when it was done being eaten from.

No folks you just can't make this stuff up either.

It was timed to take from 8 seconds, to 22 minutes 36 seconds. We guessed an average was under 4 minutes though. It was pretty amazing, the staff at Marshall University is terrific. For the record too, we were not teasing these folks we were legitimately eating dinner and came up with  this silly game to pass the time. It worked, and was indeed very silly.

Something tells me as the week continues to wear on, we will get more tired and we will have more silly games to report on.

Stay tuned ... more to come as day 3 is on the horizon.

Day 3: Be ready for THAT question ...

So (Mr. or Ms. referee or AR), what did YOU think about the match?

Be ready with an answer to that one after each and every match. It can help jump start an assessment, and can be used as a tool to lead an assessor down a path that you as referee want to go down. Now, it may be short lived as if there is a topic an assessor wants to cover, they are going to cover it, but you can start things off on the right foot for your team by helping the discussion down the right path.

Here are some answers I would avoid, however each is free to use them at their own peril:

I was AWESOME today!!

I really stunk today, just fail me now.

Well aren't YOU supposed to tell me how I did today?

From a previous post I offered some thoughts about how to handle what might be a tense situation with an assessor. Taking a look back, here are the basic points:

1. Be calm. Assessors (believe it or not) are there to help, not to berate you. Engage in a dialog to understand where the assessor is coming from, and where you as referee, are coming from.

2. Be honest. If you blew it, say you blew it. If you did't, say you didn't. If you don't know, say you don't know. Nothing will get you into hotter water faster than saying something that is obviously not true to an assessor. Some may buy the BS ... the best will know better.

3. Ask - What would you have done? You might just get a blank look indicating they have no idea. Other braver assessors may say they don't know. The best will have a thought for you to ponder, as a single correct solution rarely presents itself in this game.

4. Say - Thank you. Assessors, as I said before are there to help, not just hang around. You can disagree with the assessment, think they got it all wrong in all aspects, and that they were a blind, clueless, ex-referee trying to relive their career through you. That might be true, every word ... but they took the time to try and help. Appreciate that fact if nothing else.

5. Think about it. There are times when a point in an assessment will not make sense until much later in life. Review those older assessment and rethink about that situation and how you would solve it the next time. It may just happen again.

6. Be your worst assessor. I became an assessor at a young age to try to think like an assessor and understand what they were after. I would perform my own self-assessment and try to come up with the questions they would ask. Sometimes I got it right, sometimes I got it wrong, but in all cases I was thinking about the match, and how I could make my performance better next time.


Getting an assessment after a whole day on the pitch can be no fun. I know this, been there, done that. Just be ready to answer THAT question, and consider the above points, and you'll be just fine.

Feeling hot, Hot, HOT!!!

Things have definitely heated up from this morning!

For any following on Twitter, we were seriously socked in this morning. You could not see one SIDE of the field from the other. It was crazy. But, just as the first kick was getting underway, the heavens parted and the sun shined in. It was a glorious day ... for about 3 hours, then frankly it got pretty freaking hot.

Lots of sunscreen passed around. I actually drained a 3oz tube on myself, yet to no avail as I am lobster red. I have a bunch of moisturizer and other balms and salves to see if I can salvage the situation. Rumour has it there is a pix floating around of it, so when I have it I will send it along.

It was pretty amazing though how plugged in the community was. When Brazil we3nt down to Netherlands today, the field were immediately buzzing about it. Similar with Ghana playing Uruguay. You could walk the fields and people were listening live on their smart phones and shouting things like "GOAL", or "RED CARD". It was pretty amazing.

More later, but we are off to dinner and the evenings meetings, debrief, and de-debrief. Which is I hope, brief =).

Houston: The Eagle Has Landed

I've always found traveling fun ... I have always found traveling with a group of referees even more fun. The opening volley of flight from BOS to CRW was good and generally uneventful, save a very positive run in with a member of the POTUS medical sweep team.

Each of the referees and assessors (save your overdressed author in the center of the picture) is impressive in each of their own rights. It is truly humbling to be traveling with them and all they have accomplished, and the things they will soon accomplish in this tournament and beyond.

This group seems very cohesive and there is a relaxed tone with a subtle anxiety, which is typical leading up to events such as Regionals.This anxiety has grown slowly for some ... and as I am going through this process as an assessor for my first time, I am not immune to it. As while I pen this before getting up at 5a tomorrow to start a very long day, it mounts for me too.

Weather is beautiful, even a little cold in the overnights but have been sparkling clear days. Even hot in same cases ... and yes I already have too much colour and haven't even been out to a field yet.

All and all however, an excellent start to what will surely be an excellent week.

I was able to find a net connection (in the room no less) and will be blogging when able ... and tweeting via the iPhone much more often.

Stay tuned, the fun is just beginning.

"You two are going to Top Gun ..."

"On March 3, 1969 the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to insure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world. They succeeded. Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School. The flyers call it: TOP GUN."


Does anyone remember this, or am I really showing my age? Wait a second, please don't answer that ...


So here we are on the cusp of the 2010 Regional I tournament beginning. I found that in my experience as a referee, the tournament took on a heightened flavor when the World Cup was being played. This is based in my experience of 1994 when I was at regionals and watched the USA v. BRA match (match report) with a group of referees that had just worked really hard all week long ... anyone remember the bicycle kick that just missed the post from Balboa? Here we are again, a World Cup, a Regional Tournament, and I am going ... this time as an assessor.


It got me thinking about being selected for such a tournament and the emotions that went into it for me. It is very stirring, exciting and scary all at the same time. Maybe like Maverick and Goose going to Top Gun. Well, maybe like Goose going to Top Gun ...

Now you may have been thinking I was speaking purely about this from a refereeing perspective. I was not. I feel that way today as an assessor. Like referees, assessors are chosen for a variety of reasons, but among them, I would opine, is ability as an assessor to help guide referees.

This is a pretty awesome responsibility when I sit down and think about it. There are a great many lessons learned from the pitch as a referee. Many that I personally carry forward to this day off of my life. To offer such guidance to these developing referees takes some careful thought.

Over the next (6) days we will have a bit of a mini-series in things I learned from tournament play as well as some reporting on the goings on of the tournament itself. These posts are not "do as I do", but to provoke thought about what may make sense in a multi-day tournament context. Each reader is on their own to figure out how to use the information, and I offer it in that vein.

So sit back, relax, and come with me on a 6 day voyage to one of the premier youth soccer tournaments in the United States today, and all it has to offer.

Show me the money!!

I caught an article the other day where this very satirical cartoon of Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, President of FIFA came from. It goes into some interesting detail about how much money FIFA is theoretically going to make in the 2010 World Cup. This article from playthegame.org, estimates FIFA will make between $3.2B and $4B (yes Billion with a B) over the course of the tournament.


Now a disclaimer, and it is above and beyond the Legal Stuff disclaimer. I am not knocking FIFA for making money, and I certainly do not agree with everything the linked web site states about this, or some other topics they report on. I have spent a significant amount of my life attempting to attain membership into this organization as a referee, and if really lucky I may be able to do so via another avenue someday. So believe me when I say, I am not knocking them.

It did get my wheels spinning however regarding the inflection point of money and refereeing at the local levels. For the remainder of this post, please ignore the professional level on up. It is a given that money plays a role and just how much we will explore sometime later. For now it is worth exploring to the youth and amateur referee some places where money plays a role.

So think about your local matches on Saturday. What does money have to do with them? Well, I live in a town that has a really nice athletic complex, and to offset that cost, there is a fee that we pay, per player, per registration. So I have sunk several hundred dollars into each of my little cherubs before they even get to the field. When they get there, I really appreciate when a referee shows up, on time, and in a uniform, any uniform.

This has nothing to do with their competency as an official, it has nothing to do with being fair or that little Jimmy and Jenny are having fun. It has to do (for some) with, I paid for this? 

Sounds harsh huh ... it is. This is a whole new level of being judged for a referee ... a monetary one.

Here is another one for you.

So State Cups are going on in just about every state right now, and from there some will earn a spot to their Regionals, and for a very few from there, the Youth Nationals. Guess who is at these tournaments ...

College recruiters.

Did you know that a private college these days costs about $26,000 per year?

That is insane.

What may be even more insane is the large number of high school players that are competing for the small pool of scholarship monies, and the lengths parents will go to make sure their kids get a shot at it. There is a reasonable argument that this is something good parents do while not taken to the extreme. [One day I will relate the story about a local youth meeting I was in where a mother jumped to her feet and exclaimed, and I mean *EXCLAIMED*, that her daughter was going to be the next Mia Hamm. Her daughter was 5 and the mom's complaint was about how poor the coaching was at that level ... no BS, true story]  If I am ever faced with the situation I will let you know what I decide as as I sit here tonight writing this, I can't say with certainty what I would do.

So what else is at stake in such matches?

Coaches jobs.

Yep, even some youth club coaches do exceedingly well for a salary and losing a Regional Championship match may be a ticket to getting fired. That was tough to get my head around at first. Here I was 19 or so years old and I was told that a coach could lose a job because of my decisions.

It was a lot to consider back then.

My only though is be aware of it at the level you are refereeing at. For the referees in South Africa now, their country is on their shoulders and that weight is far more than someone losing their job. In some cases it can be much, much more. (Remember Andrés Escobar?) From there it trickles down ... all the way down to that 6 v. 6 match in the park on Saturday morning.

Doesn't mean as referees you should change a thing for this reason, certainly not any calls. It is just something else to be aware of and think about when you are out there.

Was that blog, or Blago?

From the real to the unreal.

So, lots of folks have blog out there that say a bunch of neat things, and some covering topics that are, well, interesting. For anyone who has been following the tweets about the US National Team, there was a tweet today from USSOCCER  that pointed to the MNT Blog. For those of us who are ex-players, or just want to get a glimpse into what is going on, this is a good place. Particularly right now when the boys are in South Africa.

Here is another fun one from US Youth Soccer on an incredible array of topics that some will find interesting for certain.