George Gately is the USSF North Carolina Soccer Referee Area Administrator for Area 7. This area includes Shelby on the west, Charlotte on the south, Concord on the east, and Statesville on the north, and everything inbetween. George is also an assessor and instructor.

Information about all the North Carolina Soccer Referee Association staff can be found at www.ncsra.org.

Saturday Dec 19 at GASTONIA, PARKWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH (corner of E. Garrison Blvd and Burtonwood Drive) at 8 o'clock in the morning:

Re-Certification 2010 Test (Grades 08, 07 and State Referee 06) will be offered to those who took it earlier this year and did not earn a passing grade.  You will need to tell me WHICH CLINIC you attended (Location & Date). This re-test was formerly scheduled for Davidson (Ada Jenkins Center).  DO NOT GO TO Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson.  Set aside 3 hours for this.  No charge for re-taking the exam.

 

Full Re-Certification Clinic will also be offered at this Gastonia location.  If you have not yet attended a 2010 Re-Certification clinic please plan on staying until ~3 o'clock to complete the required 6 hours of classroom instruction.  $67.00 charge payable to NCSRA.

 

Thank you --

George Gately
Area VII Referee Administrator
NCSRA/USSF

 

Area 7 Referees:

Have you ever had this experience?  You've made your decision about a particular incident in a match, and a player runs up to you and informs you he, too, is a "certified referee."  He just wants to let you know (A.) your last decision was WRONG!!!!, and (B.) what you should have done.  Isn't that helpful?  Don't you appreciate it so much?

 

This email is an appeal to us all to segregate our roles when involved in a soccer match.  When you have on the referee uniform, don't coach.  When you have on a player's or coach's uniform, don't referee.

 

Two issues here:

1.)  I was recently on a crew for a U-11 girl's match.  For AR2 (as he told us before the match) it was his FIRST match as a ref; having earned his certification in August.  As you might suspect, he lacked some refinement.  So we worked with him at halftime and were planning to offer more instruction at the end of the match.  Regrettably someone else approached him at the end of the match.  That someone was wearing the formal coaching uniform of one of the Clubs involved in the match.  He identified himself, "I am also a referee," and proceeded to offer his opinion about the rookie's mistakes and shortcomings.  Undoubtedly the coach was well-meaning.  However, it was inappropriate for him to step out of his coaching role (unless he was also prepared to step out of his coach's clothing!) and into a referee-mentor role -- even if he meant well.  That gentleman also foreclosed my opportunity to further instruct the rookie ref when it would have been most helpful -- immediately following the match.  Instead I had to use the time to apologize for the behavior of the coach; and to rebuild the rookie ref's confidence.  He had just been lectured by a man dressed as a team coach on the basic points of refereeing!

 

2.)  From the coaches perspective, they also are not appreciative of referees who inappropriately interject "coaching language" into the active play.  What do you think the modern, career-professional coach has worked on all week regarding the attacking/defending third?  Do you think he has drilled into his players "Take it easy"; "Keep your hands down" and similar admonitions?  Probably not.  So why do we referees think such interjections are helpful?  If the player is listening to us we are distracting him/her from play.  If the player is not listening to us, why are we talking? 

 

The point is this -- coaches want us to referee, and not distract the players with "coaching language."  If the player commits a foul blow your whistle.  If the player is not fouling, why does the referee need to say anything?  Appropriate words for the referee during active play are "Play on!" when applying Advantage; and "Nothing there; keep playing" etc. when contact is trifling or doubtful.  If you do feel it necessary to speak to a player who is borderline fouling, run alongside him/her during the transition/counter-attack and give a quiet, private word. 

 

The inappropriate nature of the interjections are only underscored when the same referee is also missing, and therefore failing to punish, real fouls and absolute misconduct!  As an assessor the most glaring shortcomings I see are referees who miss the serious fouls and fail to punish misconduct, while being nitpickers about throw-ins, competitive contact and other issues that plainly fall into the "trifling and doubtful" categories.

 

LAST WORD -- Law 5, International Board Decision 8 reads (in part) "The Laws of the Game are intended to provide that games should be played with as little interference as possible. . . ." (See Advice to Referees 5.5).  Referee, please refrain from interjecting yourself inappropriately in the match; whether that be by "constantly whistling for trifling or doubtful breaches" or by interjecting "coaching language" into active play. 

 

We ask for the respect of the coaches for our role.  Let's return the courtesy and leave the coaching to them.

 

George Gately
Area VII Referee Administrator
NCSRA/USSF
704.957.4116