FCArmstrong

Ok so this may not be truly about being a ref, but in the spirit of reflection and sharing our stories, this was an item I wanted to share.

I have been blessed to have great mentors in my soccer life as a player, coach and referee. Some of my mentor’s may have told me the same story 10 times, but each time they tell the story I can get something new out of it. We are storytelling animals. Our minds need story more than fact. Our stories make us who we are as referees. Nobody cares that in a typical year, I issue 3-8 red cards for everything from 2nd cautions to violent conduct for a back ward punch to the manly parts. It’s not about the enforcement, but it’s more about the stories of the mom that came to our referee post-game debriefing to ask if we were actually going to submit the red card report, because she already paid for a hotel that night in Buffalo. For those of you that have steered away from National Public Radio, there is something exciting coming to Pittsburgh, that we can all share in.

Do you remember this WC 2022 moment?