Category: Referee Support
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Ref Life: When the US Futsal league in Pittsburgh, changes buildings.
New location, new courts, working through the house rules. US Futsal in Monroeville has a new home with Pro Sports at All American Fieldhouse
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Ref Life: Transitioning to indoor.
Here in Pennsylvania the outdoor season is closing out and the indoor facilities are starting up. We have dasher board soccer, futsal, small sided outdoor fields and even full sized outdoor fields. No matter what version of the game, we need to remember that we are not only responsible for applying the laws of the…
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Ref Life: Reflection and Video Review using Hudl.
The angles of a 2 man, 2 whistle system are bad. The joke is you have a bad look at the play or an even worse when it comes to making calls in a football game. The one angle from the center of the field on Hudl is the worst possible for reviewing game film,…
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Ref Life: Becoming a Referee Mentor in Pennsylvania.
US Soccer changed the hierarchy and naming strategy of it’s referee program a few years ago. Since all of the state associations that implement the US Soccer changes are run by volunteers getting everything up and running and onboarded often takes a little time. Here are the steps if you’d like to get back into…
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Ref Life: If you hear thunder we have to wait it out.
This rule apply to all games under US Soccer and the PIAA. Even adult leagues fall under the official lightning guidance. This past week my 6:30 kickoff became an 8pm kickoff due to lightning.
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Ref Life: in Memory of RDK 2025 Aug 01
As a player, he actually refereed a few of my games. As a referee, he coached, mentored and assigned me. As a person we agreed to disagree on coaching methodology changing over the generations. When it came to player management, he taught me to do what was right for the game at the level of…
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Ref Life: PlumKickoff Classic Tools for Managing The Temperature- field, sideline, crowd.
Referees– What tools do you have in your toolbelt to manage player safety, fair play, sportsmanship and a general positive environment for our grassroots community players in PA West? If you are a first year referee there is a good chance you never thought about using non-verbal or non-audible tools to control the game. Creating…
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Ref Life: Recert for US Soccer- handling bench personnel and dissent vs when to use soft skills.
Here is a thought I had before US Soccer released their updated policy for abuse of officials that starts this month. I began this post over a year ago. I realize after 15 years of officiating many of these situations, I can avoid by using humor and soft skills. However whenever the actions or words…
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Ref Life: NE Regional 2025
Ref, drink, sleep, repeat. Ref, drink, sleep, repeat. Ref drink, sleep, repeat. Lots of games. Approximately 44 just for me of the 1087 that were played between Friday and Monday. Lots of work for the crew of around 80 officials covering 20 futsal courts inside the Atlantic City Convention Center. Lots of decisions. The average…
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Ref Life: US Soccer New Abuse Prevention Program Launch.
I’m not sure if you know what life as a referee is like or what it is like to get a new referee on-boarded, trained, reinforced and back on the field game after game for the first three years. After 15 seasons, I’ve seen a whole lot and have many tools in my referee tool…
FCArmstrong 