La. Referees at Regionals

[futbolislife]

A great showing by the La Delegation this week. Appears to be the BEST showing ever by a La Delegation as a group. So here is how we fared at Tuesday night's recognition and awards.
Bob Wertz Award in recognition of exceptional leadership and devoted service to Region III referees. Tim C. (Lafayette)
Top 25ARs - 3 - Fernando C.(Monroe) Jeremy M. (Baton Rouge) Wayne R. (Slidell)
Top 25 Referees - Doug D. (Lafayette) Jennifer P. (Baton Rouge) Darrin B. (New Orleans) Tyler M. (Lafayette)
Doug D. selected to Nationals and Jennifer P. to Presidents Cup.
When you see these folks, congratulate them. This was an absolutely incredible showing.

I do not believe that a La Delegation has EVER had this many referees recognized at Regionals. This is beyond words. We are extremely proud of these folks and the other referees who attended regionals. The entire group performed extremely well.

[furriner]

so this means that LA refs are among the best of the best in Region III. Does that mean that the training programs in LA are working, or are the other Staes getting worse? Sorry, couldn't resist.

I heard that several of our officials were picked for final games. A great honor for the State and a wonderful personal achievement for those involved. Greatly deserved.

[happyjack]

Sure would be nice if the parents who always complain about poor officiating in our state would be forced to read this thread. Yes, our training is working. Mentor programs, field training, and referee academies all contributed to this great showing

[Ronaldinho]

It is certainly a great showing. Well done to those involved. I've always said you can't really complain about the officiating at Regionals....not only do I believe the tournament IS consistently well-officiated, but you're just not going to find many higher-level referees with better experience if you aren't satisfied with the level of refereeing. Good to see Louisiana referees making names for themselves and being part of that elite group.

I can't help but notice the little "dig" by happyjack and furriner.....possibly aimed at people like Hall and myself, maybe specifically to a thread on this site about LA referees supposedly being stricter than other states, calling softer fouls, possibly as a result of a slightly less competitive brand of soccer in LA, which then might contribute to LA teams struggling to adapt out of state to a style of play that's already faster to begin with (in addition to referees who don't call the softer "LA fouls" that LA teams are used to). At least that's what we were suggesting was a cycle between players and refs in LA. As I think Hall and I argued, there can be a general trend in the state while still having an elite tier of referees who are so experienced and so knowledgeable as to be an exception to the rule. Some referees in LA are very, very good. But just because we have 16 (I heard 16, not sure if that's the right number) referees who have a great showing at Regionals, does not mean it represents the trend of LA refereeing statewide and the quality you'll see in Louisiana on a week-to-week basis. Just because the LA Fire '92 Boys and LA Fire '97 Girls make the semis of Regionals, does not mean LA soccer as a whole is catching up to powerhouse states....just means we have 2 unusually excellent teams that are exceptions to the trend.

With that being said, I'm not saying the training programs in LA aren't working. I hope LA refereeing really is improving. Mentor programs, field training.....these things are probably paying off very well, and it's always great to see a referee who really knows what he's doing. I always try to make comments on the sideline with other parents when referees do a good job. But I also see truly bad referees at tournaments, league games, State Cup, etc. on a regular basis. Poor positioning on the field, no understanding of how to communicate with players and coaches, horrendous decisions with how to handle certain situations (regardless of good/bad judgment), and very questionable understanding of the rules themselves. I've seen a referee call a foul on a clean slide tackle, telling the player "You did get the ball, but tackles like that will get the game out of control" in a game that had no reckless tackles in 60 minutes. Other referees honestly believe slide tackles are automatically fouls. I've also heard a referee tell a player, "she wasn't offside because she got back onside by the time the ball got to her."

It's those types of things that make you wonder how some referees are licensed. The certification test is NOT easy, and there is no way a referee could pass it without understanding ALL the basic rules. Same with recertification tests each year. Additionally, all these rules are covered thoroughly in the certification classes. But I also know we have a shortage of referees, and that no assignor or instructor wants to tell a referee they failed the test. (I'm specifically referring to the original test, when young kids are first getting certified.) And I know that the instructors will guide kids during the test, give hints to correct certain answers before they turn it in.....and I honestly wonder how far it goes. Because there really are referees in Louisiana (maybe everywhere) who DO NOT understand the most basic rules. Just don't understand the game at all. Even simple concepts like onside/offside....young ARs will make strange offside calls, and then you watch them more closely and they aren't anywhere near in line with the last defender, and they'll call offside when a forward was 4-5 yards ONside when he started his run to chase a ball. Or stuff like that offside quote in my last paragraph of a referee who doesn't even know the rule.....that was actually an RPL game. It's unfortunate when people associate this tier of referees with the quality of refereeing as a whole in our state. We do have great referees. But it's hard to justify how someone can pass the difficult certification test, and then go out there and apply an offside rule that doesn't exist, never position themselves in the right spot, call dangerous play for a high kick when no opposing players are within 5 yards, look at you with a blank, clueless expression when you ask why he didn't call advantage on a breakaway instead of calling a foul.....stuff that really should be common knowledge but apparently is not. Or a referee in a PK shootout who makes all 10 kickers take their kicks even after the result is wrapped up and the teams are telling the ref the game is over. (How does that happen? Didn't it happen multiple times in State Cup even though the rule was specifically addressed in the test for those tournaments?) I'm not accusing anyone in particular of anything specific, just saying it sometimes make me wonder how some referees ever became certified or how they passed their state cup / recertification test when those tests cover the rules thoroughly.

What we need to recognize is that there ARE excellent referees in this state who truly deserve recognition, praise, license upgrades, higher-level experience, etc......but also recognize that there are BAD referees in this state, and because there's no abundance of referees to go around, the BAD referees end up doing important games just like the good ones. Such as the RPL game where the referee explained the offside rule completely incorrectly. Hopefully the training is working, as happyjack says. Even if it just improves a few referees at a time, every bit of training and mentoring makes a difference. Everyone across the state should be very appreciative to those people who make these programs happen, and encourage young referees to take part in these programs. When you see great referees in LA, it's encouraging about these training programs, but the bad referees offer reminders that there's a lot of work to be done. It goes both ways.

Again, congrats to the referees at Regionals. That's what this thread was really about, and I know I digressed.

[futbolislife]

Ronaldinho, I agree that this may or may not represent the entire population of La. Referees. I think it does indicate that the referees who are going the extra mile by attending clinics, academies, training sessions, etc are becoming "top" referees. I think we are doing as much or more than those states that we consider to consistently have the top referees in R3 like N and S Texas, Fl, etc. The real challenge for us is we can show our referee base what can be accomplished. WE can demonstrate what we can offer to referees. The real challenge is getting them to the trough to drink.

And that is my lead in. This summer at the LSA Summer AGM in N.O. we have Alfred Kleinitis coming in for an all day session. He was the clinician at Regionals and the USSF Director of Instruction. Not only is he incredibly enlightening in his presentations but entertaining. THose who have heard and attended his sessions will testify how incredible he is. SO how many will attend???

And also the SRC offers training sessions this summer to ANY area who desires a session. The area picks the day, the duration and the topics. The cost is ZERO. To date, only 2 areas have requested sessions. So if you are a referee in an area and reading this, why not ask your folks in your area to get a session? What do you have to lose?

Better yet, what can you gain?