Newsletter-July 2000

LRA Meeting July 24 7:00 PM at the Livermore PD conference room.
July 16th, District 3 Referee Clinic has been CANCELED. As of today, the clinic has not been rescheduled.
12-13 August Livermore Girls Soccer Festival
19 August Livermore Recreational League Season begins
26-27 August Livermore (Boys) Summer Classic
9 September District III High Comp Season begins
September 27th, Fun Run at Pleasanton Middle School, 7:00 PM.
October 22nd, Fun Run at Foothill High School, 8:00 AM.

From the President's Whistle, John Hinton

Send Your Availability Data Now!

Referee season is rapidly approaching the first Livermore Tournament is only a month away! In order to assign referees to matches, we MUST have your availability data ASAP . Fill in and return either the attached calendars (for those who donšt have internet access) or those at our website, http://www.livermorerefs.org/availability. Fill in the days and times that you expect to be available to referee, along with any teams you are associated with (as a player, coach, or spectator), and any other information relevant to your availability. We will assign you matches based upon this information. We try to get assignments to you 1-2 weeks ahead of time sometimes more, sometimes less. Assignment periods range from a weekend (for tournaments) to several weeks. You are expected to referee when assigned during the times you say you are available please consider this as an obligation. Scrambling to fill last-minute turn-backs is terribly difficult for the assignors. You can (and should) change your availability any time your schedule changes, so you donšt have to know your future plans in detail before your first submission. Nor do you need to know your teamšs game schedule just the age group, division, and team name. Wešll schedule your refereeing to avoid conflicts with your team. PLEASE DONšT DELAY! It takes time to enter the info into our assigning computer, and we need to start now. Questions? Contact John or Helen at 447-2031 or hintonref@home.com, or Bob at 294-8623 or dashner1@home.com. Thanks!

Lou Gagne Retiring

After more than 10 years of service to the referees of District III and Cal North, Lou Gagne has announced his retirement as the District III Referee Administrator. Lou had previously served as District Youth Referee Administrator. Lou has worked tirelessly as your representative at District, State, Regional, and National levels. We should all be quite proud and thankful of the advancements that have been made under Loušs watch. Herešs just a few that he mentioned in his retirement announcement. Under his leadership, District III has had either the Female or Male State Youth Referee of the Year for the last eight years, including a regional winner and national winner. With Ken Rief, he helped create a comprehensive Youth Referee Program which serves as our model for developing our young Livermore referees. He was instrumental in instituting a coaching review program to help get a handle on coaches who get out of control. Lou kept elevating the level of instruction available to you through outstanding District Clinics and the teaching program directed by Bill Miller. The next time you have the opportunity, please thank Lou for truly being (as he always signed his emails) "Yours in Soccer".

District Clinic Postponed

Due to unforeseen conflicts, the District Referee Clinic originally scheduled for 16 July has been postponed. Stay tuned for updates.

Thanks, Marty!

Marty Bourque arranged a really neat experience for LRA referees attending the MLS Earthquakes vs Chicago Fire match at Spartan Stadium on June 24th. He arranged a pre-game discussion with Earthquakes coach Lothar Osiander, followed by a short Q&A with the referee crew for the match! A few highlights that I took from the experience:

1. Therešs a desire from the highest levels for players to bring more gamesmanship into the game. (Gamesmanship is pretty much the opposite of sportsmanship). We have been seeing more of these types of tactics (such as time-wasting ploys) at younger levels of play. Referees should be aware of such tactics, and deal with them in accordance to the Laws and Spirit of the Game.

2. Referees that properly apply the LOTG are not viewed as a factor contributing to player injuries, according to Lothar. Injuries are an unfortunate yet inevitable part of the game when played at its highest level. Proper physical training and skill development by the players can reduce the chances of injury.

3. MLS referee crews typically spend 20-30 minutes warming up prior to the match. Warm-up procedures vary with referee and their position (REF, AR, 4th), but may include jogs, wind sprints, stretching, side-steps, etc.

4. Referee crews that work together frequently develop a mutual understanding and trust that streamlines the pre-game instructions to focus on match-specific conditions.

5. Extensive pre-game instruction is necessary for crews that havenšt developed a high level mutual understanding and trust. (This applies to most of us!) Inadequate pre-game discussion can lead to disastrous failures in communication and coverage during a match.

(Notes taken by Gordon Krauter.)

Miller Time at our June Meeting

We were fortunate to have Bill Miller, an outstanding assessor and District III Director of Instruction, as the featured speaker at our June LRA meeting. Billšs discussion topic was "An Assessors Perspective of Regionals". (Pleasanton hosted the Western Regional Championships the prior week. John Hinton and Mike Wallace were the Livermore referees invited to participate as part of the Cal North contingent). A few of the many valuable points that Bill discussed include:

1. Key to a refereešs improvement are independent feedback, observation, and self-assessment. Assessors provide expert independent feedback through formal assessments and informal Development & Guidance (D&G) reports. Tremendous insight can be gained by watching and listening to top referees working. Seek out opportunities, such as Regionals, to learn from the strengths and mistakes of the top referees. A good referee will perform a critical self-assessment after every match. Try to identify 3 things that you did well, and 3 things you need to improve.

2. Referees should try to be fair arbiters of the game, without drawing undo attention to themselves. A referee should NEVER take the attitude of "this is my game" into a match. The match belongs to the players, not the referees. Your job is to provide a safe and fair environment for the players to demonstrate their skills.

3. Itšs very important for the referee crew to share a common language during the match. Miscommunication can lead not only to embarrassment but loss of confidence for the officials. Use of proper and approved signals, as well as detailed pre-game instructions, help provide that common language.

4. Even such seemingly mundane aspects of officiating as proper substitution procedures can be critically important for a match. Improper substitutions allowed by the referees have provided the basis for successful protests of high-consequence matches. Donšt take ANY aspect of your responsibilities as an official lightly.

5. Avoid getting into habits with your positioning on set plays. Always ask if you are in the best position given the particular circumstances of the match: team tactics, player skills, weather, field conditions, experience of the ref crew, etc.

Try to Attend the LRA Monthly Meetings

Try to make a habit of attending our monthly LRA meetings. They are held the 4th Monday of each month from 7:00 8:30 at the Livermore Police Department Community Room. These are excellent opportunities to compare notes with your fellow referees, and (almost always) pick up an hour of in-service clinic credit. The next meeting is July 24th. Hope to see you there.