2014 Regional Training Seminar Glendora, California

Transcription

1 2014 Regional Training Seminar Glendora, California Introduction The Regional Training Seminar (RTS) is primarily held for referees to maintain or obtain their National Referee badge as well as train referees for professional and matches at the higher levels affiliated by US Soccer. The USSF has changed the fitness test to the FIFA Sprint and FIFA Interval tests. There are a range of times that these tests must be completed within. To be eligible for professional game assignments, the referee must pass at least the Women s FIFA Assistant Referee times. The RTS is also where referees can obtain training at a very high level and bring those teachings back to their states, as what has been instructed to National Referees in the past. The USSF promotes and encourages all referees to develop to the highest level the can attain as they feel it is an integral part of the referee program. Continuous higher goal setting was talked about as the USSF wants each state association to develop and produce high level referees. Instructors The main instructors for the RTS in Glendora, California were Kari Seitz, FIFA Referee Emeritus, and Don Wilbur, National Instructor and National Assessor. Brian Hall, FIFA Referee Emeritus and Match Official Development Manager of the Professional Referees Organization (PRO), and Josh Patlak, FIFA Referee Emeritus, also were guest presenters. Also in attendance were Mark Geiger, FIFA Referee and named referee to 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil; George Noujiam, CA S SRA; and Kelly Mock, CA S SDA. USSF Referee Structure Don Wilbur first discussed the three zones for referees at the USSF level. Zone 3 is the PRO level. Zone 2 is the Referee ID level led by Herb Silva for those looking to move up to Zone 3. Zone 1 is the referee education and instruction area led by Ryan Mooney. (Note Minnesota is Zone 1 is the MYSA mentor program; Zone 2 is the advanced clinics, referee academies, assessment programs, and naming of referees to regional events; and Zone 3 is the FIFA Club) In Zone 1, the grade 7 course was created as it will change in July 2014 (2015 registration for MN). The purpose of the new course was to provide training that was more specific to the adult game and can

2 also be used in highest competitive youth matches. Objectives for adult games, to increase the number of referees for adult games, and an increase of numbers that want to prepare for the professional game is the reason for the new grade 7 course. US Soccer wanted to separate referees of adult games from the grade 8 referee population. Grade 7 was specifically given the ability for states to administer their own requirements to fit the needs of their states. In Zone 2, grade 6 will be the only State Referee level as grade 5 will be reserved for National Candidates only. The grade 6 course will prepare referees for the highest competition in the state and region, be more demanding in terms of ability of grade, and also allow for states to be flexible in their own grade 6 requirements like the new grade 7. ID Events will include such youth tournaments as the Youth Regional, Youth National, Developmental Showcases and Playoffs, US Club, and Dallas Cup. Adult ID events will include all USASA regional and national events, USL matches, US Open Cup matches, and now NPSL matches (which MN has two teams). The idea for the new grade changes is to help identify referees that want to develop and go as high as they want. USSF will continue to regularly ask SRAs, SDAs, SDIs, and National Assessors for names of top referees they see and have them move into Zone 2. The idea is that as more referees move into Zone 2, there will be some also dropping down from Zone 3 on top of moving up from Zone 1. In 2015, there are projections of making National Referee requirements harder still. There will be a review of fitness testing requirements and the number of assessments completed by National Assessors. (MN has a luxury of having 4 National Assessors) There is also a plan of having the National Camp return for those National Referees and National Candidates not invited to the PRO camp. The PRO Referee Brian Hall spoke of the PRO structure and what it takes to be a PRO referee. The mission of PRO is to supply world class match officials for all professional soccer in North America. The vision of PRO is to become the example for world class soccer officials by What does it take to be a professional? 5 Ps. Pride & Passion Preparation Professionalism Persistence Performance

3 Referees must be motivated and own their career. They must have a game plan for themselves. They must also be dynamic and have personality, be a leader on and off the field, be a practical referee in that practical being better than common sense, must manage the game with personality, and be an advocate of proactive and preventative refereeing skills. Referees must also be fit as an athlete, follow proper nutrition, know the LOTG, prepare for games, invest time and make sacrifices, think outside the box, and be open to learn by being more self critical and self analytical. Basically, it is a lifestyle choice. The PRO has 5 initiatives for 2014 and showed clips on them. These initiatives would be good to bring down to the state level. The first is the 6 second goalkeeper rule. Goalkeepers are taking up to 20 seconds to release the ball into play. Referees need to be proactive in getting the ball into play to increase the time the ball is in play. Holding in the penalty area was also shown. Do referees have the courage to make the call? Is the risk worth it? Holding is called outside the penalty area, but why not in it? The fourth official needs to be more involved with the benches and take less grief. Fourth officials (or any of the referee crew) must not make themselves be the target. One warning and then remove. Less action on the ask step as bench behavior is still not acceptable. This is for all levels. This also goes in hand with dissent as players and participants are beginning to show more action methods of public dissent. Such actions such as finger wagging and glasses making with the hands MUST be strongly dealt with. If a referee does not caution on poor public actions, the referee must have a solid reason. The PRO and USSF want a card here. Like the fourth official, we are still letting too much happen. The last initiative is on foul challenges. Like last year, it is See, Think, Recognize, and Act. Are the fouls reckless (yellow card) or endangering the safety of the opponents (red card)? The professional leagues are growing and needs more developed referees. Brian is in charge of finding the second tier of referees to potentially move into the PRO. MLS, NASL, NWSL, and D3PRO are all adding teams and the NPSL is now being folded into the professional mix. Referees need to be taken out of their comfort zone. The keys for those referees to make it happen are to be a student of the game, watch and analyze games, lose an entitlement attitude, and go to games not always on a free ticket. Referee Physical State Josh Patlak spoke about the physical test and the needs of the body. Sleep is necessary, require eight hours of uninterrupted, and a minute nap daily is good for the body. He also spoke and had everyone practice good, mindful breathing.

4 Good body habits are to ensure good movement, improving your running technique, respecting your body by listening to signs and symptoms, perform injury prevention exercises, and lead a healthy lifestyle. Josh showed many examples of field diagrams that combined walking, jogging, running backwards and sideways, and sprinting. Training should always be sensible, focus on safety and injury prevention, and be enjoyable to become a habit. Positioning Don Wilbur presented on positioning. Considerations for positioning: IS the referee within close proximity? Does the referee have a good angle? Can the referee see through the players? There are two components of positioning, fitness and reading the game as well as dynamic movement. The best position is one that allows in making the right decision, is flexible, and intelligent. On counterattacks, the ability to see between players is very important. Do not run directly behind the attacker and the referee might be brought off their diagonal. Poor positioning is created by having too many players to see and extreme positioning so the referee is not able to get to the next phase of play. FIFA has introduced a FUTURO training where a clip is played and the viewer is then able to choose the best location via a grid and is scored on how close the spot is chosen to the right position. Concussions Don Wilbur spoke on concussions. This is still a point of emphasis this year. Deal with head injuries immediately. Err on the side of safety and stop the game if a potential head injury is present. The grabbing or clutching of the head is the most obvious sign. As the referee, be concerned as the player is hurt, let someone else diagnose and/or treat the injury. Severity of Fouls Kari Seitz and Don Wilbur presented on the level of fouls. FIFA FUTURO now shows the degree of foul. 1 3 is no foul.

5 4 6 is careless. 7 9 is reckless is excessive force. Referees must know the definitions to put on game reports. FUTURO has an exercise where fouls are shown and the viewer is asked for the severity of the foul. Goal is to get everyone on the closest page possible. Though that will never happen, a foul that is orange and can be decided yellow card or red card is the right training thought over those that may think the same foul is between careless and reckless. Tactical Foul Kari Seitz presented this topic as a tactical foul is treated separately than the severity of a foul. Tactical fouls cover two areas, stopping a promising attack that requires a yellow card and denying a goal scoring opportunity that requires a red card. Considerations for a tactical foul are the chance to score a goal, distance between the offense and goal, the number of defenders, the number of attackers, the direction of play, if the player has control of the ball, if the player can gain control of the ball, the location of defenders, the location of attackers, the options to pass the ball, and the skill of the players. A foul committed for a tactical purpose of interfering with/or breaking up a promising attack is unsporting behavior. Offside Offside should be called when an attacker in an offside position challenges for the ball. There is also a new definition on deflection by a defender on how to decide if offside should be decided or not. The question to ask is does the defender have time to make a legitimate play. If the defender has time to try make a play on the ball, then do not call offside. If the defender does not have time, call offside. Teamwork between the referee and assistant referee is vital here. For example, if the flag goes up and the referee is 100% sure that it is NOT offside, the referee must waive the AR down. The flag is for the referee, not for the players. Teamwork Teamwork of the referee crew is very vital to getting the correct decision. The crew must have mutual respect for each other and know their roles.

6 The referee makes the final decision. The assistant referee offers facts and makes judgments. The assistant referee assists by indicating offenses that the referee cannot see or is unsure of. The assistant referee also adds credibility to the referee s decision. Referees must communicate with each other. In the pregame, clear responsibilities need to be covered and what to do if game critical decisions are missed by one of the crew. Referees must also know how to communicate and when. Constant eye contact is critical. The use of technology, such as RefTalk and beeper flags are good to have, but must not be relied upon. Technology adds texture and misuse can lead to confusion when a situation needs attention. When a member of the referee crew is making a decision, the referee must consider several things in an instant. Ask yourself how sure are you, are you offering facts or opinions, will you add value to a decision, assist and do not insist when needed, and to ask whether no action is better than getting the wrong decision. Fourth Official This area was only briefly discussed but the main point that they wanted to get across to everyone was that the fourth official needs to start taking more responsibility in ensuring proper bench behavior. The USSF thinks benches at all levels of the game are giving way too much dissent and it needs to be dealt with. For those games with a fourth official, the message is as described above, deal with it much stronger than in the past.