I used to think the only people working a sunny May Bank Holiday were off their rockers. Seems after this weekend I am one of them.
Saturday I ran the line to a good friend of mine, and a very good referee. We were being assessed and got some pretty good feedback, so all good there. But yet again my legs were killing me. We were looking forward to a few beers on Saturday night when I got a call from my local Sunday league asking if I could do a game the next day. Suffice to say, I still went for those beers! I was a bit more sensible than I would have been had I not said yes to the Sunday game, but it was still a bit of a struggle to get up Sunday morning!
It wasn't a bad game Sunday morning, with the weather being good, both teams were in high spirits. You can often have a laugh with players on a Sunday. Comments such as 'Is it ok for me to have a c**k ring on?' when you're asking players to remove any jewellery certainly provides a bit of a giggle. Especially when your response is 'as long as you don't go waving it around I'm sure you'll be fine'. I wonder what the FA's stance is on genital piercings? Fortunately it wasn't the highest standard of football with a slower than usual pace and I took the opportunity to try and save some energy when I could.
Then came Monday. The hottest day of the year so far and I had been asked to do two Women's League Cup Final games, one at 11am and the next at 2pm. I was looking forward to it. Three of us shared responsibility of refereeing and lining. It was hosted at a local non-league ground who looked after us really well, with free lunch and refreshments. It was also nice to be with two of my good friends and colleagues, we had been out together a number of times before so worked really well as a team. I was in the middle for the first game and ran the line in the second. The first game was fairly easy going and finished 4 nil. We discussed a few technical issues with my game but overall I was pleased with my performance.
The second game at 2pm was to be tough for all of us. The sun was blazing and the sun cream came out (amazing to think as little as a month ago there was still snow lying around). It was a closely contested game with a high tempo and the winner was scored in the 90th minute, thank God! I don't think we'd have lasted through extra time! The day had a really nice atmosphere to it and a good noisy crowd plus the sunshine made it even better.
If that is what working a Bank Holiday is like I'd definitely do that again. This morning was back to reality when I took my car to the garage for a service and MOT, I nearly had a bloody coronary when he told me how much it would be! It never ceases to amaze me how expensive running a car is.
Looks like I'll have to work a few more Bank Holidays now...
Tuesday 7 May 2013
Thursday 2 May 2013
Last night's game...
Today brings my first 'proper' post. It comes after my last game as a referee this season and I'm hoping I can captivate some sort of mild interest somewhere!
As I sit and type this, my poor legs are literally screaming at me. I say literally, they haven't got a mouth and they aren't shouting obscenities at me but they are really hurting! It has got to that time in the season where they have had just about enough, and it is taking a lot of ice baths and extra training to keep them going.
Anyway, on to last night. After a day off spending too much money on not that much in town, I wolfed down a quick snack and made the short drive down to the ground. It was the 4th time I had visited this ground in the space of a month, so along with it being fairly local, it was nice to feel fairly comfortable with my surroundings. I had refereed the home team (reds) earlier in the season so I knew what to expect from them - a well drilled side who liked to get it down and play football. I hadn't yet come across the Away side (blues) yet so had a look at them as they were warming up to see if I could figure them out.
As it was my final game in the middle, I was determined to enjoy it. And thankfully I did! It was an absolute cracker of a game. I asserted my authority early on by lowering my tolerances, speaking to players and not letting them get away with a single thing. It worked a treat, they were both concentrating on playing the game and had no interest in trying to gain an unfair 'edge'. By half-time the Blues were 2-0 up. I went back into the dressing room feeling pleased with how it was going.
Second half, darkness had fallen and we were under lights. I could feel my legs beginning to tire a little and knew I'd have to up my game to be on top of things. The Reds pulled one back early on and things heated up a bit. I continued to try and manage it without using my cards and made it clear to both captains I wanted to keep it that way. Then the Reds equalised with 10 minutes to go.
The Blues were taking their time with every goal kick/throw/corner so I began to threaten a yellow if they didn't speed it up, seemed to work! With 5 minutes I thought to myself 'You've nailed this one James, well done and great finish to the season'. Well that was a bit of a mistake! The Blues' keeper came out to collect on the edge of his box and fumbled the ball as he had the Reds centre forward bearing down on him. He managed to just about get two hands on it as the Red 11 stuck his foot on it, through the keepers legs and into the back of the net!
Fortunately (for me) I had blown for a blue free kick the moment that Red 11 struck it from the keepers hands. But Reds were fuming. I knew I was right and after explaining my decision everything calmed down. Full time came and there were handshakes and smiles all round although the Reds manager and coach seemed dismayed that I had disallowed a winning goal, but I was 10 yards away from it, and they were 75 yards away, so two guesses who was more likely to be right!
All in all a really good game and I drove home a happy boy, safe in the knowing that I had got the key decision right and had thoroughly enjoyed myself and so had the players. It's always nice when you don't have to get involved until you are really required to and to see at full time that the players had enjoyed it. That's why I love refereeing. Now I have two more appointments as an assistant, and a 4th Official gig at Elland Road in few weeks for a cup final. Plus a few Uni exams thrown in for good measure. Happy Days!
As I sit and type this, my poor legs are literally screaming at me. I say literally, they haven't got a mouth and they aren't shouting obscenities at me but they are really hurting! It has got to that time in the season where they have had just about enough, and it is taking a lot of ice baths and extra training to keep them going.
Anyway, on to last night. After a day off spending too much money on not that much in town, I wolfed down a quick snack and made the short drive down to the ground. It was the 4th time I had visited this ground in the space of a month, so along with it being fairly local, it was nice to feel fairly comfortable with my surroundings. I had refereed the home team (reds) earlier in the season so I knew what to expect from them - a well drilled side who liked to get it down and play football. I hadn't yet come across the Away side (blues) yet so had a look at them as they were warming up to see if I could figure them out.
As it was my final game in the middle, I was determined to enjoy it. And thankfully I did! It was an absolute cracker of a game. I asserted my authority early on by lowering my tolerances, speaking to players and not letting them get away with a single thing. It worked a treat, they were both concentrating on playing the game and had no interest in trying to gain an unfair 'edge'. By half-time the Blues were 2-0 up. I went back into the dressing room feeling pleased with how it was going.
Second half, darkness had fallen and we were under lights. I could feel my legs beginning to tire a little and knew I'd have to up my game to be on top of things. The Reds pulled one back early on and things heated up a bit. I continued to try and manage it without using my cards and made it clear to both captains I wanted to keep it that way. Then the Reds equalised with 10 minutes to go.
The Blues were taking their time with every goal kick/throw/corner so I began to threaten a yellow if they didn't speed it up, seemed to work! With 5 minutes I thought to myself 'You've nailed this one James, well done and great finish to the season'. Well that was a bit of a mistake! The Blues' keeper came out to collect on the edge of his box and fumbled the ball as he had the Reds centre forward bearing down on him. He managed to just about get two hands on it as the Red 11 stuck his foot on it, through the keepers legs and into the back of the net!
Fortunately (for me) I had blown for a blue free kick the moment that Red 11 struck it from the keepers hands. But Reds were fuming. I knew I was right and after explaining my decision everything calmed down. Full time came and there were handshakes and smiles all round although the Reds manager and coach seemed dismayed that I had disallowed a winning goal, but I was 10 yards away from it, and they were 75 yards away, so two guesses who was more likely to be right!
All in all a really good game and I drove home a happy boy, safe in the knowing that I had got the key decision right and had thoroughly enjoyed myself and so had the players. It's always nice when you don't have to get involved until you are really required to and to see at full time that the players had enjoyed it. That's why I love refereeing. Now I have two more appointments as an assistant, and a 4th Official gig at Elland Road in few weeks for a cup final. Plus a few Uni exams thrown in for good measure. Happy Days!
Wednesday 1 May 2013
Hello, I'm James and I'll be your Referee today...
Last week, my wonderful partner decided that I should start writing a blog. Mainly, I think, due to the fact that she is sick of me moaning about everything under the sun and being a bit of a miserable old (I'm only 23!) fart.
So I had a think, and came to the conclusion that yes, it would be a rather good idea. But what could I write about? I could write to relieve all my frustrations of daily life, such as my seemingly inherent OCD like behaviour which involves almost ridiculous levels of cleaning and tidying (I blame my mother), or my general cynicism about, well, pretty much everything, or I could write about the life of a student who is a bit too old to be a student.
And then I thought no, why not write about being a Referee. It is what I spend most of my time doing or being involved with, and I have loved football ever since I could stand on two feet and kick a ball (probably about twenty years ago). I qualified as Referee when I was just 14, still playing, and still hoping one day I could fulfil my ambition of making it to the professional game. After a year of mixing the two together, I grudgingly decided it was time to give up playing and focus on refereeing, as it became quite apparent that I was better - and enjoyed - the latter a bit more.
So, I took up the whistle every Sunday morning with my Dad (who qualified at the same time as me) and out we went to the local parks to officiate in the Youth League in our area. I did this until I finished my A Levels and got myself a full time job in a supermarket. I was quite happy plodding along, enjoying my games and my little job at the local Waitrose.
Then, I had a season off, as I just couldn't get my games in due to working weekends. And last year, after meeting my partner two years previous, I packed up all my things and decided to move to Leeds with her and, quite belatedly, become a full time, baked bean eating, tax dodging University student.
As you can probably tell if you've bothered reading this far, I mainly talk about football and refereeing. And moan a bit about other things in life. But I will also lay bare some actual emotions surrounding my games, so hopefully you can get a feel of just what it is like to be a football referee and hopefully help people realise that we aren't all out on a power trip, hell bent on ruining people's fun and being a general pain in the arse. We are just normal blokes who happen to love football...
Please feel free to comment on anything I might ramble about, would be nice to hear some other opinions on matters!
So I had a think, and came to the conclusion that yes, it would be a rather good idea. But what could I write about? I could write to relieve all my frustrations of daily life, such as my seemingly inherent OCD like behaviour which involves almost ridiculous levels of cleaning and tidying (I blame my mother), or my general cynicism about, well, pretty much everything, or I could write about the life of a student who is a bit too old to be a student.
And then I thought no, why not write about being a Referee. It is what I spend most of my time doing or being involved with, and I have loved football ever since I could stand on two feet and kick a ball (probably about twenty years ago). I qualified as Referee when I was just 14, still playing, and still hoping one day I could fulfil my ambition of making it to the professional game. After a year of mixing the two together, I grudgingly decided it was time to give up playing and focus on refereeing, as it became quite apparent that I was better - and enjoyed - the latter a bit more.
So, I took up the whistle every Sunday morning with my Dad (who qualified at the same time as me) and out we went to the local parks to officiate in the Youth League in our area. I did this until I finished my A Levels and got myself a full time job in a supermarket. I was quite happy plodding along, enjoying my games and my little job at the local Waitrose.
Then, I had a season off, as I just couldn't get my games in due to working weekends. And last year, after meeting my partner two years previous, I packed up all my things and decided to move to Leeds with her and, quite belatedly, become a full time, baked bean eating, tax dodging University student.
As you can probably tell if you've bothered reading this far, I mainly talk about football and refereeing. And moan a bit about other things in life. But I will also lay bare some actual emotions surrounding my games, so hopefully you can get a feel of just what it is like to be a football referee and hopefully help people realise that we aren't all out on a power trip, hell bent on ruining people's fun and being a general pain in the arse. We are just normal blokes who happen to love football...
Please feel free to comment on anything I might ramble about, would be nice to hear some other opinions on matters!
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