AYSO REGION 42 -- NEWBURY PARK, CA -- 2005 REGION OF THE YEAR

updated: 11/09/2009

WEEK 9 UPDATE
from chris davis -- referee administrator

So here we are at the end of the fall 2009 regular season. Only one weekend remains and plenty of trophy positions are still to be decided. Thanks as always to all of the volunteer referees who continue to support the youth soccer program in Newbury Park.

As expected we had plenty of gaps in the assignments for last Saturday. I know that many of you have helped your teams achieve the ref points target of 15 points. Once again I would ask that even if you have completed the target you still give us just one more game. The boys & girls deserve it and would really appreciate you helping them out one last time for this season.

A few updates for you to consider before I get to a couple of interesting scenarios.

Upgrade Clinics – The Area 10E clinic dates for this year will be February 6 & 7 2010. If you would like to move up to the higher divisions please consider attending the Area 10E clinics.
Please see the Referee Upgrade Clinics flyer for sign-up information.

Goal Safety – Last weekend I was refereeing a game at the end of the day and noticed that the stakes holding down one of the goals had come lose and the goal could fall on a player. Please be vigilant before each and every game to check the goals. Make this a part of your pre game ritual. Safety is our #1 concern.

Sideline Disturbances – On the final weekend we have several games that have playoff implications. The sidelines may be even more excitable. In the last 3 weeks I’ve had ref reports of coaches & spectators not complying with our Zero Tolerance Policy. If you are a Referee or Assistant Referee and believe that the sideline behavior is inappropriate please consider the actions as stated in the Zero Tolerance Policy.

Referee Team – Please work as a referee team. Assistant Referees can support the Referee with ball out of play by clearly indicating the restart direction for the referee. Also, please stay with the second to last defender or the ball so you can be in a position to judge the offside infraction. Referees- please use the whistle LOUDLY especially the youth referees. As we mention at the clinic I don’t care if you stop play on the field next to you because the whistle was so loud. I would prefer that happens over players and sidelines becoming agitated because they do not hear your whistle.

Tournament Play – If you might be interested in supporting Region 42 teams as a referee in local tournaments please send me an e-mail & I’ll put your name on my list of potentially available referees. No commitment needed. Coaches will contact you to check for specific tournaments.

SCENARIO #1 – In a U10B game you award a free kick to RED for dangerous play by a BLUE player just outside the penalty area. You are clearly standing with your arm raised indicating an indirect free kick. You have also informed the players that it is an indirect free kick. A RED attacker touches the ball with a toe prior to the second RED attacker player kicking the ball toward into the goal. THE BALL DOES NOT MOVE AFTER THE 1st TOUCH. What is the call?

SCENARIO #2 – In a U10G game the BLUE goalkeeper is preparing to stop the ball from a shot by a RED player. She drops to her knees to block the ball and has one hand touching the ball as it continues to settle into her possession. A RED player slides in and tries to kick at the ball while the goalkeeper is in this position. What is your call?

answers below

For those of you who believe that working a girls game is more likely to be a nice quiet affair I encourage you to look at this video.

Thank you for all of your terrific support this year. Please try to sign up for a game for our final games this Saturday. We could really use your help.

If you have any suggestions on how we can improve the referee experience in Region 42 please drop me an e-mail. I’m always looking for ways to help make the referee experience a fun one for our volunteers. I’m sorry but logistically we can’t cover all coaches and spectators mouths with Duct Tape.

Chris Davis
Region 42 Referee Administrator

SCENARIO #1 – In a U10B game you award a free kick to RED for dangerous play by a BLUE player just outside the penalty area. You are clearly standing with your arm raised indicating an indirect free kick. You have also informed the players that it is an indirect free kick. A RED attacker touches the ball with a toe prior to the second RED attacker player kicking the ball toward into the goal. THE BALL DOES NOT MOVE AFTER THE 1st TOUCH. What is the call?

Answer: GOAL KICK to BLUE. USSF guidance for referees states that at the taking of a free kick the ball is in play when it is kicked and the ball moves . The1st touch by RED did not move the ball so it did not put the ball in play. The kick into the goal moved the ball & is considered the 1st touch so a goal kick is awarded since the ball has crossed over the goal line last touched by an attacker.

SCENARIO #2 – In a U10G game the BLUE goalkeeper is preparing to stop the ball from a shot by a RED player. She drops to her knees to block the ball and has one hand touching the ball as it continues to settle into her possession. A RED player slides in and tries to kick at the ball while the goalkeeper is in this position. What is your call?

Answer: BLOW THE WHITSLE LOUDLY to stop play and award a free kick to the BLUE team. Goalkeepers at this young age are inexperienced & need your protection. As a general rule of thumb I personally consider that one finger on the ball indicates that a goalkeeper has possession.

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updated: 11/02/2009

WEEK 8 UPDATE
from chris davis -- referee administrator

Thank you all for continuing to support the Region 42 AYSO soccer program. The fall season is heading to its climax and the intensity of some of the games will be growing. Many of the U10, U12 and U14 teams are in contention for medals & trophies and referee points may end up being the deciding factor – hopefully in very few cases.

If you team has achieved the 15 point maximum please don’t take the last 2 weeks off. At this stage in the season we need as many volunteer referees as possible. I still aim to provide 3 person referee teams on all U10, U12 and U14 games. Realistically this is only possible if I get the support of the whole Region 42 referee organization.

Once the season ends we will move into Area play and the post season tournaments. When a Region 42 team enters a tournament they will be required to supply a 3 person referee team. Tournaments are available in our local Area (10E) Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Simi Valley and in other regions such as Camarillo, Carpinteria, Beverly Hills………

Ideally Regional Referees should limit themselves to U10 games, Intermediate Referees should limit themselves to U12 CR and U14 AR and Advanced Referees should be CR & AR at U14. Please let me know if you are interested & I will keep a list of referees who have indicated potential interest in tournament refereeing to give to our coaches. This is not a commitment but just a list of potentially interested referees.

You may be aware that the Region 42 website has a page for referee feedback. Recently some of the comments have been related to interaction between the referee and the assistant referees. Coaches are seeing AR flags that are being ignored or just not seen by the referee. Please remember that you are part of a referee team. Try to look to the AR as frequently as possible - some tips the more experienced refs use are to look to the AR ;
•When the ball crosses the half way line
•When you cross the half way line
•On every long through ball.

Try to incorporate this into your game – it might help you out.

A request to our ARs. When a goal is scored and it has clearly been seen that it is a goal DO NOT raise your flag. This can lead to confusion because it may appear you are flagging for offside or a foul. Keep the flag down and jog slowly back up the field. This signals to the referee that a goal has been scored.

Scenario #1 – straight from the U8 fields.
A blue attacker is ready to take a kick off. She kicks the ball directly at the red goal and the ball goes into the net without touching any other player. What is the call?

Scenario #2 – from theU10 fields
A blue player clears the ball along the touchline. The ball rolls along the touchline and it comes to a complete stop. What is the call?

answers below

Thanks again for volunteering in Region 42. Please try to schedule games in the last 2 weeks. The kids really need your help. Don’t forget to let me know if you are interested in tournament refereeing.

Chris Davis
Region 42 Referee Administrator

Scenario #1 – straight from the U8 fields.
A blue attacker is ready to take a kick off. She kicks the ball directly at the red goal and the ball goes into the net without touching any other player. What is the call?
Answer: Award the goal to Blue and restart the game with a Red Kick Off. (It is permitted to score directly from a kick off)

Scenario #2 – from theU10 fields
A blue player clears the ball along the touchline. The ball rolls along the touchline and it comes to a complete stop. What is the call?
Answer: Play on – the ball is still in play. Remember the ball must be completely over any line before it is considered to be out of play.

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updated: 10/19/2009

WEEK 6 UPDATE
from chris davis -- referee administrator

Thank you to everyone who continues to volunteer to referee in our games. A few empty slots are creeping into the schedule each weekend. Thanks to those of you who step in on the day to take the extra games.

Our Intermediate Offside class went well last week. A big thank you to Ted Warfield for teaching the class. We had a good turnout and hopefully those who attended got a taste for the next level of officiating and will consider attending the full Intermediate clinic when it is offered in the New Year.

I’d like to remind all Amgen employees that your company has a tremendous volunteer program that donates funds based on the hours that you volunteer in local organizations. Dale Schleich has kindly helped Region 42 with this program. If you are a volunteer referee working for Amgen please let Dale know and we can maximize the benefits of this program to AYSO this season.

I had a couple of questions this week on the subject of the Goalkeeper handling the ball OUTSIDE the Penalty Area. Please let me clarify the laws of the game:

•If a goalkeeper deliberately handles the ball OUTSIDE the penalty area you must call the foul and give the attacking team a Direct Free Kick (DFK) There are no exceptions. Outside the penalty area the goal keeper has no special privileges. Deliberately handling the ball is applied equally as if he or she was a normal outfield player.

•If a goalkeeper touches the ball with his or hands INSIDE the penalty area having received the ball from a throw in by a team mate, or when it is deliberately kicked to him or her by a team, or touches the ball again with his or her hands after it has been released from possession and before it has touched another player you must call the foul and give the attacking team an Indirect Free Kick (IFK)

One final scenario comes directly from the Premier League this weekend. Sunderland vs Liverpool.

A Sunderland player takes a shot on goal. The ball strikes a beach ball that is on the goal area line in front of the goal. The soccer ball is deflected and continues in to the goal. What is the call?

The call should be a dropped ball on the goal area line because of outside interference. The referee in the game gave a goal! I do not expect this referee to be working in the Premier League next weekend.

Have a great week!

Best Regards
Chris Davis
Region 42 Referee Administrator

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updated: 10/12/2009

WEEK 5 UPDATE
from chris davis -- referee administrator

We are now half way through our season & I’m seeing more and more new referees getting comfortable on the fields. If you are happy as a U8 center maybe you can consider trying a U10 AR Assignment. If you are comfortable as U10 AR try a game in the center.

I would like to remind referees that occasionally you will need request a volunteer from the sidelines to help in a game. If they are not AYSO certified referees AND in uniform their role is simply to support you as Club Linesman. Their task is only to indicate when the ball goes out of play. They are not allowed to provide direction of throw in, indicate corner or goal kick and absolutely can not indicate fouls or offside. If you use a club linesman these calls must always be made by the referee.

One more request. If you are an AR and a goal is scored please do not raise your flag. The proper indication that a goal is scored is for the AR to jog towards the half way line. If you raise a flag you may confuse the CR who thinks you are indicating an offside infraction has occurred.

At the start of the season I announced that when adult referees completed 10 game assignments I would provide upgraded referee shirts. According to the ref scheduler the first recipients are:
                      david smith            frank marijne            floyd payne            erin o'connell
                      david lynch            marc milnes            troy labnow            ruben avendano
                                 robert dabs            jeri embrey            brenda bordagaray

Please see me at the referee tent for your shirts. I have Blue or Red available.

Last weeks teaser scenario certainly had a few of you talking. As a reminder the scenario was:

A blue defender deliberately kicks the ball back to his goalkeeper. The goalkeeper misjudges the ball and it goes by him towards the goal. Just before the ball crosses the goal line (between the goalposts) the goalkeeper dives to the ground and stops the ball with his hands.

What is the call?
What misconduct (if any) would you punish?

The call is Goalkeeper touching the ball with his hands after the ball is kicked to him by a team mate. Restart is Indirect Free Kick (IFK) on the goal area line parallel to where the infraction occurred. There is no misconduct so there are no cards. (You can not penalize the goal keeper for deliberately handling the ball and award a penalty kick because the goal keeper is allowed to use his hands inside the penalty area. You can only penalize the touch from a back pass)

Thank you all for volunteering in Region 42.

Chris Davis

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updated: 10/8/2009

AYSO GAMES OCT 10
from chris davis -- referee administrator

Week 5 marks the half way point on our season. By now the 1st year players should have learned the fundamentals of the throw-in so I am requesting that we no longer offer the "do–over" when a throw in is performed incorrectly. If coaches question this change please inform them that I have requested this change and that we are now applying the laws of the game per FIFA.

Please ensure that you are consistent throughout the game and for both teams if you penalize an incorrect throw-in.

Here is a scenario for our senior referees to think about-direct from the Premier League;

A blue defender deliberately kicks the ball back to his goalkeeper. The goalkeeper misjudges the ball and it goes by him towards the goal. Just before the ball crosses the goal line (between the goalposts) the goal keeper dives to the ground and stops the ball with his hands. What is the call? What misconduct (if any) would you punish?

I’ll have the answer for you in the next e-mail.

I’d also like to remind you all that we plan to offer “Intermediate Offside” Thursday Oct 15 at the High School at 7pm. Let me know if you plan on attending.

Enjoy the games this weekend

Chris
Region 42 Referee Administrator

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updated: 10/5/2009

WEEK 4 UPDATE
from chris davis -- referee administrator

Thanks to everyone who signed up for games last weekend. Hopefully those of you who were involved with your first U10 AR or U7/8 Center enjoyed the experience.

I was walking around Pepertree Park on several occasions just observing the fields and I was very happy to see referees working their diagonal and the assistant referees working hard to stay with the 2nd to last defender or the ball. Good positioning is a key factor in the referee team having a good game. A referee who keeps active play between himself/herself and the assistant referee will always have two pairs of eyes on the action.

I have had a few reports from Dos Vientos of players using derogatory language against opponents. Let me be very clear on this issue – IT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT ACCEPTABLE. If you hear players swearing at opponents of using any insulting language there are to be no warnings, issue a yellow card for unsporting behavior immediately. You must hear the players use the offensive language. You can not issue cards based solely on complaints by players.

The most asked question at the fields recently has been; "When is a player in an offside position considered to be interfering with an opponent?" This you will remember is one of the criteria the referee team must assess when making the offside decision; Interfering with an opponent, interfering with play, gaining an advantage

If you want to get to grips with Law 11 please come along to room C-20 at Newbury Park High School October 15th at 7pm. We will be presenting the offside module from the Intermediate clinic. – More information is available here. If you plan on attending please let me know by e-mail or sign up on one of the fliers at the ref tents.

Also, for further education in the comfort of you own home I want to let you know about some great instructional videos that are available for you to borrow.

The Laws of the Game – The Gray Areas
Ready Set Ref
Making the Offside Call
Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and 4th officials
Myths of the Game ( Hand Ball, Offside, Dangerous Play, Throw-In, Goalkeepers)

If you would like to borrow a tape please see me at the ref tent at Peppertree Park.

And finally the scenarios of the week which have all been submitted by Region 42 Referees and are based on their recent in game experiences.

Scenario #1
In a U10 boys game a blue defender deliberately kicks the ball back to his keeper. The ball is outside the penalty area so the goalkeeper dribbles the ball back into the area and picks it up. What is the call? IFK red from where the goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands. The goalkeeper is penalized for touching the ball with his hands after it was kicked to him by a team mate.

Scenario #2
In a U10 girls game the ball deflects off a blue defender and rolls towards the blue goal. The ball is outside the penalty area so the goalkeeper dribbles the ball back into the area and picks it up. What is the call? No foul. The goalkeeper is allowed to use her feet outside the area and since the ball was not kicked to her by a team mate she can use her hands to pick up the ball when she is inside the penalty area.

Scenario #3
In a U10 boys game a blue player takes a throw in and throws the ball to a space with no other players. He runs to the ball and kicks it before any other player has touched the ball. What is the call? IFK Red. The player throwing the ball in can not touch the ball a second time before another player touches it.

Scenario #4
In a U10 girls game red #9 takes a kick off and kicks the ball a 2nd time before any other player touches it. What is the call? IFK Blue. When taking a kick off, free kick or corner kick the player who takes the kick can not touch the ball again until it is touched by another player.

One last comment for the referees at Dos Vientos. This Saturday 10th we will be putting boxes for the troops at the ref tent. When you sign in for the game please take one box for each team and give it to the coach during your player inspection.

Thanks & Best Regards

Chris Davis
Region 42 Referee Administrator

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2009 AMENDMENTS TO THE LAWS OF THE GAME

The 123rd Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) took place in Northern Ireland on 28 February 2009. Approved at this meeting were changes to the Laws of the Game and various instructions and directives. There were few actual changes in the Laws of the Game, and clarification and emphasis were added in some areas.

You can view the United States Soccer Federation's (USSF) Memorandum of the changes in PDF format, or download the PowerPoint presentation.

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