• Do we harp on you to be the best? Yes
• Do we ALWAYS want you to do it right? Yes
• Do we have higher standards than most? Yes
• Do we take pride in doing things others don't? Yes
• Do we go the extra mile to put the best product on the field for our leagues and tournaments? Yes
• Are we tougher for you to work with sometimes because of all this? Absolutely!  

FLAGS - these are to be carried in the hand or perhaps tucked under the arm when the hands are busy writing. They are NOT EVER to be tucked in the waistband of your shorts or stuck down your sock as a method of carrying.  

FIVE COLORS - there are always to be five colors on the field! Two Teams, Two GoalKeepers, One Referee Crew. This weekend we had a yellow team and a yellow referee crew, this is unacceptable.

Side note: You are in the business of officiating. Invest some of the funds you make each week in to your business, buy the right equipment!   

JERSEYS - If you are going to wear your referee jersey to and from the field, it needs to be tucked in. Walking around with untucked jerseys...not acceptable. Be a professional. You make a visual impression to every coach and player that see you. 

SOCKS - If you are going to wear your referee socks to and from the field, they need to be pulled up. Walking around with pulled down socks...not acceptable. Be a professional. You make a visual impression to every coach and player that sees you.

ADMIN PASSES - I had a final at the end of the weekend, there were no Admin Passes on the ring. I had to ask for them from the manager. I asked the manager if he'd been asked for them in any prior game. Imagine my surprise when he giggled and said NO! C'mon people, No Admin Passes, No Game, this was right on the sheet Mike gave you.

BANDANAS - are not legal equipment. Do we accept conventional sweatbands, yes. Do we accept head wear that is a religious adornment, yes. Should we accept scarves folded and wrapped around the head, No. Same issue as above right? And, of course, what did we hear? "But the other referees let us play with these."  

Your failure to enforce the Laws creates trouble for the next referee who wants to do it right. And once the bandanas were taken off what was underneath...? About 50 bobby-pins, this player had a lot of hair! Not only illegal equipment but potentially unsafe to the player and MUST be removed.

METAL IN HAIR - Bobby-pins, berets, hair clips and so on...NOT allowed. These are not safe to the player. I'll remind you about a tournament where a player had to get stitches due to a cut from a hair clip when players collided heads. YOU, the referee, are responsible.

JEWELRY - Can anyone show me in the Laws where taped jewelry is allowed...of course not. NO jewelry, same issue as above "But the other referees let us play with these." You get what you allow. Do not allow violations of the Laws. Do we accept taped Medic-Alert bracelets/medallions or religious articles, of course, as long as they are safe.

HATS - Most of you who know me know hats are a pet peeve. If you work on my crew you won't wear a hat on the field. Before the game, after the game, your choice.   

Do the Laws show hats as part of the referee uniform, No. Does Advice to Referees have anything to say, Yes. 5.1 Referee Uniform, paragraph 3, first sentence, "Under normal circumstances, it is not acceptable for a game official to wear headgear, and it would never be seen on a high-level regional, national or international competition." In my mind this weekend was entirely a normal circumstances weekend. Do you think of yourself as a high-level referee or wanting to be one? People who make these decisions observe what you wear on the field.

Our association will always prefer no hats on the field.

That said, we all make personal choices, should you make the choice to wear a hat, please ensure it is an entirely BLACK hat with NO logos or adornments. Please ensure it is NOT a faded, sweat stained, unprofessional, unbecoming, distracting hat. I think it is safe to say, you need a new hat every year in order to look decent. A hat on a soccer referee will never look professional.  

I will add this caveat, NO hats in Semi-Finals or Finals, regardless of age level, period. Yesterday we had a referee with a faded to brown, sweat stained hat on a final. This is NOT acceptable ever. For our association, if you insist on wearing a hat for a Semi or Final please turn this assignment back. 

Enough said about hats.

SUNGLASSES - Simple, no sunglasses. If you have prescription glasses that change color with light intensity then we'd much rather you be able to see. We get enough "stuff" about that right?!

This "No Sunglasses" rule applies to both your work during the game and your work before and after the game. DO NOT check in teams with sunglasses on! This is your first impression with the coach and the players, MAKE EYE CONTACT, be friendly, let them see your eyes, start taking command of that game!       

LIVE AS A CREW, DIE AS A CREW - Who is responsible for everything in the match...? The Referee right? This does not mean we as Assistant Referees should fail the game. If, as an A/R or 4th Official, you have important information for the referee then you are obligated to provide the information. How the referee uses it is their decision. This may be the correct restart, what you observed, what you heard, time in the match, a second Caution and so on. Failing to do this fails the game.

ALWAYS REPRESENT WELL - Long ago at an Advanced Referee Development Program training session, Alex Mariscal, one of our local National Referees (Grade 3), said this to me and my son Trevor. It had impact and we took this to heart. If you too take this to heart then many of the items above take care of themselves.

Like I said at the beginning, the weekend went well. We as an association ARE the best, we will continue to demand the best from you and we want to help you become the best referee you desire to be!

All the best,

Tom Litchfield, President

SDSRA      

Remember - A week from today, get your online training! You need to get your hours in for next year's registration cycle. RefereeInstructionOnline.