Oh No! It's Tourney Time...

Well looky here,

It's June 22nd and I have received my assignments for this weekend's youth tournament in Bellingham. I got a call from Jadon today wanting to podcast but since neither of us have done any matches since the last show and there haven't been any responses yet to the interesting field question posed last time, I suggested we wait until after I do five or six matches this weekend and try to throw something together next week.

Seeing as I always have something ridiculous happen to me during a tournament (as I imagine most officials do), I will surely have at least ONE good story coming out of this weekend. Plus I have been asked by the assignor to help with some mentoring (always good to watch other's matches as there is good material there as well). And if that wasn't enough, I may get to be involved with the judicials this weekend and if you haven't had the joy of enduring one of those meetings, well, I will take a couple notes if I get called in and let y'all know what kind of silly happened.

Thanks again for all the support and we will be trying harder to provide something entertaining more frequently this summer.

Jonathon

Contrary to the evidence, we are still podcasting.

Hey all,

Both Jadon and I sincerely apologize for taking such a long hiatus and not letting anyone know it would be happening. I suppose if we had any idea we would be taking a break from the show, we might have made some attempt to let people know.

A new show will be posted in the next 24 hours (June 17, 2009) or else.

Thanks again for your support and we'll find a way to make it up to you.

Sincerely,

Jonathon & Jadon

And a Happy New Year to all y'all!

Here it is Monday the 12th of January and I finished the first weekend of winter games with no incidents that I know of (yet). Yes, there were some scheduling issues (a game being canceled while another being moved then possibly canceled but not) however nothing of large annoyance.

And then I check the mail and what do I discover? An envelope with no return address, postmarked Indiana. Hmm, curious, but it doesn't seem to be large enough to carry a bomb or bio-weapon of any sort so I go ahead on and open it. And what a surprise I had. A money order and a note thanking me for the podcast! I am touched. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm not precisely sure who deserves the thanks (though I have an idea -- but I do know of a couple officials in Indiana who listen to the show), regardless I am most honored by the donation.

The next show should be coming along in the next couple weeks. I was hoping to get out and start doing games again to get a couple stories for the podcast but I suffered a set-back in the healing from the vasectomy and it will be a couple more weeks before I can get back on the pitch. I am not convinced doing the older kids is in my best interest (as I haven't been able to do exercise of any kind since the beginning of December), but it should make for an interesting story if I never make it out of the center circle.

Again, my sincerest thank you for the donation to the cause. I am honored and humbled.

Jonathon

Again with the trauma

I received the schedule for the latest select season last week (and it's a full three month gig, big good times) and have just one minor issue. Not as one might expect the number of matches between this weekend and the end of March, nope. I am having an issue with another administrator in our association.

The way things work: Joe Referee needs to get registered each calendar year (to keep in good standing, be educated and pay fees to cover liability insurance). To this end, someone in each local association collects the paperwork and money from Joe Referee, deposits the monies and sends the paperwork to the state (which then continues the paper trail to Chicago (the National offices)). Said person is also responsible for updating Joe Referee's registration information on the state website and the local website (if applicable).

I once held this position within our association but politics and such made their way in to our little neck of the woods and I have turned the position over to another in 2007. Throughout 2008 I assisted this person in all the responsibilities in order to assure a smooth transition. As I have been somewhat involved in the registration process for referees through 2008, I helped out during Whatcom County's Recertification Day on December 6, 2008, trying to make sure the current Area Referee Administrator (ARA) wasn't overwhelmed by the paperwork and such. The adult soccer association in Whatcom County also held another Recertification Day for officials on December 20, 2008, which the ARA also attended (I was unable to help out at that particular event).

Yes, I am getting to the point.

After I posted the latest schedule, I began receiving phone calls and emails from referees in our association telling me they couldn't self-assign matches through our website as the site didn't think they were registered for 2009. As I don't have any of the paperwork (or subsequent trail), I suggested they contact the ARA to update the website. A couple of days ago I received an email from the State Referee Administrator (I am still included in mass emails for ARAs) insisting the ARAs update the registration files immediately as referees were unable to sign up for the State Cup matches on the State website. I am hoping it is several associations that are creating a problem at the state level, because I am already catching plenty of heck from local officials about not being able to get the matches they want because they weren't updated on the website in a timely manner.

And before you go saying, "If you want something done right, do it yourself," I've been there, I've done that and I grow weary.

Be sure to check out the Referee POV gear at zazzle.com (the link is to your right) and expect a new podcast in the next couple of weeks.

Happy Holidays all!

Hope everything is going well for you this holiday season.

Here in POV land, if you haven't subscribed to the feed, I was able to post two shows in one week. It had quite a bit to do with other people being available and being able to sit down and record. Show 014 features the return of Chris. We discuss his rise and fall in the world of refereeing and the causes thereto.

Show 015 (released less than a week later) brought Jadon back with his brother (currently living in Hawaii) Timon together for couple of rants about Washington State's treatment of soccer officials and a discussion regarding a comment on Show 014.

I thought both shows ended up being pretty informative for those who might not put energy into thinking what goes into officiating. I have to admit I don't often consider the trouble other sports must have getting and keeping officials, but I am sure the problems are not limited to soccer.

On the assigning front, the weather has had a negative effect on the last match day of the season and games were cancelled prior to there being any inclement weather (the call was made the day before based on the weather reports). If the matches would have been played at the times scheduled there wouldn't have been weather issues (the storm front hit several hours after it was expected). Then the weather has continued to get worse (or better if you like snow and ice) so the likelihood of rescheduling the matches looks unlikely (as neither of the matches were to determine 1st or 2nd place in their respective divisions). But I haven't heard "officially" that the matches will not be played so we can't bill the association for the remainder of the season. This also means, I, as the assignor, will have to wait longer to be paid for my services.

For those who aren't aware, assignors typically get compensated (if at all) at the end of the season. The current season has been running since the beginning of September and I probably won't get paid until the first or second week in January. Are there many positions out there that wait so long to compensate for work done? I think employers would have a difficult time getting people to stick around if they only paid once every 4 months. I could be mistaken.

There are now eight designs of tee-shirts available through zazzle.com (the link to Referee POV stuff is to the right). Help support the show and be snarky at the same time.

Thanks again.

Happy Thanksgiving all.

Is the season still going? Yes, the select program still has two more weeks of matches (but are taking the Thanksgiving holiday weekend off) so the last matches will be held on December 13. Yup, cold, muddy and potentially hypothermia-inducing.

I spoke to Jadon yesterday and with any luck he'll be able to sit down with me next week and we can get something posted in the next not too long.

I know I was hoping to get the podcasts (and this here blog for that matter) out a bit more regularly and shall continue to try. I will make efforts. But my efforts are often slighted by the reality of life.

Well, to complain about assigning more (which is the main reason I do it, to complain), I spoke to an official on Friday evening to confirm that he was, in fact, planning on doing a match he requested on Sunday but had yet to accept on our website. He said he was going to need to miss a fitness test that he'd said he take but since he asked for the match, he'd go ahead and do the matches instead.

As I am sure you can see where this story is going, you won't need to imagine my surprise when I receive a call Sunday 15 minutes prior to kick-off letting me know said referee hadn't shown up at the fields. I was working a Western match at the time and couldn't do much as far as calling people nor was I near a computer to see if anyone else might be available on a moment's notice.

After I'd left the Western match, I had a message from the official letting me know he just plain forgot that he had accepted assignments that day. So what do you do? Well, I wept a little.

Hey, be sure to check out the Referee POV t-shirts on Zazzle.com. More designs will be posted all the time.

Almost there.

Ok, so I almost promised the podcast last weekend and have obviously failed miserably at accomplishing that relatively simple goal.

I'd like to blame it on someone else but I can't. While I have been a bit busy, I imagine with a little better planning I could've magicked up something last weekend. But I had work and had to cover a match that was never accepted (and then had the pleasure of being not just drenched but also covered in mud). Yes, I am making excuses but I have reached an agreement with the Mrs. and I should have one evening a week moving forward to work on the podcasts I am producing.

Yes, I am currently putting two shows out. Unfortunately both suffer from the work on the other but I receive great satisfaction from producing each one and can't imagine giving either of them up. Besides, the other is of finite term so once I've completed it, I'll just be working on this one.

Is there a point to this ramble? Well, I am almost finished with Show 13 and tonight is my night to work on podcasts so assuming the problems I've been having with PayPal and Libsyn are straightened out, I should be posting later this evening (November 7th).

Thanks again to everyone for your support, input and content.