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I am posting this from email to the membership by Blox Daugherty, dated
August 21. He wrote


There is a time to stay and a time to walk away (like the country song says “you gotta know when to hold, know when the fold”).

In a match where there are obvious hard feelings between coaches or players and the referee, its wise to minimize the post game contact, sign the score book and leave. Do not linger in a hostile setting, or have lengthy discussions about the match with upset players, coaches or spectators.

In a match that goes the way we hope it will, we should not run away if the normal the normal amenities would like to be exchanged, and should allow participants to approach us. Enjoy the moment. This is one of the reasons that we do what we do.

It should NOT be one of our duties to observe the handshakes between players at the end of the game. We are not policemen. Its over. If we see an altercation, note it in the game report. Do not get into a situation where you are a participant. Get the attention of the game administrator, coaches, etc. Do not show yellow cards or red cards after a match. Just write it up.

Soccer is the only sport where I have customarily seen players and coaches thank officials. It doesn’t happen in football, basketball, baseball (the “kill the umpire attitude, an American perspective of sports officials, applies to these sports). Soccer is different. It’s one of the few sports in which the referee make a significant physical effort, runs four or five miles in 90 minutes, sweats until his jersey is soaked, constantly interacts with the players, and is a part of the match, as much so as the players (We are the guardians of the beautiful game, and they know it, and they appreciate it. We are facilitators of the game, not policemen, and if we go out there with that policemen/football/baseball attitude, the players will not respect us.). If you are a referee in every other country of the world, you are respected and honored as a dignitary. American soccer players respect the sport as a world sport. They think differently about soccer than their football and baseball, etc counterparts think about their respective sports. The reason might relate to the word “passion”. Soccer players run more, put out more energy, play a contact sport without protective equipment, play through more pain than participants of the other sports, except rugby and boxing (soccer hurts). They do it on their own, since the coach can’t call a time out and call a play for them. Its just different. The federation misses this. I say this because they appear to be attempting to “Americanize” soccer. They will figure it out. Like they figured out in NC that the three whistle system didn’t work. Overall, they are adapting more international type rule changes. In the meantime, I suggest we refer to the first sentence above.

Like the other members of ASOA, I don't particularly like the NFHS, WVSSAC, and MD guidelines stating that we should not shake hands with the players after the game. I like the sportsmanship that the hand shake conveys.

But, I HATE reading those Sportsmanship Ccards to the teams. Having to call every player together when we address the teams seems to detract from the flow of the pre-game and coin toss activities. It feels like an imposition and not in keeping with the artistry of the event.

Last night at the Hedgesville GV @ Martinsburg GV game we tried something new. We tried a different sequence and mechanics which seemed to be not nearly so disruptive.

First, when the ARs were inspecting the teams, they read the Sportsmanship Card to each team. This had the added advantage of making the ARs job easier by bringing the players together without having to chase them around the warm up area. It was not an imposition. Both ARs reported that it was easy to do and worked well.

Second, after the coin toss, the players returned to the sidelines to prepare for introductions. The officials stayed in the center of the field. As the players were introduced they ran out to the center of the field and lined up parallel with the touchlines, as they always do. Greeting them in the center were the referees. The players had a choice to shake hands or not. After figuring out what we were doing, about half shook hands with us, the rest did not. In this way we were able to wish the players well, demonstrate good sportsmanship, and still comply with NF guidelines.

Both of these seemed to work very well. I will utilize them when I next work CR or lead.