Poor Ref'ing to Our Advantage

Last night our U9 boys played a 6pm game against a fellow board member's team. The importance of who we played against is being critical of the ref while maintaining control of our own composure and sidelines was within our duties of being on the board. Let's just say the level of judgment the referee displayed in the match was less than adequate and our referee director will be receiving a note.

The advantage in this came when one call of handling the ball, which results in a direct free kick, was called. From my view I could not tell whether it was in our out of the opposition's penalty area but the hand came up signaling direct and my son placed the ball amid the confusion, stepped back and shot the ball up and over and into the back of the net. The goal counted.

Now, whether the referee confused the situation and awarded our team a direct free kick outside the penalty area or should have delayed and set up a PK is irrelevant to this portion of the post. What I was pleased with was how quickly and intelligently my son placed a quick kick to our advantage. The confusion likely contributed to his success but I found his thinking logical and timely.

Way to go J!

Crazy Schedule Outlined

For those of you that may have wondered just how crazy my schedule as a recreational soccer coach really is, here goes:

Mondays -
--1st Monday of the month KSA Board Meeting

Tuesdays -
--4:30 - 5:30pm U9B practice
--5:30 - 7:00pm U13B practice

Wednesdays -
--4:30 - 5:30 or 6:00pm U11G practice

Thursdays -
--4:30 - 5:30pm U9B practice (and this week U6G practice at the same time)
--5:30 - 7:00pm U13B practice

Fridays -
--4:30 - 5:30pm U6G practice
--5:30 - 6:30 or 7:00pm U11G practice

Saturdays -
--any combination of 4 teams playing scattered from Lake Worth to Lewisville, TX
--2 hours of voluntary field monitoring as a part of my service on the Board of Directors
--possibly refereeing games when needed

Sundays -
--no games, no practices, merely rest (well, and a lot of meetings)

How do select coaches function? Sure they get paid but I've known guys that have 9 teams. When do they eat and sleep? I enjoy this game, and my schedule is bursting but I can't imagine much more than what I have. If you're a select coach reading this, drop me a comment. How do you do it?