Spring Comes When? and Other Notes

GLASRA Members:

I hope all of you are safe at home and not traveling today. We have not had the best first major weekend with all leagues in our area having a vast majority of, if not all, matches that were later cancelled. Unless one of our more experienced members remember something different, we have not had anything like this in a long time. Spring is bound to make its appearance soon enough…

Just a few notes:

1. Declines: Our assignors are dealing with far too many declines. To give you some idea, we have had over 500 declined slots this spring so far. If you think about it, if every match required three referees, this is the equivalent of assigning 166+ matches over what was accounted for initially. The vast majority of declines could have been prevented if referees filled out their availability or put in the appropriate notes correctly in Game Officials (USSF matches) or Arbiter (MHSAA matches). We do not always know when you work, have prom, play in a match of your own, etc. if it is not marked as such in Game Officials. Therefore, it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure your availability is accurate and all notes are entered into the appropriate assigning system. In addition, if you handle both USSF and MHSAA matches, you are required to block in the other assigning system when you receive a match from one assigning system. Failure to do so could potentially impact what assignments you receive. Please help us help you by doing your part. If you need help, please contact the assignor you normally work with for matches.

2. Referee abuse: Even though we have not had many matches, we do have our part to play in dealing with abuse. Abuse has no place in soccer. If you deal with it according to the Laws of the Game or NFHS/MHSAA rules as appropriate, our leagues, clubs and GLASRA will back you up. Please remember that you are not to interact with a spectator whatsoever, rather deal with the appropriate coach (USSF) or game management (MHSAA) to have them deal with the problem spectator.

3. Mentoring: If you interested in receiving feedback during an upcoming match, please contact your match assignor along with John Douglas (soccerjid@gmail.com). If we have a mentor available, we can send them along to view your performance and provide you feedback.

Please watch for more notes to come through the blog throughout the season. Have a great day!

Andrew, GLASRA President