Author Archive

The Bare Minimum - or - What’s In Your Bag?

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

I don’t feel like I have too many things that really bother me, but ARs who can’t bother to wear the proper uniform or assemble a kit with the bare necessities is definitely one of them. Appearance is important since it’s the first clue that players, coaches, and spectators have as to whether you […]

Preventing The Agony Of The Feet

Monday, March 24th, 2008

The older I get (late 30s), the more I believe that referees want one thing more than anything else.  It’s not a “four whistle match”. . .it’s not perfect weather. . .it’s not more pay.  What I think most referees want is more comfortable footwear.  Think about it.  The players play one or maybe two […]

New USSF/OSI Uniforms

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

As most of you are aware, USSF debuted a new style of referee jersey at the 2007 MLS Cup. Are you buying?
I’m hoping to be invited to referee at Youth Regionals in June, so I feel it’s pretty important to have them for the spring season. For most people, though, there’s just not […]

CSR’s Referee Match Log

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

Official Sports and lots of others sell the match logs, report forms, and such. Forget that. I just made my own using MS Excel and print them using my color laser printer, though an inkjet would work just fine. Here’s a picture -

I’ve added a link in the “Referee Gear” section to […]

The Moment Of Truth

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

The wisest referee I know is now retired, but I still call him often to draw on his experience and insight.  A few years ago, he taught me about the Moment Of Truth.  Basically, the Moment Of Truth (MOT) is an incident - usually a hard foul, physical play, etc - where how you handle […]

Mentoring anyone?

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

For a long time, I’ve been thinking about the mentoring of soccer officials. While I think it’s particularly important for the young and new referees, I also find myself (as a Grade 7 with many years of experience) wishing there was someone with more experience who would provide feedback, answer questions, and provide guidance […]

Welcome!

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Welcome to the Columbus Soccer Ref site. The goal is to provide opinion, commentary & discussion on refereeing The Beautiful Game.
It should be noted that the posts are strictly my opinion and don’t necessarily reflect the views of USSF, the leagues in which I referee, or anyone by me. By the same […]