Update: Hand balls and penalties galore (recount of the last final)

The last final started at 1245. I did have a break this time since the previous final ended on-time at 1200. I wanted Subway, but didn't want to scarf down all that food right before I needed to run again (and I had no refrigerated place to store leftovers) so I just got a sugar-laden smoothie at Baskin-Robbins. It was better than nothing, but I wish I had been able to make it down to the Jamba Juice-wannabe place because I had some slight cramping in my calves near the end of the game. I was able to stretch them out in between ball-possession changes. The game itself was fairly uneventful aside from some parents complaining about throw-in calls as in previous games.

One team was quite overmatched. I found out later that they were one of the worst teams, but had done well in the playoffs. The players on that team got pretty frustrated. They were tired from having played a semi-final earlier in the day and they ended up getting beat 5-0. One kid complained about "the ref cheating for the other team" after the third or fourth goal. I overheard and explained to him that I was being as neutral as I could and that I understood that, from his perspective, seeing his teammates fall down or trip might look like a foul, but that wasn't always the case. He apologized immediately and I told him I understood that he was just tired and frustrated at losing, but that he still shouldn't talk that way.

The coach of the losing team came up to me after the game while we were cleaning up. He apologized for getting on my case in the semi-final and final games. He said it was heat-of-the-moment comments and thanked me for reffing. We talked about how I tried to be as impartial as I could and that, from his viewpoint, kids falling down or tripping might look like fouls even if they weren't. I told him I understood that and that I understand that I do miss calls. It was a very productive conversation.

He's a nice guy, I think originally from England. He's got an English accent, I couldn't place it, but I'm getting better at differentiating accents listening to all my football podcasts. He usually wears a Manchester United warm-up top while coaching. His kid was probably the most skilled in the division if not the league.

We talked more about referee abuse and I explained about the one kid's comments during the game. He apologized for rubbing off on the kids and I told him I knew the kids were just tired and discouraged. I also explained that I can handle all kinds of abuse from the coaches and parents, but that I would take very little from the players. He recognized that and agreed.

I appreciated him talking to me, but, honestly, he was one of the mildest coaches I encountered this season. It's still nice to have that communication and respect going both ways.

On the other side of the coach abuse spectrum, the coach I had a problem with also talked to me after his game. Our conversation went much like above. It was nice that he recognized he was out of line. I had been warned about him before the season so I was ready for it and it really doesn't bother me. I have a feeling he won't change as much as the other coach, but it's still nice to have a coach realize that his perspective is skewed and that we referees do know that we miss calls.

Now I'm finishing reading up on the High School rules. Some of them are pretty dumb changes from FIFA. I really don't understand why other organizations think they need to try and one-up FIFA. They usually just screw it up, but that's a post for another time. It's lunchtime now.