Got a handful of coaches saying that referees from week to week are calling the game inconsistently and not applying all the rules properly. Normally I don't pay to much mind to these comments but when they come from both coaches at the same match that brings up a red flag. An example was that a coach was upset when a referee informed him that one of his players could not participate with glasses (corrective, not sports glasses). He told said referee that previous referees had allowed her to participate with them on. The referee had to show where in the LI Futsal rules where it clearly states the leagues policy on glasses at which point the coach calmed down and told the referee that he would make sure his player game with safety glasses next time.
This kind of thing makes us all look bad ad is inexcusable. I would rather assign someone I know will follow the rules and correct protocols to 6-8 games in a day and wear them out than getting everyone with availability games just because they are available. It is a simple concept, know the rules and how to apply them, be in the right position to make your decisions and you will get games from me. Don't and you will not be needed.
The other thing that is bothering me is that reports are being submitted either really late, not at all or with so much information missing or misspelled that they are not of much use. If you do not spell the names of teams and/or players, they will not be sanctioned because we will not be able to find them in the database. This is especially true with players or coaches receiving multiple yellow cards. Please fill out the reports correctly.
Lastly, a lot of scores were reversed last week. Make sure when you check in the teams that you know which team is wearing which color jersey. This is especially true when teams of the same club are playing against each other. Do not trust the coaches to really pay attention when signing the score sheet, they do not all the time.
Congratulations to those referees that represented Eastern New York and Long Island at the North East Regionals and the DA Academy as well. Those referees include:
Benjamin Schnell
Brandon Jensen
Bob Baldwin
Brendan Mullarkey