For those grade 8 & 9 referees, please utilize the online registration to certify for 2012. It is very simple.

See directions below.

If you are a grade 7, 6 or 5 and have
not re-certified for 2012, please contact Mark Wagner, sra@arksoccer.net.

Online Registration is now available for 2012

Here’s how it works:
Send in payment to ASRC, PO Box 13006, Maumelle AR 72113. Make sure you note either your USSF Identification Number or who is re-certifying with your payment. If are currently 18 years of age or older, you must include $5 for the background check.

2012 Fees
Under 18: $45
18 and older: $50

When payment is received, you will get an email telling you to start the process. You just need to log in to the referee database (www.arksoccer.net/referees), update your record (contact information) and recertify. If you do not know or remember your username and password, send an email to Steve Harvey, swharv@hotmail.com.

The SRC would like for you to complete your recertification ASAP so you can be ready when the 2012 Spring Season begins.  It makes it easier on everyone, mainly yourself, to have everything done early so you do not miss the first week of the season.

As always, if you have any questions, contact Steve Harvey or Lawrence
Hale, State Youth Referee Administrator, syra@arksoccer.net.

Prior to every match it is your responsibility to check the following:

Level 1 (Rec): US Youth/ASSA Rosters
Level 2 (Rec): US Youth/ASSA Rosters
Level 3 (Classic): US Youth/ASSA Rosters and US Youth/ASSA Player Passes. US Youth/ASSA Coaches Passes.
Adult (7 v 7): Rosters and Player Passes(if required by league)
Adult (11 v 11): Rosters and Player Passes

It is the Coaches responsibility to show up with a State Roster, Player Passes and Coaches Passes. (if required, see above).

DO NOT PLAY the match if a team does not have a approved State Roster, Player Passes and Coaches Passes. (if required, see above)

DO NOT allow anyone on the bench that is not on the State Roster and does not have a Player Pass or a Coaches Pass. (if required, see above)

DO NOT allow someone to play if they are not on the State Roster and do not have a Player Pass. (if required, see above)

Fort Smith Dog Daze Tournament a Success

Ray Fulmer, DRA - A great weekend in Fort Smith. All of the
local referees participated as well as a number of referees from
outside the River Valley. Their assistance was immeasurable. The
Coody Clan, the Strickland’s, Willie Whitescarver, Chris Hossay,
Brant Turner and a number of other referees that I may have failed to
mention contributed to the success. All of the senior referees
including Ralph Smith were kind enough to take at least one U8
game.

The feedback from parents was incredible. I believe U8 to be critical
to both soccer in general and respect for referees. Quality
refereeing at the younger level is an imperative. All of my senior
referees who accepted assignments to U8 and U9 came back
refreshed. As one of my referees said, he had the rare ability to
referee a soccer game, teach young people the love of the game and
educate parents on what they should be looking for.
We have a number of new young female referees, which I have
asked Angela McEvoy to mentor. All received very positive reviews
from the referees I assigned to help the young ladies get a positive
start.

The tournament went without significant incident, parents, coaches
and players were pleased with the experience and my young
referees were provided with positive, encouraging and insightful
guidance by outstanding senior referees.

Dan Leak named State Games Assignor

The Arkansas State Referee Committee and the Arkansas State
Soccer Association is pleased to announce the appointment of
Dan Leak as State Games Assignor. Dan will oversee the referee
assignments for all the ASSA State Cups.

Youth Referee Academy scheduled for the
Ozark Cup

The Arkansas Referee Program will be hosting a Youth Referee
Academy at the upcoming Ozark Cup in Fayetteville.

Youth referee academies are designed to help the young referee
develop better mechanics as well as gain confidence on the field.
During the tournament, assessors and Young Gunz members,
acting in a mentor roll, will observe the young referees.

These programs have been very successful. Many of our referees
that have attended ODP camps and even Southern Regionals have
first been seen at an academy.

Referee Database…Very Important

Please take a few minutes and log in to the referee database
(www.arksoccer.net/referees), update your record (contact
information). If you do not know or remember your username and
password, send an email to swharv@hotmail.com.

Fall 2011 Premier League

The following are the upcoming 2011 Arkansas Premier
League dates:

9/18/11 Burns Park, assignments complete
9/24/11 Burns Park, assignments complete
9/25/11 Burns Park, assignments complete
10/15/11 Burns Park
10/16/11 Burns Park

These games are assigned by invitation only. If you wish to
be considered for the games, please contact Bill Nelson,
src@arksoccer.net.

New Assignors in Arkansas

The ASRC recently held a USSF Assignor class, taught by
George Anderson.

We are pleased to announce that Bill Shelly,
Tim Schulte, Corey Smith, Matthew Peterson are the states
newest Certified Referee Assignors.

2012 Registration

Current Registration

Currently, there are 174 referee registered for 2012.

For those grade 8 & 9 referees, please utilize the online registration to certify for 2012. It is
very simple. See directions below.

If you are a grade 7, 6 or 5 and have
not re-certified for 2012, please contact Mark Wagner.

Online Registration is now available for 2012

Here’s how it works:
Send in payment to ASRC, PO Box 13006, Maumelle AR 72113. Make
sure you note either your USSF Identification Number or who is
re-certifying with your payment. If are currently 18 years of age or older,
you must include $5 for the background check. When payment is
received, you will get an email telling you to start the process. You just
need to log in to the referee database (www.arksoccer.net/referees),
update your record (contact information) and recertify. If you do not
know or remember your username and password, send an email to
swharv@hotmail.com.

The SRC would like for you to complete your recertification before
December 31st so you can start off the New Year with a new 2012 badge
in order to referee those early games. It makes it easier on everyone,
mainly yourself, to have everything done early so there is no lapse in
your ability to referee games. Allow yourself a few days for mail and
such so you are not caught on January 1st needing a badge so you can
do games.

As always, if you have any questions, contact Steve Harvey or Lawrence
Hale, State Youth Referee Administrator, syra@arksoccer.net.

Background Checks Now Required

Please note a change in the 2012 recertification. Anyone over 18 years
of age will need to add $5 to his or her fee for a background check.
Anyone under 18 years of age is not required to have a background
check. Also, the legal form has changed to reflect the inclusion of
background checks.

Upcoming Classes

Lakewood     TBA
Jonesboro     TBA
Greenbrier    TBA

Continue to check website, www.arksoccer.net for updates.

Fall 2011 Tournaments

Capital City Cup – Girls – Sep. 24/25,       2011 U9/10 Academy; U11-U18 Classic Burns Park – North Little
Rock

Capital City Cup – Boys – Oct. 01/02, 2011
U9/10 Academy; U11-U18 Classic Burns Park – North Little
Rock

River Valley Fall Recreational Tournament – Oct. 8/9, 2011
U10 – U18 Rec.

Ridge Fest, Paragould – Oct. 15/16, 2011
U8 – U18 Rec

Jonesboro Harvest Cup – Oct. 15/16, 2011
U8 – U18 Rec
U13 – U18 Classic

Ozark Cup – Oct. 22/23, 2011

23rd Annual Lakewood Fallfest Tournament – Oct. 29/30, 2011
U8-U19 Recreational Burns Park – North Little Rock

Clorox Cup – Oct. 29/30, 2011
U8-U10 Academy;U11-U18 Competitive Sugar Creek Complex
– Bella Vista

Mighty Bluebird Soccer Tournament – Nov. 05/06, 2011
U10 to U-18 Classic BURNS PARK

Presidents Cup – Nov. 12/13, 2011
U15 – U19 classic, rec level 2 Burns Park – NLR

To sign up for any of these tournaments, go to
http://www.arksoccer.net. Most of these tournaments
are posted.

In her Youth Soccer Insider column on Aug. 15, Sarah Weld laments the lack of women coaches and refs in youth soccer. It’s an oddity that I’ve noticed and am concerned about as well. The book I authored, “Preventive Officiating,” is the only soccer referee book that I know of that uses the pronoun “she” as much as “he” to describe referees and has the same number of female soccer ref models as male ref models.

I cannot write with any great insight as to why there’s a lack of female coaches but would like to offer some reasons and remedies to have more women become and continue as referees.

The hierarchy of FIFA, the USSF and NCAA are all looking to promote good female referees to the highest levels. If the United States did not play in the Women’s World Cup final, chances are that American Kari Seitz would have been given the assignment. She and two American assistant referees, Marlene Duffy and Veronica Perez, wound up officiating the third-place game instead.

One of the referee organizations that I belong to, the Long Island Soccer Referees Association (LISRA), now has a female President, Cathy Caldwell. LISRA is way ahead of the United States in this regard as we had an African-American President, Barrington Lawson, a decade before Barack Obama was inaugurated.

Here are some ideas why females make up nearly 50 percent of soccer players in the United States but are very much still a novelty as referees:

Intimidation. As Sarah wrote, the great majority of youth soccer coaches are men and some of them will try to intimidate a female ref much more than a male ref.

“We lose female refs three times more frequently than male refs due to verbal abuse,” LISRA President Caldwell said. “When I first started, I refereed three games and could not take the abuse from the adults. I called up the assignor, Nanci Apostolides, and told her that I did not want to referee anymore but she convinced me to stick with it. More than a decade later, I’m still refereeing!”

“But just last weekend, I spoke to a women who had taken the referee course but chose not to referee due to the lack of respect and intimidation she witnessed by both coaches and parents,” she added.

I’m aware of some youth soccer coaches saying derogatory comments about a referee (they do not know) based solely on the gender or age of the ref to their players before the game. Do you think those players then will go onto the field and actually respect the ref?

“In addition, many male coaches are uncomfortable with a woman refereeing their games,” Caldwell added. “More than once, I have called a coach to get field directions and inform him that I am the referee for their game and there is a second or two of silence followed by an ‘Oh.’’’

Females tend to view soccer in more social terms than men. As a referee advances, he or she will officiate with other officials — one ref and two assistant refs. But generally the first games of a career are the boys U-7 intramural game or the girls U-10 travel team match that uses just one referee and two club linesmen (that the teams provide to help out). I’ve found that females are more excited to officiate with their friends than males. Years ago, as I was about to ref a girls U-15 game, I heard the girls talking with excitement about which of their teammates they would be officiating with in intramural games later that day. Unfortunately, that club was the exception as most intramural games are officiated by one ref. No matter your gender, refereeing by yourself can be very lonely.

“I ask the assignors to pair up the few women in the chapter with me as we have such a good time officiating together,” Caldwell commented. “When I work with other women I find an immediate bond.”

Lack of open bathrooms in youth soccer. Generally, the lack of bathrooms is not a problem for the female player who is playing one game a day or the female assistant referee who (at least on Long Island) is often officiating one game per day. But it’s a huge problem for the female ref who is refereeing 2-4 games per day. Take into account that the officials should be at the field 30 minutes before kickoff and a ref is often spending 5-6 hours at a soccer field.

So what do female refs do if there’s no bathroom? They’ve told me that they do not drink water at all, a very unhealthy choice, or take time between matches to drive to a building with a bathroom, delaying the next game.

The great majority of youth soccer games that I have officiated did not have a bathroom at the field. But the times, thankfully, are changing. Years ago, youth soccer was often played at schools (closed on weekends) and also sometimes at parks (with open bathrooms). Many youth soccer clubs now maintain their own soccer complexes with bathrooms. If they did not build a bathroom, they bring in a few port-a-potties, not a very good option for either gender, but particularly for women. I’ve never heard men talk about whether the port-a-potties are clean but it’s a frequent topic of conversation among women at soccer games.

Summarizing, if youth soccer clubs and leagues get rid of verbally abusive coaches and used their resources to have three officials for all games plus build and maintain bathrooms, the number of refs would increase but particularly on the female side.

(Randy Vogt has officiated over 8,000 games during the past three decades, from professional matches in front of thousands to six-year-olds being cheered on by very enthusiastic parents. In his book, Preventive Officiating, he shares his wisdom gleaned from thousands of games and hundreds of clinics to help referees not only survive but thrive on the soccer field. You can visit the book’s website at http://www.preventiveofficiating.com/)

Valued Official Sports Facebook fans, we are sending the following notice to all past Offiical Sports website customers who could have been affected by this situation.

We are writing to inform you of an unauthorized access to a database containing the personal information of some of our web site customers.  The incident involved a SQL injection attack by a foreign group called “ZmEu @ WhiteHat Team” who attacked several companies.  At the recent discovery of this breach we have taken several measures to re-secure our web site.  This breach applies only to customers who have ordered on our web site, customer information from telephone, fax or mail orders are not affected.

These are the steps we have taken to ensure the security of our web site.  OSI has rotated all customer information databases, access codes and security protocols to quarantine our site and eliminate future unauthorized access.  We have also purged all personal customer information from databases and backups as an extra precaution.

We encourage everyone to be vigilant and take action to check on their credit card account.  Call your card issuing bank and report the possibility of unauthorized access to your information.  Review your card statements carefully and report any unauthorized use.  Routinely check your credit report.  We suggest using Equifax (Equifax.com), Experian (experian.com) or TransUnion (transunion.com) to check your credit report.

We regret the inconvenience this has caused our web site customers and appreciate all of the information we have received that aided our investigation of this incident.  We will remain vigilant in our ongoing efforts to make your online shopping completely safe.

Sincerely,

Marilou Tobin

President

OFFICIAL SPORTS INTERNATIONAL

Jared Peeler becomes National Referee, first assignment is U8 Boys

On April 16, Jared Peeler, Jonesboro became the second Arkansas referee in the past three years to reach the level of National Referee.  Jared has been assigned PDL and MSL Reserve matches this summer.  By far though, Jared’s favorite match was the first assignment he received after getting his National Badge.  U8 Boys match in his hometown of Jonesboro on April 17.

Jared also has just returned from Milwaukee, WI, where he attended a FIFA Members Association Referee Clinic.

Well done, Jared !!!

2011 Arkansas State Camp

The Arkansas State Referee program held its annual State Camp in North Little Rock on August 6.  Referees ran the fitness test early that morning and attended classroom instruction that day.  The instructor for this years State Camp was Dr. Don Wilbur.  Dr. Wilbur is a USSF National Assessor, MLS Match Inspector and a CONCACAF Match Inspector.   With Dr. Wilbur’s wealth of knowledge, the attendees learned a great deal to help them in their future development.  The day ended with the taking of the USSF re-certification test and registration.

Will Maffitt, ASSA President also spoke to the attendees this year.

New State Referee Committee Members Announced

The Arkansas State Soccer Association and the Arkansas State Referee Committee have announced the appointment of two new committee members and the re-appointment of two others.  Brant Turner, Bentonville, has been appointed as State Director of Assessment.  Lawrence Hale, Maumelle, has been appointed as State Youth Referee Administrator.  Vince Henderson, Little Rock, has been re-appointed as State Director of Instruction.  John Troutman, Maumelle, has been re-appointed as State Assignment Coordinator.

Arkansas Referee Program Annual Awards Announced

The following referees were recognized for their achievements and hard work during the past year:

Referee of the Year – Charlie Partin, Cabot

Female Referee of the Year – Marty Snead, Rogers

Instructor of the Year – Jason Rector, Bentonville

DRA of the Year – Ray Fulmer, Fort Smith

Assignor of the Year – Brant Turner, Bentonville

Assessor of the Year – Bill Nelson, Little Rock

Youth Referee of the Year – Layton McCoy, Conway

Female Youth Referee of the Year – Caroline Walls, Little Rock

Ron Heller Award – Ralph Smith, Fort Smith

Special Award – George Anderson, North Little Rock

2012 Referee Registration begins in August

2012 Referee registration has begun.   At the recent Arkansas Referee Program annual State Camp, over 50 referees re-certified for 2012.  At 2 recent Entry-level classes, Northwest and Central Arkansas, over 70 new referees joined the ranks.

In addition, several Entry-level and Grade 8 bridge classes are being offered this month.

August 20, Grade 8 Bridge Course, Little Rock

August 20, Grade 9 Entry Level Course, Searcy

Background Checks Now Required

Please note a change in the 2012 recertification. Anyone over 18 years of age will need to add $5 to his or her fee for a background check. Anyone under 18 years of age is not required to have a background check. Also, the legal form has changed to reflect the inclusion of background checks.

Online Registration is now available for 2012

Here’s how it works:

Send in payment to ASRC, PO Box 13006, Maumelle AR 72113. Make sure you note either your USSF Identification Number or who is

re-certifying with your payment. If are currently 18 years of age or older, you must include $5 for the background check.  When payment is received, you will get an email telling you to start the process. You just need to log in to the referee database (www.arksoccer.net/referees), update your record (contact information) and recertify.  If you do not know or remember your username and password, send an email to swharv@hotmail.com.

The SRC would like for you to complete your recertification before December 31^st so you can start off the New Year with a new 2012 badge in order to referee those early games. It makes it easier on everyone, mainly yourself, to have everything done early so there is no lapse in your ability to referee games. Allow yourself a few days for mail and such so you are not caught on January 1^st needing a badge so you can do games.

As always, if you have any questions, contact Steve Harvey or Lawrence Hale, State Youth Referee Administrator, syra@arksoccer.net.

Fall 2011 Tournaments

To sign up for any of these tournaments, go to http://www.arksoccer.net.  Most of these tournaments are posted.

Fort Smith Express DAWG DAZE Tournament – Sep. 10/11, 2011

U-9 to U-18 Academy and Classic            Ben Geren Park, Fort Smith

Capital City Cup – Girls – Sep. 24/25, 2011

U9/10 Academy; U11-U18 Classic           Burns Park – North Little Rock

Capital City Cup – Boys – Oct. 01/02, 2011

U9/10 Academy; U11-U18 Classic           Burns Park – North Little Rock

R Valley Fall Recreational Tournament – Oct. 8/9, 2011

U10 – U18 Rec.

Ridge Fest, Paragould – Oct. 15/16, 2011

U8 – U18 Rec

Jonesboro Harvest Cup – Oct. 15/16, 2011

U8 – U18 Rec

U13 – U18 Classic

Ozark Cup – Oct. 22/23, 2011

23rd Annual Lakewood Fallfest Tournament – Oct. 29/30, 2011

U8-U19 Recreational          Burns Park – North Little Rock

Clorox Cup – Oct. 29/30, 2011

U8-U10 Academy;U11-U18 Competitive             Sugar Creek Complex – Bella Vista

Mighty Bluebird Soccer Tournament – Nov. 05/06, 2011

U10 to U-18 Classic            BURNS PARK

Presidents Cup – Nov. 12/13, 2011

U15 – U19 classic, rec level 2        Burns Park – NLR

Fall 2011 Premier League

The following are the 2011 Arkansas Premier League dates:

8/27/11                       Burns Park

8/27/11                       Sugar Creek

9/18/11                       Burns Park

9/24/11                       Burns Park

9/25/11                       Burns Park

10/15/11                     Burns Park

10/16/11                     Burns Park

The 8/27 games at Burns Park and Sugar Creek have already been assigned.

These games are assigned by invitation only.  If you wish to be considered for the games, please contact Bill Nelson, src@arksoccer.net.

Referee Database…Very Important

Please take a few minutes and log in to the referee database (www.arksoccer.net/referees), update your record (contact information).  If you do not know or remember your username and password, send an email to swharv@hotmail.com.

Correction

In the June Newsletter, a name was inadvertently left off of the list of referees that attended Regionals.

Lawrence Hale was a member of the Arkansas Referee Team.

Wesley Carson, of the 1995 boys Fort Smith Express Soccer team, recently participated in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) Winter Interregional event held in Orlando, Florida with the Region III (Southeast region) 1995 boys team. He was invited to play in an International event with the ODP Region III team held in Costa Rica from February 5th through February 12^th.

Wesley has been playing soccer since he was 4 ½ years old with the Fort Smith Express Soccer Club. He started playing in its classic program in 2004 at the age of 9. In the Spring of 2010, he began playing on the varsity team of Fort Smith Southside High School.

Wesley started participating in Arkansas ODP in 2007 and was named to the Region III team in 2008 and 2010. He also participated in the ODP Thanksgiving Interregional event held in Orlando, Florida in 2008.

Wesley is also a Grade 8 referee working the leagues around Fort Smith. He became a referee in 2008.

Join us in wishing Wesley the best of luck on his trip.

Referees,

This week, a 9-year old boy in Bentonville, was killed as the result of a soccer goal falling on him. Link below:

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2011/jan/27/police-identify-boy-who-died-
when-soccer-goal-fell/

This tragic incident should remind us, as referees, that we MUST do our part in goal safety by simply checking the goals prior to ALL matches.

PRE-MATCH SOCCER GOAL SAFETY CHECKLIST

* Are anchors in place and secured properly to the goal and ground surface?
* If anchor bags are being used, are they in good condition?
* Are anchor bags adequately filled with aggregate (sand, rock, gravel)?
* Are anchor bags placed over the base of the goal frames at the back corners?
* Is all connecting hardware, such as nuts and bolts, in place and secure?
* Has the structural integrity of the goal been compromised?
* Are welds cracked?
* Are corner joints secure?
* Is the goal on a level surface?
* Do sharp edges exist in any part of the goal and net attachment
system?

It is mandatory that all referees, during the pre-match field inspection, follow this checklist.

If you as a referee are concerned over the safety of the goal, it is your responsibility to have this remedied prior to starting the match.  If your safety concern cannot be remedied, then you are not to start the match.  Notify the authority of that competition (club, tournament, etc) of your concerns.  DO NOT start the match.  The Arkansas State Referee Committee and the Arkansas State Soccer Association will back you 100% if you cannot start a match due to safety concerns.

Arkansas rolled out the Online Referee Recertification last year for 2010 recertifications. The 2011 module is in place and ready for Grades 8 and 9 to use to recertify. If you did not take advantage of this feature last year, you should check around and talk to someone that did recertify online. I think you will find it is extremely easy to use. This is set up so you no longer have to attend an in-service clinic to get your continuing education hours and take the recertification test.

Here’s how it works: Send in $45 payment to ASRC, PO Box 13006, Maumelle AR 72113. Make sure you note either your USSF Identification Number or who is recerting with your payment. When payment is received, you will get an email telling you to start the process. You just need to log in to the referee database (www.arksoccer.net/referees), update your record (contact information) and recertify. Pretty much that easy. If you do not know or remember your username and password, send an email to swharv@hotmail.com and I will retrieve it for you.

The SRC would like for you to complete your recertification before December 31^st so you can start off the New Year with a new 2011 badge in order to referee those early games. It makes it easier on everyone, mainly yourself, to have everything done early so there is no lapse in your ability to referee games. Allow yourself a few days for mail and such so you are not caught on January 1^st needing a badge so you can do games.

As always, if you have any questions, contact me or George Anderson, State Youth Referee Administrator, syra@arksoccer.net and we’ll get answers for you. See you on the pitch.