I love being a soccer referee. It keeps me close to the action long after I stopped being good enough to play. Ever since I was a boy, I loved the game (and I’m a fourth-generation American!). I loved running on the grass, kicking the ball and, of course, scoring goals! In my eight years of AYSO, I played every position except goalie. These were the days when you had to be asked to join a club team. They weren’t as prevalent as they are now. I was never asked.

As I aged, I didn’t get better like other people, so in high school, I didn’t play varsity soccer because I didn’t like the idea of spending all that time in practice to sit on the bench. In other words, I learned early on that those who can’t play become sportswriters! Later, that extended to referees.

Since it’s my first year as a ref (and I should point out that in Los Angeles, soccer is a winter sport not a fall one like much of the country), I get my share of lousy teams. And since there are never enough refs, I rarely officiate as part of a three-man crew. There’s usually just two of us.

Still, it’s fun to step back and let the kids play, only blowing the whistle to enforce rules and facilitate safe play. That’s what we’re there for, but along the way, I have learned a few things:

1) The worse the team, the more likely the players and coaches will bellyache and whine at the refs when they don’t get calls or the calls go against them. That’s because they need the refs’ help, and we aren’t giving it to them! Then they get frustrated and say soemthing about the officiating, and that’s when I pull out the yellow card and book them for dissent!

2) The players deserve better fields. Too often, they play on football fields, which beside being too narrow are all dirt in the middle, having been torn up by the football teams. Some schools play on public fields that are so bad, there’s almost no grass. That’s because every weekend the fields are being used, so the grass never grows. There are rocks and uneven terrain — it’s a wonder more players aren’t hurt (and more lawsuits aren’t filed!).

3) The players, especially the girls, don’t listen. One rule prohibits any hard material in the hair, so no bobby pins, hard clips or barrettes are allowed. No player may wear jewelry in the ear or hand or anything on the wrist. We remind the players before each match of these rules, and yet I have had games where I have to send off multiple players because I see the illegal equipment.

But other than these, I love being a ref. I like being back in uniform, even if the jersey is yellow and not black like it used to be.