Soccer. Done. Basketball. Beginning.

Yesterday I officiated 2 games in Mattoon, IL for a tournament. The 2nd game got cancelled after the 1st half due to lightning. That puts a wrap on my 1st full season as a soccer official. I really enjoyed it, and it was a great experience. Next year I will be ready to get out on the field more as the center judge. The important decision making one... :-) I did some of that this year when we had 2 man crews, but was never on the field by myself.

As far as soccer in the area? It has not changed much since I left. The schools that have athletes, still have athletes. They are the best teams, because of the athletes, not necessarily because they play the best soccer. The level of soccer knowledge is still fairly week. The issue seems to be having coaches that are not soccer players. The result is you get kids that don't really understand the game. Soccer is such a beautiful game when played by people that understand it, but when played by kids that don't understand, it just looks like chaos. A bunch of kids running around chasing a ball, and kicking it as hard as they can whenever they get the chance. It's still good that kids are out playing and being active, but does not make for very inspiring soccer. To get that soccer at the high school level, you still have to head toward St. Louis metro area, or Quincy. May just never be a game that country folk understand very well?

Soccer is a game of control. Without the ball, you have no control. Not good. A team must keep control of the ball to have a chance to score goals. The most disappointing thing I saw this season is the amount of kids who want to kick the ball out of the air. Taking the ball off of the chest first, then to the feet to gain control seems to be a foreign idea. Seeing kids not understanding how simple the game can be, makes me want to get out and coach.

I know I'll feel the same way when I officiate basketball (which has already begun). It's the teacher in me. I want to teach the basics. I want kids to understand that through discipline, hard work, and basic skills, TEAMS can be successful! It seems so simple, yet so many don't seem to get it.