Harrison had his first indoor soccer game yesterday. In fact it was the inaugral indoor soccer match for Bellefonte Soccer Association. Things went really well for a first game. The entire team showed up - on time, and all of the kids were really easy to work with and appeared to have fun. We got spanked - while we don't keep track of the score, it was like 8-2. The best part of the whole thing was this: at half-time the kids on my team were making suggestions for a team name. We were getting standard suggestions for a team with a color of blue - blue whales, blue jays, blue dragons, etc. One girl on the team, however, had very direct suggestions for the team name. "Blue Soccer Players" and yes, she even suggested "Blue Balls" AHHhhHHHhhhh. If only to be young and innocent again. We get next Sunday off and then play again on the 24th - I'm hoping to play a team we can beat to help the kids get some morale building.
In other surprising news, the weather in January in central PA SUCKS! I know this may be shocking to many of you. HI temps this weak are forecast in the mid-20's with most nights in the teens or single digits. This makes outside time mostly suck and I try to limit my outdoor time to that which it takes me to travel from some [heated] building to the car.
In referee news there just isn't a lot going on. I've decided to attend the pro clinic in Ohio South for the 2nd year. I also have found an assessor course in MD at the end of the month to attend, so hopefully I will finally become a legitimate assessor.
No youtube videos today - hopefully in my next update I can find some pictures or a good youtube to share.
-John
Monday, January 11, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
New Year Resolutions
It is not #1 on my list, but updating this thing once a week or so is one of my goals for this new decade. Since I last updated this thing, lots got done - the house finaled and we moved in (last summer), the college soccer season came and went, and I drove the family out to AZ for the Christmas break. Sarah also finished her first big step in her PhD program - that much closer to Dr. Douglas. Lots of little things in there as well.
In no particular order, some of the goals for this year:
-finish up some details on the inside of the house
-complete all our landscaping needs
-spend more time with the kids
-go shooting more
-go hunting more
-lose 20 lbs
-pass the "new" USSF pro fitness test this spring
-get accepted as a NISOA national candidate
-submit my USSF national candidate paperwork
A little soccer summary for the college season of 2009:
I worked about 55 games including my August pre-season exhibitions. I traveled over 7000 miles for those games. I did about 10 Div. I games. I was the center for the AMCC mens final (Div. III) played in Buffalo, NY. I was the center for 1st round NCAA mens tournament match at Slippery Rock, PA (Div. II). In total I think I worked 6 or 7 post-season games. I also completed the required assessments and other requirements to become a NISOA national candidate.
My NISOA goals for 2010 - referee at least 60 games, at least 15 Div. I, at least 8 post-season. Complete at least 1/2 of my national assessments, work at least one NCAA tournament center. Score a 5 on all parts of the NISOA fitness test. Attend national camp this summer.
A summary of my USSF soccer season:
I didn't do nearly as much as I would have liked, but I did get in a couple pro games. I attended a pro clinic in Columbus in the spring and passed the fitness test (even though I only had ~2 weeks to get in shape after my emergency appendectomy at the end of Feb.) I upgraded to grade 7 as an instructor. I finally completed my grade 5 upgrade as well. I officiated some state cup and open cup games for PA west. I officiated at Region 1 championships. I taught 2 recertification courses as lead instructor here in Bellefonte.
Looking forward to USSF in 2010, I have some more goals. First is to attend a pro clinic in the spring and pass the new fitness test (interval testing). I hope to work at least 5 pro games (USL1, USL2, PDL, W-league) and would like to work 10 or more - we'll see how many folks pass the new pro-clinic fitness test. I hope to get officially certified as an assessor, but this seems doomed since the course I was scheduled for in PA West this coming weekend got cancelled. I hope to attend 2-3 major tournaments (Dallas Cup, Vets Cup, Regional Championships -youth or adult, Disney Showcase, etc.). My goal is to end this year by submitting my paperwork for national candidacy for certification in 2012.
The holidays always tend to be a brutal time for fitness and healthy eating. This year was no exception. I took my running gear to AZ, but only managed 1 good run and a few long walks. The rest of the time I ate, drove, ate, watched TV, ate, hung out with family, ate, hung out with friends, ate. Unsurprisingly, I gained 10 lbs due a lack of exercise and an increase in eating. 10 lbs is not much, but my goal is to be back to ~200 lbs by the end of January and 190 by fitness test time in the spring. My goal is to maintain 188-195 lbs for the majority of this calendar year, but definitely during the pro and college soccer seasons.
Harrison starts indoor soccer this coming Sunday (U8) and I will be coaching his team. Not much coaching to do, however, as this is the first season of indoor for Bellefonte Soccer and they are not allowing practices - just 8 weeks of games. I'll update on how that goes in my next post. Other than that, not a lot is scheduled for January. Sarah starts back to work/school next week and Harrison started back to school yesterday. Claire and I will be chillin' around the house a lot until I find some jobs.
Some Youtube action: Bellefonte City Rap
Happy New Year!
-John
In no particular order, some of the goals for this year:
-finish up some details on the inside of the house
-complete all our landscaping needs
-spend more time with the kids
-go shooting more
-go hunting more
-lose 20 lbs
-pass the "new" USSF pro fitness test this spring
-get accepted as a NISOA national candidate
-submit my USSF national candidate paperwork
A little soccer summary for the college season of 2009:
I worked about 55 games including my August pre-season exhibitions. I traveled over 7000 miles for those games. I did about 10 Div. I games. I was the center for the AMCC mens final (Div. III) played in Buffalo, NY. I was the center for 1st round NCAA mens tournament match at Slippery Rock, PA (Div. II). In total I think I worked 6 or 7 post-season games. I also completed the required assessments and other requirements to become a NISOA national candidate.
My NISOA goals for 2010 - referee at least 60 games, at least 15 Div. I, at least 8 post-season. Complete at least 1/2 of my national assessments, work at least one NCAA tournament center. Score a 5 on all parts of the NISOA fitness test. Attend national camp this summer.
A summary of my USSF soccer season:
I didn't do nearly as much as I would have liked, but I did get in a couple pro games. I attended a pro clinic in Columbus in the spring and passed the fitness test (even though I only had ~2 weeks to get in shape after my emergency appendectomy at the end of Feb.) I upgraded to grade 7 as an instructor. I finally completed my grade 5 upgrade as well. I officiated some state cup and open cup games for PA west. I officiated at Region 1 championships. I taught 2 recertification courses as lead instructor here in Bellefonte.
Looking forward to USSF in 2010, I have some more goals. First is to attend a pro clinic in the spring and pass the new fitness test (interval testing). I hope to work at least 5 pro games (USL1, USL2, PDL, W-league) and would like to work 10 or more - we'll see how many folks pass the new pro-clinic fitness test. I hope to get officially certified as an assessor, but this seems doomed since the course I was scheduled for in PA West this coming weekend got cancelled. I hope to attend 2-3 major tournaments (Dallas Cup, Vets Cup, Regional Championships -youth or adult, Disney Showcase, etc.). My goal is to end this year by submitting my paperwork for national candidacy for certification in 2012.
The holidays always tend to be a brutal time for fitness and healthy eating. This year was no exception. I took my running gear to AZ, but only managed 1 good run and a few long walks. The rest of the time I ate, drove, ate, watched TV, ate, hung out with family, ate, hung out with friends, ate. Unsurprisingly, I gained 10 lbs due a lack of exercise and an increase in eating. 10 lbs is not much, but my goal is to be back to ~200 lbs by the end of January and 190 by fitness test time in the spring. My goal is to maintain 188-195 lbs for the majority of this calendar year, but definitely during the pro and college soccer seasons.
Harrison starts indoor soccer this coming Sunday (U8) and I will be coaching his team. Not much coaching to do, however, as this is the first season of indoor for Bellefonte Soccer and they are not allowing practices - just 8 weeks of games. I'll update on how that goes in my next post. Other than that, not a lot is scheduled for January. Sarah starts back to work/school next week and Harrison started back to school yesterday. Claire and I will be chillin' around the house a lot until I find some jobs.
Some Youtube action: Bellefonte City Rap
Happy New Year!
-John
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