Tag Archives: 2014

Playoff sign-ups for 5/17 & 5/18

Important Information, ,

Schedules are now loaded for Semi-Finals on Saturday 5/17 and Finals on 5/18.

Level 3 and Level 4 referees (and associated family members) may sign up now.
Level 2 referees (and associated family members) may sign up starting at 5pm on 5/9
Level 1 referees (and associated family members) may sign up starting at 5pm on 5/10
All level restrictions will be removed at 5pm on Sunday, 5/11 when Level 0 refs would normally be able to sign up.

There are six games at many fields on Saturday 5/17. Remember, FOUR games is the maximum, per referee.

If you sign up for finals on Sunday, please try to do a different division/pool than you sign up for on Saturday, for semifinals, where possible.

May 17/18

Important Information, ,

Playoffs will be the weekend of May 17th and 18th. Within the next week or two, at least 40 games will be added to the schedule on Saturday May 17th, as semifinals for U9 through U19 in addition to at least 20 finals on Sunday May 18th. Teams will be seeded after their games on May 11th.

There are already U7 and U8 games on the schedule for May 17th as these teams do not participate in playoffs. Only sign up for the U7/U8 games if you intend to stay on them. Do not fill those games and then ask to drop so you can move over to U9 through U19 playoff games. The playoff games will be added – just be patient. There will be special sign-up restrictions put in place, once the schedules are released, for the higher level referees to sign up first.

Spring League – Week 4 – Important Info

Important Information, ,
importantinfoGame Cards
Referees are asked to place the signed game cards from every game in the field lockers for the rest of the season. 
Sometimes there are reasons for the league to consult these game cards after the game has been completed.  If they are returned to the coaches to take home, then this is not possible.
No Card, No Play
Last weekend at least 4 or 5 players were not allowed to play due to not having a valid, laminated, photo player card.  The coaches are all aware that this is a requirement so there should be no excuses and no reasons for any exceptions.

 

Spring League – Week 1 – Important Info

Important Information, ,

importantinfoThis weekend’s schedule is now finalized and, as of this moment, all refereeing spots have been filled.

Make sure you are EARLY to your assignments – 30 minutes at least.  I start getting phone calls from nervous coaches at 8:45am when you aren’t already at the field.

If there are locked gate issues, locked equipment issues, etc., let me know by 8:40am since I am refereeing at 9am and will start checking teams in by 8:45.

You can solve most of these problems on your own with these important contacts from the JUSA Handbook:

Yorba Linda Area Director – Gary Farrell 818-262-0598
Placenta Area Director – James Harman 714-863-7056

The above can help with locked school gates or locked equipment (goals & lockers)
In addition, you can also try:

Director of Field Equipment – Dick Bednar – 714-345-6890

KEEP GAMES ON TIME – Games are stacked closer together than Recreational games in the fall.  You only have 90 minutes between 60 & 70 minute games and that includes halftime and checking in the next set of teams.

Sunset is 5:54pm so at fields where there are 4:30 start times, the morning referees need to keep to the schedule so these last games can be played while it’s still light out.

Time Change this Weekend

Do not forget to set your clocks ahead 1 hour on Saturday night.  No excuses for being an hour late to games on Sunday.

Player Cards

Player cards are not required for games this weekend.  The coach should have signed Medical Releases (CalSouth Player Registration Forms) for all players.  If not, make sure the parents are present at the game and plan to stay, just in case there is a severe injury.

Let the coach know they should have those forms with them at all times, including at practices.

Rule Differences
There are some important rule differences for JUSA spring soccer for all brackets (Recreational and Select):
  • All age brackets allow free substitutions, at any stoppage, with permission of the referee, at all age levels.
  • There are no quarter breaks like we usually have on the small-sided 8v8 games.  Depending on weather, and with agreement of both coaches, you may stop the game for a brief “water break” if deemed necessary, but spring schedules are much tighter than fall so keep the games on time.
  • Home team chooses which sideline they occupy.  While this is not necessarily a refereeing issue, we are often asked to arbitrate such disagreements. Since spring games are played in many cities using many associations’ fields, the home team, per the schedule, is given the opportunity to choose which sideline they prefer.
  • Guest players: With teams often having players involved with more than one spring sport, sometimes teams need to use guest players.  However, no guest club players are allowed.
  • In addition, uniforms in Spring might not always be….uniform.  As long as the referees and players can tell which team is which, whatever they wear is okay even if they are different shades of a common color or the jerseys/T-shirts are different styles.  There should be a number on the back even if it’s written on with marker or applied with tape so the referee can identify individual players.  Mismatched shorts and sock colors don’t matter.In the event of matching colors, home team should be asked to change or wear pinnies.  Speak with the coaches and have everyone be reasonable about working with you to make sure the game can be played.
Fees

Referee fees are mostly based on the Fall rates for Recreational games.  A document outlining the fee schedule for spring is here:

JUSA Spring 2014 Referee Fees

It is everyone’s responsibility in the referee crew to bring small bills in order to split the fees correctly.  

U10 Select 11v11

Teams playing in the U10 Select bracket will be playing 11v11 with full-sized goals as practice for moving to U11 in the Fall season.  These games will be played at Y23 Woodsboro, P10 Wagner and on Sundays at Y36 Brush Canyon.  Games will be 60 minutes in length and the fees will be the same as U11/U12: $72.

U10 games at Y5 Mabel Paine and CP1/2 Brookhaven will be small-sided, 8v8, with the small, 6’x18′ goals.

No-Show Teams

In the event that one team does not show up for some reason, DO NOT collect any fees from the team that DOES show up.  Tell the team that does show up to record the score as a 1-0 win.

It has been decided this spring that if a team fails to show for a game, they are responsible for 100% of the referee fees.  They will be required to submit the fees to the JUSA office by the following Wednesday or further sanctions such as additional forfeits, standings point deductions, or bans from post-season play may be incurred.

Please inform me if there is a no-show and let me know if the online schedule accurately reflects the referee crew that was present so that once payment is made I can pass it along to those affected.

Spring Schedule Online

Important Information, ,
The JUSA Spring schedule is now loaded into the referee schedule system – click Schedules
 
Brendon Garabito will be assigning referees to all U16/U19 games at JUSA fields as well as all other games at P11 Sierra Vista since there are some U14’s mixed in with the 16’s & 19’s.  Contact him at jusa_intercity@hotmail.com if you are interested in those games.
 
There may still be some slight changes to the schedule.  I will let you know if any of these affect your referee schedules.

JUSA Spring League 2014 – Updated info

Important Information, , ,

Schedules, Teams & Brackets

Spring season games start on March 8th and continue through finals on Sunday, May 18th.   There are likely to be games on both Saturdays and Sundays given the number of teams and limited field space.

The schedule will hopefully be online Sunday, March 2nd.  Keep checking your email for when you may begin signing up for games.

There are two levels of play in spring: Recreational and Select.  The Select level is for new and returning Signature teams, and for teams that are seeking a higher level of competition.  These are not officially “Signature” games, so there are no specific sign-up restrictions beyond the age of the players, but you should expect play to be at a Signature level when you sign up, especially if you take a center position.  While I will try, I may or may not be able to differentiate the level of play on the referee schedule but you can look at the regular game schedule to see which teams are in which bracket.
In addition, for spring, the U10 Select bracket plays 60-minute 11v11 games in preparation for U11 Signature play in the fall.
Last I heard, there were around 270 teams registered to play games from U6 through U19. This is at least 15 more teams than last spring.  Games are played throughout Orange County, plus Whittier, Diamond Bar, and West Covina, with JUSA providing referees only for U7 through U19 games held at JUSA fields.
There are quite a few U16/U19 teams signed up for spring.  As usual, these games, when played at JUSA fields, will be manually assigned by Brendon Garabito.  Since there are so many teams, he may need additional help with these games which pay the most at $1.40/minute.  Spring is your chance to “try out” for U16/U19 games in the fall, so email Brendon at jusa_intercity@hotmail.com if you are interested.

Rule Differences

There are some important rule differences for JUSA spring soccer for all brackets (Recreational and Select):

  • All age brackets allow free substitutions, at any stoppage, with permission of the referee, at all age levels.
  • There are no quarter breaks like we usually have on the small-sided 8v8 games.  Depending on weather, and with agreement of both coaches, you may stop the game for a brief “water break” if deemed necessary, but spring schedules are much tighter than fall so keep the games on time.
  • Home team chooses which sideline they occupy.  While this is not necessarily a refereeing issue, we are often asked to arbitrate such disagreements. Since spring games are played in many cities using many associations’ fields, the home team, per the schedule, is given the opportunity to choose a sideline at their own home field.
  • Guest players: With teams often having players playing more than one spring sport, sometimes teams need to use guest players.  I will get the final wording on guest players, but as I recall it being presented to the coaches at the coaches’ meeting two weeks ago, teams may only have guest players if they will not have enough players to have at least 2 substitutes and, I believe, the limit on guest players for any team for any single game is 2.  No guest club players are allowed. There will be official rosters that will be “locked” after the 3rd weekend of play and no guest players will be allowed to participate in playoffs.  I will send out further clarification on guest players in the next week or so.

Fees

Referee fees are mostly based on the Fall rates for Recreational games.  A document outlining the fee schedule for spring is here:

U7/U8 games will be 1-referee, as usual.  All other games, including 8v8 U9/U10, will use the 3-referee system.

There may be some new information regarding handling of “no-show” teams this spring.  I will forward this information once it’s finalized.