Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Work Hours
Monday to Friday: 7AM - 7PM
Weekend: 10AM - 5PM
President Joseph Rossi
Please use your cell phone to text or call your partner when you arrive at the site. Speak with your partner about your location in the parking lot so that you can enter the field TOGETHER. If you are going to arrive close to match time, your partner can go ahead and check the goals, etc., without you; otherwise, please speak when you arrive so that you can be dressed and enter the field at the same time.
Please do not allow your socks to droop or your shirt to be untucked. A common rubber band resolves the sock issue. The only approved game caps are black blank, black NJSIAA or the ACCSOA black hat. Let’s be professional in every way.
Pay attention to what your partner is calling or not calling regarding incidental or minor contact. While we expect all obvious fouls to be whistled, we cannot call minor contact at one end of the pitch when the same contact was permitted at the other. Focus on consistency with your partner. You can always discuss everything at the half or at game’s end. Communication devices help greatly with this issue; however, simply monitoring what’s being called will also accomplish the objective. Consistency is vital for crews.
As stated, we want to get the obvious calls no matter where we are on the pitch; however, something like a throw-in violation should not be whistled from across the field. Allow the official on that sideline to call the violation. Helping your partner means getting the obvious calls if your partner is focused on something else; however, be careful not to reach far away for minor infractions which your partner may be choosing to ignore.
Thank you to the 33 members who made the time to attend. Thank you to Hank Chandless for arranging tonight’s meeting room at Mays Landing Library. ACCSOA game caps are here for sale. Our next meeting is a 7 p.m. Zoom on Thursday, October 22.
Assignor Jim Conover
Please notify Jim Conover on the day of the match if you issue a straight red or two yellow (ultimately red) cards. He will likely be approached by the athletic director. Jim needs to be aware of what transpired from the official’s perspective to cause the DQ or ejection
Arbiter.io has “Accept by date” limitations on how long an official can sit on an assignment. If a match is not accepted within three days, the official loses the assignment and is automatically blocked for the day by Arbiter. Jim is not informed of this. He only sees that the official is not unavailable. Please accept or decline assignments promptly. Please keep your calendar updated on Arbiter.
The schedule gets very busy as middle schools begin competing this week.
Please be available whenever possible so that we can provide coverage
Assignments are released each Monday. Please log on a few times during the day and evening to see all assignments. Adjustments are made during the week due to turn-backs, postponements, etc.
Please text Jim rather than calling, if possible. Having a record of the interaction is helpful for Jim rather than Jim having to remember the conversation, especially if he is driving or busy with other tasks. If a phone call is essential, follow it up with a text.
Jim tries to keep officials within 30 miles of their homes; however, ACCSOA cannot send the same handful of officials to the extreme west (Bridgeton/Cumberland) and the far southeast (Wildwood / Wildwood Catholic).
Please understand that everyone is asked to rotate coverage for all schools that we serve. We need cooperation in this vitally important endeavor.
The art of assigning has many variables, several of which are not always obvious.
Aside from preferences expressed by schools, officials may also block certain partners. Travel and start times alter assignments. Some officials only feel capable of doing certain levels of play or a specific gender. Days of the week and weekends impact availability. Challenging decisions must be made. Nothing about ACCSOA assigning decisions is personal. We are contracted to provide suitable officials for NFHS soccer within our region. The assignor does all he can to accommodate the members while abiding by our duty to provide officials to all of our schools.
Rules Interpreter Rich Papperman
Mercy rule (Cape-Atlantic League) is for varsity only. Six goal differentiation at 60 minutes, or a six-goal difference achieved thereafter, ends the match. Large JV match goal differentiation can result in the official running the clock or speaking with both coaches about adjusting the duration of the match. Keep in mind that many JV teams are not often afforded full-length matches and may want to play the full game. The official JV/Freshmen game time is two 35-minute halves. Most coaches are fine with 30-minute halves.
If a player is down with an apparent injury, hustle toward the player to inquire of his/her status. Stop the clock if a delay is ensuing. The official only removes the player from the match if the official beckons the coach/trainer onto the field to attend to the player. If the coach/trainer came onto the field without being summoned, the player is removed. Stopping the clock, in and of itself, is not a stand-alone cause to remove the player
The goals must be anchored. This is an important safety issue. Tell the site manager the match will not be played without the goals being safely secured
A drop ball, as implied, means the official drops the ball. He or she does not toss the ball. The other players are at least four yards away from the drop. A goal cannot be scored directly from a drop ball. If a drop ball is kicked into opponent’s goal, the restart is a goal kick. If a drop ball is kicked directly into the player’s own goal, the restart is a corner kick.
An official may speak to the captain during intermission, provided professionalism and courtesy is maintained. If the coach respectfully asks what the official saw, the question should be answered by the official. If the official summons the coach, there is no subsequent penalty for the interaction during intermission.
If the winning team substitutes or if both teams simultaneously substitute in the last five minutes of the match the clock is stopped. If score is tied, the clock is not stopped.
Be mindful of the potential for violent contact. Pull the appropriate card while hustling toward the incident with a very loud whistle. Officials need to display immediate awareness of the gravity of the foul to help calm the situation.
Partners can meet after the incident to share information and respective viewpoints. Officials should inform both coaches of what was observed and the consequences issued.
Adjourned 8:32 p.m.