A Message From the President Regarding Professionalism

To the majority of WMSRA members .. my apology for this E-mail. To the few for whom it was meant .. long, long ago and far, far away, I learned that sometimes it is necessary to be an SOB. When that time arrives, I lose no sleep, nor do I have any second thoughts. I simply do what needs to be done and move on.

So.. here it comes:
We are 4 weeks into the USSF season. I have already received more telephone calls and E-mails concerning referees than in all of last year. 90% of the calls and E-mails deal with two issues - dress and failure to show up for a match.

I have tried to gently remind folks that proper dress and fulfilling your commitments are expected of referees. Apparently, most of the logic I have used and reasons I have proffered have simply traveled into one ear and immediately out the other - of SOME folks.

I am sending this E-mail to the entire membership of WMSRA and asking Loren to post it to the WMSRA web site because I do not want to embarrass the very few who seem not to care that they are embarrassing the majority of their fellow referees. I will try - ONE more time - to persuade - kindly - those few. To get them to realize their inability to act professionally reflects upon the entire membership of WMSRA.

If I feel this LAST effort is failing .. well .. all I can say is that you do not want to be one of those few .. if and when I see you on the pitch, because I will demonstrate some of the verbal corrective skills my Amish grandfather taught me. And trust me, once you have learned how to get a six mule team to respond immediately to your verbal commands, getting the same from simple humans is like taking candy from a baby - as the "old saying" goes .. and you will be thankful if all you get is embarrassed.

When Forrest Gump"s mother referred to life being remarkably like a box of chocolates .. she was not referring to referees who belong to WMSRA. In our case, the players should at least have the courtesy of seeing referees who look like they know what they are doing. In other words, the referee team should dress properly and ALL show up for the match. The proper dress is not a secret and keeping commitments is a basic human concept that each of us can expect from our fellow referees.

I realize many things in life and on the pitch are not black and white, which is why a referee needs to have a good grasp of Law XVIII. However, when it comes to proper dress .. black shorts are BLACK, not black w/ a white stripe. Socks are either up or not. The concept of "up" does not really need further definition. Hats - if necessary - are BLACK, and if you are color challenged - ask a fellow ref if your hat is black. Whether a shirt IS tucked in or not .. is not a question that needs to be answered by a rocket scientist, and unless your initials are WJC, you should have no real problem understanding what "IS" is. If anything I have said is unclear or you have any questions concerning the proper dress for referees, feel free to call me or e-mail me and I will make the issue less fuzzy.

Remember .. the officials are the only individuals on the pitch who are being paid to be there. The players and parents who are paying, have a right to expect the officials to take their jobs seriously and be professional. If you can not or would not extend this courtesy to them .. then you do not belong on the pitch.

Ed Dinsmore
President WMSRA
10-May-2003