GGSRA - News



GGSRA Receives CIF Accreditation - 06/21/2012

GGSRA has received accreditation from California Officials Association - California Interscholastic Federation(CIF) for Soccer, Men's Lacrosse, and Women's Lacrosse. The accreditation was granted for a term of 6 years (through June 15, 2018) and was accompanied by an "Excellent Report" rating.



California North now has a new State Director of Instruction! - 02/28/2012



CCSRA is excited to announce Tim Weyland, former FIFA/MLS Referee and current FIFA Beach Soccer Instructor, has replaced long-time serving SDI, Abraham Ramirez.

CCSRA wishes to publicly thank Mr. Ramirez and his family for his many many years of service as SDI.

Also new in CNRA are Bob Fleck; as Secretary who relieves now former Secretary and current State Director of Assessment; Bill Miller. Bill may now better direct his energies exclusively to his SDA position. Levon Balajanian; has been selected as CNRA Treasurer. Bob Fleck is also a current National Assessor. Levon Balajanian is a former FIFA Assistant Referee and National Assessor.

CCSRA is supportive in the selection of each of these individuals in their positions within CNRA. We wish them the best and offer our support and cooperation in developing you, our Cal-North referees.



U.S. Men's National Team Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann Extended Video Series - 02/16/2012

U.S. Soccer is pleased to offer you the opportunity to view and share an in-depth interview featuring U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.During this extended interview, Klinsmann shares his vision for the program by discussing topics such as player development, team building and performance testing.
Watch the interview on ussoccer.com - Entire Interview | Individual Topics
Watch the interview on YouTube - Entire Interview | Individual Topics

After six months in the position, Klinsmann forges ahead with instilling new ideas and building a team that will have a style of play that reflects the very best that the United States has to offer.To accomplish his goals, he continues to reach out to all members of the soccer community so that all voices will be heard."This process does not only belong to the National Team," said Klinsmann. "I deeply believe that is critical we engage all the soccer constituents in this country, from coaches to fans to members of the media. After all, this team belongs to all of us!By continually exchanging ideas, we ensure that no stone is unturned in our effort to develop a team that represents what America is all about.More importantly, we are all inspired to continue to grow the game in the United States as best we can."
Watch the interview on ussoccer.com - Entire Interview | Individual TopicsWatch the interview on YouTube - Entire Interview | Individual Topics



NFHS News Release - Rules Change - 02/14/2012


The NFHS recently released information concerning rule changes commencing with the 2012-13 Soccer season. These changes do not apply to the NCS Winter and Spring Soccer Seasons. A major change is that a player who has been disqualified with a soft red card, cannot be substituted for, and by the NCS ejection policy, will also have to sit out the next game.

Harry Schrauth
NCS Coordinator of Officials

"Soft Red" Eliminated in High School Soccer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           Contact: Mark Koski

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (February 13, 2012) – In a continued emphasis on improving sportsmanship, the "soft red" has been eliminated in high school soccer.

Effective with the 2012-13 season, a second yellow card not only will disqualify a player, but the team will not be permitted to substitute for the disqualified player. Previously, a team was permitted to replace a player who had received a second yellow card.

This significant change was one of three rules revisions passed by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Soccer Rules Committee at its January 23-25 meeting in Indianapolis. These changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

Another change in Rule 12-8-1f now will disqualify a player who deliberately handles a ball in his/her own penalty area to prevent it from going in the goal only when the attempt to deny the goal is successful. If a goal is scored, the penalty is now a caution. Previously, a player was disqualified for trying to stop a goal from being scored, whether the try was successful or not.

"Obviously, with two of our three changes this year in Rule 12 (Fouls and Misconduct), the Soccer Rules Committee continues to focus on improving the level of sportsmanship in high school soccer," said Mark Koski, NFHS director of sports and events and liaison to the Soccer Rules Committee.

The other change approved by the committee involves the taking of a penalty kick. If some unusual situation occurs after the penalty kick is properly taken and before the ball is played or touched by another player, or before the ball hits the goalpost or crossbar, which necessitates a temporary suspension in play, the penalty kick shall be retaken. Previously, this would have resulted in a drop ball.

"As an example, if the ball deflated immediately after a penalty kick was taken and play was suspended, the player now will have the opportunity to attempt the penalty kick again," Koski said.

Soccer is the fifth-most popular sport for boys and girls at the high school level. According to the 2010-11High School Athletics Participation Survey, 398,351 boys are involved in soccer and 361,556 girls participate in the sport.

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About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)

The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,000 high schools and 11 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7.6 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; offers online publications and services for high school coaches and officials; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:          Bruce Howard or John Gillis, 317-972-6900
National Federation of State High School Associations
PO Box 690, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206
bhoward@nfhs.org or jgillis@nfhs.org


Bruce Howard
Director of Publications and Communications
National Federation of State High School Associations
PO Box 690
Indianapolis, IN 46206
317-822-5724
317-822-5700 (Fax)
bhoward@nfhs.org



Required Concussion Certification - 02/03/2012

Effective April 1, 2012, GGSRA requires all officials to obtain certification for recognizing Concussion in sports, and its impact on youth player.

To access the NFHS course go to: http://www.nfhslearn.com/Certification.aspx

CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/sports/



Concussion Information - 01/22/2012

In the past two years NHS has introduced new rules to protect athletes who may have received a concussion as a result of a head injury. Now California Law AB 25 requires schools to implement a head injury protocol and a concussion and head injury information sheet be signed and returned by the athlete and his/her parent or guardian. A player removed from play due to a concussion or suspected concussion must be evaluated by a licensed health care provider (trained in the management of concussions) and receive written clearance before participating in practice, play or competition.

While these changes help protect our student athletes, they also place additional burdens on referees who must assess a situation quickly. The Centers for Disease Control has a number of excellent documents on the topic. So please take a few moments and review the information at: CDC Concussion Information



GGSRA New Game Procedure - 12/10/2011

GGSRA has implemented new procedures we need the Lead Referee to follow when recording match details, so please read on...

To receive payment for matches you will still need to report the score in GameOfficials.

In addition to recording the score, ONLY if there were Cautions, Disqualifications(Send-offs), or Incidents (e.g.. Serious injuries) to be reported you will need to click on the "Card / Incident Rpt." link (located on the right). This will take you to the GGSRA web site where you can report the additional information.

VERY IMPORTANT.
If you do have a Disqualification (Send-off) or Incident to report please be sure to:
1) call Michael Faryabi (925-642-6400) immediately after the match and,
2) go to the web site and enter the report within 18 hours of the match.

When a Disqualification (Send-off) or Incident report is recorded you will be able to save a PDF copy of your report. Your Assignor (Michael Faryabi) will also receive email notification containing the same information (so be sure you called him).

The cautions you record will be available to everyone on demand at the www.GGSRA.org web site. If everyone records their cards this will be a valuable resource we can all use in preparing for an upcoming match.

All cautions recorded through December 9th have been entered and are available for review. If you had a game after December 9th please be sure to record the details.

If you have questions or need assistance accessing the site please email me so that we can work the issue out.

Thanks to everyone for helping us this season.

See you on the pitch,

Wayne