Personnel Reflections

When I look back at my unbelievable two month trip to South Africa it is difficult to choose one aspect that stands out above the rest. I ate good food, enjoyed beautiful scenery, was exposed to quality rugby, and grew more as a referee in a short amount of time than I could have imagined. The one thing that influenced me the most, however, would be the four refs that were with me at the academy. For nine weeks I spent most of my waking hours with those guys, and gal, training, eating, taking exams, refereeing, and just relaxing together. They grew on me.

I arrived at the house on Cluver Street at about midnight. Everyone was asleep and, of course, a bit sluggish to come out and meet me.

Geoff

Geoff is the first Zimbabwean I have ever met and he is White so that was strange. At the time, he was Evan's roommate and was more lively after being woken in the middle of the night, and his parting words before returning to bed were advising me that the water is safe to drink. Up until that point I had not thought to question the water but I wasn't too worried either way. Within a few days - probably the very next day - I found out that Geoff was the partier of the group. If memory serves, he went out every Saturday night for the previous five or six weekends before I arrived. In fact, during my nine weeks in Stellenbosch there were only two, maybe three, Saturdays when he did not got out. He is 19, away from home for the first time, and in a college town so that sounds like standard operating procedure to me.

Having never met a Zimbabwean before, much of our time together was him telling me about his country, which he did not seem to mind. He regaled me, and whoever else was listening, with stories of the three bars in all of Harare, the three Lamborghinis in all of Zimbabwe, and the interesting financial situation in 2008. For me, tales of Zim's currency was the most mind boggling topic because I could not, and still cannot, fathom purchasing a loaf of bread and gallon of milk for trillions of dollars. Even now, when I have a $20 trillion note in my possession, I am still amazed by the situation back then. Currently the unofficial official currency of Zim is the US dollar.

In my opinion, Geoff is Evan's primary nemesis. Their law discussions were always the most passionate (Geoff is absurdly technical while Evan says "play on"), Geoff would often be a step faster with speed/agility, Geoff had the best score on Evan's machine in the vision lab, and Geoff was always right on Evan's tail with Evan's best machine. I don't think Geoff was as concerned with being right behind Evan in certain things as Evan was concerned with being right behind Geoff. Geoff did, however, sit back and enjoy the ride as Evan became grouchy not just because of hunger or lack of sleep, but also because of losing to Geoff.

The best thing Geoff did for himself was convincing a nice young lady named Georgina to call him boyfriend. Georgie is attending culinary school and whenever she visited from Cape Town, she made the house smell great. Since meeting her, Geoff has learned terms like caramelization and roux, he now appreciates fine wine and brandy, and even picked up some domestic habits like washing dishes and keeping his room somewhat tidy. Anyone that meets Georgie, including myself, advises him to not mess up this situation that is not necessarily good for her but is great for him.

Ryan

Ryan, the lone South African, was the youngest of the group and the smallest of the guys (and only barely heavier than the girl). Since he was my roommate, he helped me the most in the beginning with knowing where we were going, when we were leaving, what to bring, etc. When I arrived and started to unpack my bags that first night, I thought he was going to return to sleep since I did, after all, wake him up. Instead, he stayed up while I sorted out my area and we chatted about where we were from and how we got to be where we were. I appreciated that he resisted drifting back to sleep for those few minutes.

Since Ryan was the only one with a car, he was forced to shuttle us around at times. We walked to and from training in the morning, lunch in the afternoon, and dinner in the evening, and Hendrik or Marius (our coaches) would drive us to and from games so those events were never an issue. Ryan would, however, drive us to drop off our laundry, to the mall, or anywhere on a rainy day. On some days, we would be running late or just be feeling lazy and someone, usually Evan, would request Ryan's vehicular services. Ryan usually refused at first, but Evan would soften him up and Ryan would give in. Those were always good days because, while the walks were not difficult, a car meant our day just became a little bit easier. The car never had much gas in it though, and for reasons only Ryan understands, the tank was never filled. He added R50 here (R=rand) and R100 there even if he had enough to fill the tank. It probably didn't help his compact car's fuel efficiency to be carrying four passengers (in some cases large) plus our luggage.

Ryan was the perennial peacekeeper. Whenever there was a conflict, Ryan was not a part of it and only stepped in to distract from the argument by changing the subject. These conflicts were only law-based, never personal, and even when Ryan was partial to one side of the argument he kept a firm poker face. A lasting quote was born from an argument involving Evan and me regarding offside players in front of the kicker in general play. Evan and I went back and forth for 10 minutes or so before Ryan said, "Hey guys, look at the moon!" There was nothing special going on with the moon, but the debate was halted for the night.

He was also the weight watcher of the group, but mainly when it came to getting seconds at lunch or dinner. Ryan is by no means plump, but for some reason whenever it came to extra portions he would say, "We're gonna get fat, guys." It's worth noting that this stance rarely stopped him from getting seconds himself. He and I both had a cache of snacks in our room. My cache was larger and included chips, cookies, and candy. In the beginning, he only had chips stored away, but by then end of my trip, his cache included cookies and candy as well. He accused me of being the influence behind his increased snack consumption and said I would be the reason he got fat while I was gone. He said these things while stuffing a cookie into his mouth.

Evan

Before meeting Evan I thought he was 27 or 28. This thought was baseless, but judging by the way he hobbled down the stairs, he could have been older. I later found out that he is only 25. At one point he tweaked a back muscle and we saw Evan age 50 years in one day. He had his chest out, back arched, butt out, arms and legs flared, and he walked with a waddle. Needless to say, we had a good time imitating him. At the end of the trip, one of my teammates and I had a discussion on what each of us did best. We decided Evan was the go-to guy when it came to law knowledge. We, the refs, did not always agree with Evan's interpretations and he sometimes did not have answers or had incorrect answers. Despite these things, whenever one of us had a question about law (what the law says, what should/could be done in a certain situation, etc.), Evan was the first stop.

He also was arguably the most competitive and did not enjoy losing, especially in the vision lab. If someone broke one of his records he would be grouchy for a few hours, if not the entire day. He would give you your props because he isn't a sore loser, but he would still be sore. Being tired or hungry also made him grouchy. Everyone knew these things so we had fun with it.

At a certain point during the trip, Evan and I started spending more time together. This stemmed, in part, from the fact that we had shared American experiences. I think the biggest reason we got along so well was the fact that we could speak about just about any topic with an open mind. We spoke easy topics like rugby and US vs SA lifestyles, but we also discussed things like our places in the world and politics. When one of us disagreed with the other, no names were called and no fingers were pointed. Instead, we heard what the other had to say, gave opinions, facts, and played devil's advocate in order to come to an understanding. Of course we agreed to disagree on some topics, but at the end of the day I enjoyed our chats and I think we both walked away as slightly better people.

Throughout the trip, Evan was the most affected by his normal (American) life so it seemed he always had home on his mind. His wife is pregnant and he, fortunately or sadly, will be missing five or six months of the pregnancy. Evan still took the time each night, despite our busy and tiring schedule, to Skype with or call her and they would chat for an hour or so about this or that. On one occasion, he wrote his wife a very impressive sonnet (with some help by Kahlil Gibran) and for Mother's Day he drew a picture of his wife sitting on a couch eating pancakes with the baby in the womb, holding a card with a heart and the word "MOM" on it. All of the housemates were thoroughly impressed. Even though Evan is missing most of the pregnancy, he will be back home in time for the birth of little Evelyn Kelly.

Emily

Emily touched down one day after me but did not move into the house until a day later. Hendrik did not want to wake everyone at midnight again so we did not meet Emily until we were walking to campus for our first session of the day. Coming from New England, for the first week or so she could not stop talking about the weather. Apparently, March in Boston means cold air and no direct sunlight.

She had a good time with Geoff's accent. His accent is a version of the English accent and it was the way he said a handful of words and phrases that drew Emily's attention. For example, he pronounced the word "spar" like the word "spa" and instead of saying "as well" with equal emphasis on the "a" and "w," he pronounced it "As well" with greater emphasis on the "a." Emily was never mean about her jeering and, after awhile, I don't think she was even trying to imitate him so much as she was speaking with a foreign accent that happened to sound like Geoff's. He didn't mind too much and tried to make fun of the American accent, but since he was outnumbered three to one, Emily always won that fight.

Over the nine weeks that we were in South Africa she snapped well over 1,000 pictures. These pictures were taken via cellphone and digital camera and were composed of rugby, people, sights, weather, and food. To me, taking pictures of our food was the strangest part of her photography because, up until meeting her, I had never seen someone take that many pictures of food. It turns out that her phone is full of food and, unless you have 20 minutes to sit and look, you should not ask her to show you those pictures. Since she took so many pictures of our meals, particularly lunch and/or dinner, she was always the last one to finish eating. She would apologize for taking so long, and the rest of us would shake our heads and tell her not to worry about it.

House-maties from left to right: Evan, Kahlil, Emily, Geoff, Ryan

First 24 Questions

24 questions, in no particular order, from my first 24 hours back in the Sunshine State.

1. Is this what my car always looked like?
2. We drive on which side of the road?
3. What do you mean put on my seat belt?
4. What do you mean pump my own gas?
5. Where are all of the compact sedans?
6. Where are rugby pitches?
7. Where are the skeleton keys?
8. Where are the living room leaves?
9. Where are the wine farms?
10. Why is it so flat?
11. Why is it so hot?
12. Why is the humidity so noticeable?
13. Why is it so bright at 6:30a?
14. Why is it so bright at 6:30p?
15. Oprah has her own chai (at Starbucks)?
16. Palm trees?
17. Recycling?
18. Is that Spanish I hear?
19. Seriously, it's after 8p why is the sun still up?
20. Cream soda isn't green?
21. How am I able to pronounce so many words?
22. The food is already here?
23. Why does the food cost so much?
24. Were Southern accents always this rough on the ears?

Two Refs Are Better Than One

With only three days left in our amazing trip to South Africa, Emily and I referred our final koshuis game as a pair on Thursday night, using the dual ref system. We came up with the idea during the day on Wednesday while we lamented, what we thought would be, our final (my first, Emily's 3rd) koshuis game. We decided it was worth a shot to ask Hendrick and his response that night was basically a strong maybe. Before asking him I was prepared to be persistent and bug him all day on Thursday if I had to. On Thursday morning, while everyone was settling down after (Emily's and my last) bergpad, Hendrick told the group our assignments and Emily and I were to be in the middle together; our wish was granted. She and I high-fived.

For the rest of the day she and I talked about this part of the game or how we would handle that situation and things were coming together nicely. We came to an agreement on several aspects of our game and when we didn't agree she and I discussed the issue until we did agree. Discussions never lasted long which was good because, to me, it meant we were getting onto the same wavelength. Fortunately, Marius gave Ryan (also dual reffing but with someone not in the academy), Emily, and me a crash course on the basics of positioning with two referees. That presentation cleared up some questions we didn't know we had and also gave us more to talk about. By the time we got to the field, about 5 minutes before kickoff, I was feeling confident and ready and I think she was, too.

The captains came over for the coin toss and I realized we had not decided who would say what at the coin toss. I decided that, since I had the coin, I would do the talking. That was a minor hiccup but it was representative of the entire game because whenever there was a situation that we did not plan for, one of us took charge or told the other one to take charge.

There was a bit of confusion early on, however. I was playing advantage for a knock on and, shortly after the knock on, Emily called a penalty against the team with advantage. I stopped the game, explained the situation, and we moved on without any issues from either side. After that point any confusion was insider information that, hopefully, went unnoticed by the untrained eye. For example, early in the first half there was an attempted kick at goal. The penalty was Emily's so my duty was to stand under the posts. While the kicker was setting up I stood there wondering who would blow the whistle if the kick was good. I thought that since I was under the posts I should do it but since traditionally the ref is next to the kicker she should do it. The kicker missed wide right so it was a non-issue in the end but after the game she told me that she wanted to make eye contact so we could sort out this small detail.

Throughout the game Emily and I checked in with each other after tries or when the ball was dead. Our conversations were short ("Happy?" "Happy."), thumbs up based, or, on occasion, were just to relay a concern about the game or mention a personally missed call. Neither of us was ever in the other person's way and neither of us felt overshadowed.

The game was one sided (5 tries - 0), cold, and rainy but Emily and I had a blast.

Happiness.

Refs at work

No worries at all

Jailhouse Rock

My club game today was in the Paarl League between Allandale 1 and Young Gardens 1.  Allandale, the home team, plays at Drakenstein (formerly Victor Verster) Correctional Institute; they are inmates.

Victor Verster might ring a bell if you are into South African political history because Nelson Mandela spent his final 14 months in prison there.  There is actually a statue of Mandela outside the gates of the minimum security facility.

I, fortunately, have not been to many prisons but this one was the most interesting by far.  At the entrance gate I expected tight security; what I saw was basically an entrance to any public park in that Hendrick said we were the refs and they let us right in with no questions asked.  On the inside I expected a big grey building with bars over the windows surrounded by barbed wire and surly-looking guards.  Not only did I not see a big grey building, I did not see any structure resembling a jail at all.  What I did see was houses.  There were one-story houses with driveways and garages in some cases, small backyards, homely decor inside.  It was very suburban-esque.  Next to the pitch there was a clubhouse with two televisions, couches, a full bar, and I think I even saw a pool table.  The pitch was the same as those elsewhere in SA and there was even a small shop selling drinks and snacks.

When Hendrick said one of us would be refereeing at the prison I quickly volunteered because (1) prisons in SA have rugby clubs and (2) who wouldn't want to experience that?  It didn't even bother me that I would be dropped off, while everyone else in the group went to another venue, and picked up after the others' matches ended.  As I sat and watched the third and second team matches it was clear that Allandale was the better club.  Each side ran through and around its Young Gardens opposition and the scores where heavily weighted toward the home side.  My match was a slightly different story.  Allandale scored the first points of the match: a converted try within the first two minutes.  It was difficult to determine which was the fitter side but Allandale seemed to be the more fluid team as they moved from phase to phase quickly, spun the ball from here to there, broke tackles, and made timely offloads.  The first half was all Allandale with the score being 29-10.

In the second half Young Gardens seemingly realized there was a match in progress and Allandale seemingly forgot.  Young Gardens started maintaining possession, stringing together phases, and generally taking charge of the match.  Before Allandale could score their first points of the half, Young Gardens already decreased the deficit by 10 points.  The home team seemed to be wilting under the pressure put on by the visitors and the visitors fully believed victory was attainable.  Personally, I thinking the Allandale downfall was their captain who would ask questions about calls I made but would not let me clarify.  He just kept talking about this or that and, as a result, I started to treat him like any other player to be penalized for dissent.  With about 15 minutes left in the match, a new captain was appointed.  Meanwhile, Young Gardens kept scoring and kept believing they would win.  I, too, believed they would pull off the comeback.  The players and I kept one eye on the match and the other eye on the time and when the final whistle blew the was 36-35 Allandale.

At stoppages I wanted to ask some inmates what they did and how long they would be at Victor Verster.  I didn't.

Like a boss

We went to the Neelsie Student Center for lunch. Emily went to Jeff's Place and bought a burger that was composed of chicken, beef, bacon, an egg, lettuce, tomato, onion, pineapple, and two or three sauces. Feast your eyes on the Matieburger.











Done.

Halfway there

Five weeks have come and gone just like that. I am merely halfway through my trip to South Africa and I have seen and officiated more rugby than I would in a full year back home. Youth rugby is everywhere and I don't think we have gone a single week without seeing U-somethings in action. I have seen U11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, and U19 and as if that weren't enough, each age group has several teams. Recently I referred a game between Paul Roos and Grey High U19 G sides. G wasn't even the lowest side present; there was supposed to a game between I sides but it cancelled. Where are these schools finding enough males between 16 and 18 to field an I-th team? Back home, in  Orlando, there is one team for the whole city. Insane, right?

At first glance these kids seem like highly trained rugby machines and it is surprising, and a bit startling, to think that they are just kids. The awe wore off quickly though because 1. they make the same great plays and mistakes as the kids back home and 2. they have been playing rugby since they were born. I imagine that if a lower tier basketball country, say, SA, was to see the amount of basketball in schools, playgrounds, etc in America they would also wonder how we have so much of this one sport. With that said, the top U19 players all have the stature of grown men and play like it.

It is frightening to think that they will become bigger, stronger, and faster over the course of their careers.

Collegiate rugby is another animal, particularly the representative sides. Here at Stellenbosch University there is a Varsity Cup side, two club sides in a particular division, and two or three others in another division. We here at the academy will never referee one of their games because we are part of the school's structure but we do, occasionally, help with on field practices. Among the five of us we have reffed scrums, lineouts, one phase drills, lineout drills, and one side attacks for a period then switch, and all as individual items. The teams operate faster than anything we see on a normal basis so we have some troubles at first figuring out how to stay out of the way but we always figure it out.

It's frightening to think that not only are there four professional leagues plus national teams after college, but that the players will continue getting bigger, faster, and stronger.

We five refs are ambitious, though. We each have far-reaching goals and we fully believe those goals will be met. Since Emily and I arrived we have not turned down any extra games regardless of how tired our legs are. Trappe and a full body workout in the morning then trials all afternoon plus a high school game for each of us? Let's do it. Voluntary bergpad (2.33 mile mountain run), gym, and law session in the morning followed by a youth  tournament in the afternoon then a Maties scrimmage in the evening? Sign us up. We'll rest when we go back to our countries.
There is always something to learn or to fix or to improve. We ref so much rugby and watch each other so often that it is impossible to not improve on a week-to-week or even game-to-game basis. Some problems that I knew about have been fixed. Some problems have come to light and those have also been fixed. I, of course, have a ways to go before you see me in a grand final but I think I am on my way.

More and more each week I see parallels between refereeing and general life. In both one must be able to, give/receive constructive criticism, learn to ask for help, support ailing comrades, discuss opposing opinions, defend one's own opinion, perform when all eyes are on you, and too many other things to name. One of my biggest takeaways, however, will be the process of learning. It is centered around having a concrete plan and analyzing the results of the plan once executed. Depending on the desired results, a new plan would be made and tested until things are as they should be. Learning about this one process has helped me grow greatly as a referee; I can make a plan, test it today, tweak the plan and test it tomorrow, and continue this process throughout the week until my problem is solved. Even if the issue does not completely go away I will have at least learned how to address should I see it again.

All in all, it's a shame my trip is halfway through but I am extremely grateful to have been given the chance in the first place.

Where is the food?

Not too much happened last week so here is combined week 4/5 thoughts/observations: 

• When crickets decide to be born and start roaming Western Province, they don't mess around.
• Casual dining service is supremely slow compared to back home.
• Paper towels are not a thing.
• The lack of clouds or humidity makes the sun feel hotter than it actually is.
• I saw a cop car.
• "All set" is not a phrase people understand. The word is "sorted." 
• There is no word for the act of raising one's shoulders as if to say "I don't know."
• Pep rallies are called big brags.
• Judging by the music playing while they were announced during a big brag, the Paul Roos chess team is a group of rock stars.
• There are only single stuf oreos.
• I don't think I've seen any Pepsi products.
• Wine is very inexpensive and abundant here in Stellenbosch.

Another broken leg

Today, we referreed the dreaded Paarl League.  Dreaded because, apparently, the crowds can be rowdy and the teams don't like each other.  Geoff and Ryan both had second team games and later AR'd for Evan and Emily, respectively, in the first team games.  My ARs were assigned by Western Province.

The game was between Young Gardens and Simondium and was my first full 80 minute game since I touched down in SA.  It was also my first 1st team game but I felt up to the challenge.  Both teams favored forward play but neither team was afraid of letting their backs do some running.  At the beginning of the match I planned to focus on three things equally but the game unfolded I decided my main focus was to be the rucks.  As long as the structure of the scrums (binds, offside lines, etc.) were good, I would let an occasional feed go because I could tell that the rucks were the meat and potatoes of this game.

At almost every breakdown players accused other players of committing some infringement and whenever I did penalize someone, he disagreed.  Fortunately, there was only one occassion where a player actually said something directly to me, drawing another penalty.  For 15 minutes there were no incidents that caused me to stop the game until a freak accident occured.  Simondium's captain, the #12, had the ball and was routinely tackled.  As he was going to ground I heard what sounded like grass tearing and a yell.  I looked down and saw what turned out to be a broken tibia and fibula.  I stopped the game, cleared away the other players, and called over the medics.  The stoppage lasted about 25 minutes and I haven't heard anything about his injury since.

We made it through all but two minutes of the first half without any other serious incidents but, as the ball was cleared from the 22m I noticed my AR had his flag out.  At the stoppage and I called over the AR who told me that two players (YG #14 and Sim #15) punched each other and each should be sin binned.  As I was going over the event with him I was pleasantly surprised that two players managed to have a little scuffle but I did not hear any noise from the crowd or other players.  Neither player argued as I gave them an early halftime.

The score at halftime was 6-0 Simondium.

Players kept disagreeing with my calls and I kept ignoring those players and worked on the consistency portion of my game focuses.  I made a few adjustments at halftime based on what I was feeling and some AR contributions and even though the second half played more aggressively than the first, I felt the players were keeping in the line a majority of the time.  A source of many penalties was the point where the tackler assist attempts to poach the ball from the tackled ball carrier.  I wasn't keeping count but I felt an imbalance and spoke to both captains about exactly what I expected during this portion of the breakdown.  Both captains had a word with their teams and from that point on things ran smoothly with noticeably fewer penalties someone not releasing the ball.  Simondium ended up winning the game 23-12 in a game that was won by the Simondium fullback (yes the guy that was binned) intercepting two passes for tries.  +1

Real Saturday rugby

Today, we referred our first club games. We were told there would be a good-sized crowd. We we told the fans were passionate and would be heckling us in Afrikaans all game. We were told to take the players firmly in our fists from the start of the game and, if we thought it would be appropriate, relax our hold later in the game.

Geoff and Ryan went to one place for their Super League C games while the Americans went to Sir Lowry's Pass for Super League B games. Each club in Western Province is required to have one U20 side and three senior sides. Emily reffed the U20, I the 3rd side, and Evan the 2nd side. The 1st side refs will be appointed by WP and the 3rd and 2nd refs will AR for the 1st game. Our games were between Sir Lowrians (less disciplined and enjoyed back play) and Milnerton (bigger and more structured).

The first half was 28 minutes long and I handed out my first yellow card on SA soil to the home #15 within 7 or 8 minutes of kickoff. Sir Lowrians committed two defensive penalties within 10m of their try line so I stopped the game and told the captain to tighten up. Their fullback, on the very next play, jumped offside and tackled the ball carrier and was sin binned shortly afterward. Milnerton scored.

There were other instances throughout the game where SL committed penalties that were absolutely unnecessary. For example, at the first scrum the #9 put in the ball before I was ready to give the signal (tap on the back). Free kick. Two scrums later I was on the opposite side of the scrum. Again he put the ball in before I was ready (point). Penalty. He waited for the signal from then on.

Toward the end of the game there were two separate flare ups but they were sorted out before escalating. I told both captains to control they're players, which they did, but the breakdowns became messy. My focus for the game was consistency at the rucks but it's easy to be consistent when the players are not tired and irritated with each other, the ref, and the other team. I believe I was able to keep my composure and manage the final minutes of the game and that was a confidence builder for sure. +1

The score was closer than I think it could have been with Milnerton winning 24-15.

I want more chips

This was probably the most productive week I've had so far

• Geoff enjoys spilling drinks on children and puppies.
• According to Ryan R48 ($4.80) for a movie ticket is "a bit pricey."
• Family sized snacks do not exist.
• Everyone should watch tapes of themselves performing.
• It is very easy to fall behind on blog posts.
• More and more I'm realizing there is a lot of thought that goes into being a referee. Where do I stand? When do I move? Why should I stand there? How should I move? Where do I go once I've moved? You get the point.
• Every school we have visited has a club house. Why can't we have club houses?
• I have discovered self awareness on the field and it has helped me to more effectively identify trouble spots and work on my planned foci. 

Great strides have been made

"Spring break" started this past weekend and, per tradition, so did Rugby Week.  RW brings together the best high schools in the country for a three day tournament.  This year's U15 event is at HS Paarl Boys and each of us, plus some refs from elsewhere in SA, have been assigned one head ref and two AR assignments per day.  The games were recorded to DVDs for public purchase and, as a homework assignment, we were to watch our Saturday match and take notes on infringements called correctly, missed, and called incorrectly as well as anything other items we felt was notable.  Using this data we were to come up with two or three things to work on for our games on Monday.

Watching myself for the first time was surprisingly helpful.  I, of course, noticed my fair share of mistakes but I also saw that things I have been trying to fix or add to my game are working.  For example, my positioning has been an issue for as long as I have been a referee though I only recently began addressing it.  During games players would often be in my way so I couldn't clearly see the ball or I would be jostled by players because I was in their way.  Watching the tape, I saw that my positioning is almost a non-issue right now.  I flowed smoothly from phase to phase and was usually in a great position to at least see the ball and what was going on around it, even if I happened to be far from the action.

There were glaring issues in the first tape, however.  On a handful of occasions I was clearly not paying attention to players infringing right in front of me.  On other occasions my signals were not as crisp as could be.  I caught other problems but these two were the ones I wanted to fix first on Monday because they would be very easy to fix while smoothing out other wrinkles.

When it was time for Monday's game I knew exactly what I wanted to do and I am happy to say that I improved on both of the items I planned plus another item or two that the coaches have been hounding me about.  After watching the second tape I can honestly say that my game has improved greatly since I arrived here.  As I've said, we officiate so many games per week it is difficult to not step up our game but it was confidence building to actually see my work bear fruit.

Week 2 thoughts/observations

Down goes another week so here are some more thoughts/observations:

•    Just like in English, punctuation is important in Afrikaans.  The difference between the word for high school and whore school is an umlaut (hoërskool vs hoerskool).
•    If SA and the US have a food in common, SAs feel theirs is better.  For example, biltong is “like beef jerky but better” and a braai is “like a barbeque but better.”
•    Evan hates chairs.
•    Emily might not be the strongest one here but she outworks all four of us in the gym.
•    The rain lasts the whole time the sun should be up.
•    There are at least two squirrels in Stellenbosch.
•    The kids on the field do more talking to the ref than kids back home.
•    SA doesn’t know what Chick fil A or Five Guys are and that’s a shame.
•    The “tournaments” that we officiate do not have eliminations or a final winner or brackets of any kind.
•    The thing called a “text” is referred to an “SMS.”
•    The gods don’t want Hendrick to test his fitness because the only two times, since I’ve been here, that we scheduled a speed/agility session with Hendrick “wanting to train” with us, rain has fallen from the previous night into the morning. 
•    Our mental preparedness classes will probably be thing that helps my refereeing the most while I’m here.
•    During classroom sessions there is nowhere to hide; we all have to answer questions, make arguments, defend our on-field choices, and be put on the spot but we all leave the session a little better than when we entered.
•    With the high volume of matches available on a weekly basis we can only prevent ourselves from not improving by not setting appropriate goals and learning from our success/failures.
•    With four other people, in the house alone, willing to listen to you talk about rugby there are many opportunities for hearing different perspectives, bouncing ideas, seeking criticism, and keeping sane (being so far from our homes).
•    I’m ready for the hostel league to start that way I’m around players that are about my age.  So far the matches have been youths and high schoolers.
•    These last seven days flew by much faster that first.  Hopefully that trend does not continue because I am really enjoying my time here.

All Americans

This weekend is a long weekend for us so Ryan went back home and Geoff went to stay with a friend in Cape Town so only we three Americans are in town.  Hendrick decided since we have today off we should have a braai (SA version of a BBQ).  He picked us up, took us to his house, we watched a few Super 15 matches, and ate food all afternoon and into the evening with his family.  We even watched some cricket (Emily and Evan both learned the rules).  Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon if you ask me.

   

 

 

 

Today is Human Rights Day in SA

Today we each refereed three matches at Paarl Gym, a high school athletic complex.  Mine were U16, U19, then U16 again.  U15 and U14 were also played.  One of the teams was New Orleans so I, of course, asked if they were from the states and the answer was no.  I was told before the day started that the parents at this event would be more vocal than those we had previously seen.  When I arrived at my first pitch for kickoff at 8:30 there were hardly any parents around and there were still not very many parents at my field for my final kickoff at 12:30.  The other referees didn't have any problems with spectators either so that was good.

It was very hot during the afternoon.  The temperature was probably only in the low 80s but the sun was playing no games.  At halftime of my final game I decided to take a seat near some spectators under a shady tree.  After sitting there on a hill for a minute a kid, maybe 12 or 13 years old, appears next to me, arm extended, with a can of grape flavored Fanta in hand.  I didn't get his name and I don't know where he went after he gave me the drink but I appreciated his very kind gesture.

Bergpad update: The trail is actually 2.33 miles.  I beat Ryan by one second but lost to Evan by 10 seconds but it was Evan's personal best so I take some credit for that.

Fans watching from the shade

The clubhouse

U19

U16

U15

Left to right: Evan, Jason (non-academy), Kahlil, Hendrick (our admin), Neil (non-academy), and Emily.  Ryan and Geoff not pictured

It's always sunny...

Seven days have come and gone so here are some week one thoughts/observations:

• There had to be a perfect storm for this academy to exist: a powerhouse school with accessible facilities and personnel, a city that, when rugby is in full swing, has dozens and dozens of teams playing each week, a live-in high that serves meals to the students that can also feed us twice a day everyday, a house in walking distance to all of these things, and who knows what else being the scenes.
• Players either make smart, well-timed passes or they don't pass at all.
• In terms of sporting facilities, there are rugby pitches, tennis courts, and seemingly nothing else.
• On the whole, goods are notably less expensive here. I don't know if the cost of living is also lower but the fact that things are less expensive makes me want to spend money.
• There is no rest for the weary. My legs (and the others') have felt tired since the day I started. We run in the stadium or mountain, work legs at the gym, do water aerobics, walk everywhere for the first half of the day, and then referee multiple games in the afternoon.
• College level players are not faster than the top college players back home but their fundamentals are rock solid. I'm convinced all players, even the barefooted ones, wear stickum.
• As solitary as a referee's work can be, all five of us are here as a team; we challenge, critique, laugh at, debate, and support each other everyday.
• I haven't referred an official matches yet but no one argues with the refs. They don't even speak to Emily.
• There are no clouds in Stellenbosch.
• There are no police in  Stellenbosch.
• There is one squirrel in  Stellenbosch.
• Walking around town with bare feet is not only accepted but not questioned.
• Walking around town in tiny shorts is also not questioned.
• The five of us have high hopes for ourselves. Among us are dreams of the Olympics, 7s World Cup, 15s World Cup, and 7s World Series.
• The next eight weeks are going to be great.

Uphill both ways

This morning we ran the bergpad. It was a mountain run of about 1.5 miles. Emily and I were running the trail for the first time but the other three guys are no stranger to the run. Our goal was to finish the trail in under 20 minutes and we almost succeeded; the slowest times were 20:15 and 20:30. Sometime after the run Evan told Ryan, the best runner of the three refs here before me, that he shouldn't have let me beat him because I'll think I'm the fastest. Ryan responded, "He's not the fastest." We run the trail again on Thursday so we'll see how that goes. We'll see how that goes.

Monday evening saw the Maties (Stellies U) play their final home game of the Varsity Cup regular season. The fourth and final spot in the semi finals was on the line for both teams. The opponents were the defending champion Tuks so no pressure but either last year's champ or a perennial contender will be missing the playoffs.

This was probably the best 15s match I have ever seen in person. 11k of my closest friends and I filed into the Danie Craven Stadium with high hopes for the home team. The sun had set and the full moon was rising from behind the mountains. The temperature was in the mid 70s and there was little to no wind so it was a great night for some rugby. The Maties came out flat, losing most of their own lineouts and losing the ball within the attacking 22. Their defense was sound, however, so the Maties were only down 16-0 at halftime (try=5 conversion=3 penalty goal=2). The halftime speech by the coach and/or captain had to be Tebow-esque because a different team took the field for the second half. They came out, won their lineouts, held on to the ball (unless they were kicking it away), exploited gaps/overloads, and kept up the stout defense. The Tuks scored eight more points in the second half but not before the Maties scored 36 points of their own. On several occasions the Tuks were knocking on the door of the try line but the Maties were having none of it. The final score was 41-24, ending the reigning champions season and giving the SU students a reason to go partying on a Monday night. Next Monday we will travel to Cape Town to watch the semi final matchup against UCT. I'll bring my camera this time.

Apparently football isn't a big deal for Ivy League students because Emily asked if the atmosphere in the stadium tonight was similar to football at Florida. The answer was yes. The feeling tonight was like the feeling after that South Carolina field goal was blocked before UF went on to win the championship in 2006.

Saturday's a rugby day

The tournament today was more of a youth festival; score was not kept so there wasn’t a “winner” at the end of the day.  The teams were either U11 or U13 and I think some players had double duty.  The day started with 7s using a playing space that fit between the 22m line and try line.  After six 7s matches there were six 10s matches playing on half the field, and then there were four 15s matches on full field.  From the teams I refereed there were two standout individuals from different teams who, unfortunately, I did not get a chance to photograph.  I saw both of them during the 7s portion of the day.  One of them was unfairly fast for someone so young.  There was sound tackling throughout the day but when this kid had the ball with a sliver of space he would dart around anyone defenders near him.  Once he broke the first line of defense the rest of his team started heading back to mid field for kick off and this kid would run, not walk, back to midfield ready to score again.  He alone had three or four tries during the one half he played.  The other kid was not as nimble but his individual skill was head and shoulders about those around him.  His stiff arm put several defenders on the ground, he ran over a few people, made some beautiful offloads, and had a solid restart kick.  After that one match I think that young guy is going to be a Springbok one day.  My biggest take away from the day was that the kids just wanted to play rugby.  They didn’t argue with the refs, their teammates, or the other teams and they played hard for every minute of every match.  Even though the matches didn’t count for anything it was a pleasure to see these kids do their thing.

I was supposed to referee eight matches but after the seventh one my Achilles tendon was feeling so tight that I limped when I walked so I asked Ryan to do the match for me.  I propped my foot up and iced the tendon on and off for about an hour then decided to go looking for food. 

Vendors had been there all day serving food and I was pretty hungry since I had been running around all morning (the first match kicked off at 8:15a and the final match at 1p).  Marius suggested I try samoosas and pancakes.  A samosa is curried beef stuffed into a puff pastry type pocket and a pancake is a thick crepe rolled up with cinnamon and sugar.  Both were very inexpensive and pretty tasty.  I ended up having six samoosas and three pancakes.

Evan looking mighty creepy

Ryan ready for kickoff

Emily taking it all in

Samoosa

Samoosa insides

Pancake

Pancake insides

After the festival Evan and Geoff (looks unhappy about the try he just awarded) were to referee one half each of a scrimmage between the Maties U21 and U19 club sides.  Many of the players involved had already played in scrimmages earlier in the day but the U19 did not care about fatigue or age and dominated the match from start to finish.

U21 in yellow

Quick note: Emily has a personal blog here and we have a shared blog here.  Thank you for reading.