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We have all made it back to the USA safely!

In our final week in Jordan we continued field and classroom training. Katja was assigned as the fourth official for the third place match, Spain vs. Venezuela on October 22, 2016. Directly following the match was the U-17 Women's World Cup Final, Korea DPR vs. Japan. We all had the honor of attending the match. It was incredible to experience this competitive final in a sold out stadium and have the opportunity to cheer on the referee crew! Korea DRP won the tournament, with Japan taking second place, and Spain third. We stayed for the awarding of the of the FIFA Fair Play award, the Golden Boot and Ball trophies and got to watch the awarding of the FIFA World Cup trophy to Korea DPR.

We are grateful for the experiences we gained from the 2016 U-17 Women's World Cup, from Jordan, and from the amazing people we met on our journey.

Thank you for following us on our journey!


Team USA

Quarterfinals

We were recently appointed to officiate one of the four quarterfinals for the tournament. On October 13th we officiated the match between Japan and England in Irbid. Japan won the match 3-0, and advanced to the World Cup semifinals played on October 17th. We received feedback from our instructors for the match and practiced implementing these ideas on the field in practice. The staff here are very focused on providing us with game-like situations during training, to ensure that with repetition our habits change and adjust to achieve the best position and make the best decisions.

Last Friday, we attended the referee farewell dinner. For some it was the end of their time here at the U17 Women’s World Cup; for others including us we took a moment to reflect on our time here together as a group and turn our attention to our final set of matches. Some referees dressed in traditional cultural attire from their home country, and we enjoyed the chance to celebrate our success as World Cup referees with friends, bbq, dancing and karaoke.

We are so grateful to have many opportunities to see the wonders of Jordan. On Sunday we went to historical downtown Amman and today we have a chance to see a stretch of the Jordan river where Jesus was baptized.

Semi-finals were played yesterday and only two games remain. We are excited to continue to learn from our colleagues, the instructors, and staff with our remaining time here.

Dead Sea and Petra

It has been an exciting and productive week. We have worked hard in daily fitness training. Fitness sessions are varied including strength training, field movement exercises, game type situations and teamwork exercises. 

On tournament rest days, the referees and instructors review clips from recent games, identify points of emphasis and discuss areas for us to improve on. The following day we implement the concepts we have learned on the field. 

In the last week we have been fortunate to have excursions to some of Jordan’s most iconic locations. 

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth measuring 1312 ft below sea level. The salt concentration of the water is so high (9X the salt concentration of the ocean) that you can easily float in the water. The salts and minerals have excellent health benefits and are used around the world in industry, medicine, agricultural and skin care. We enjoyed effortlessly floating in the sea and tried out the natural mud facials. We stayed until sunset and had a beautiful view across the sea of Israel. 

Yesterday we had the opportunity to see one of the 7 wonders of the world right here in Jordan! Petra is an archaeological site nicknamed the rose city from its red sandstone and cliffs. The city dates back to 300 B.C. It is often referred to as the lost city because it was not found by the western world until 1812.  Its most distinguished feature is the temple Al-Khazneh, hand carved directly into a vibrant cliff face amongst the desert canyons and mountains. You may recognize it from the movies Indiana Jones and the Lost Cursade and the Mummy Returns. Personally we thought the best vantage point of the temple was from the back of a camel! 

We are so grateful to FIFA and JFA for these opportunities.

Quarter Finals start tomorrow and we are excited for the knock-out matches to begin. 

Match Day

On Tuesday October the 4^th, we refereed the match between Nigeria and England in the second round of group play.  Nigeria lost to Brazil in the first round and England drew with People’s Republic of Korea, so we were prepared for a competitive match with very different styles of play.  The match was played in the Prince Mohammed International Stadium in the city of Al-Zarqa, about an hour away from our hotel in Amman.  With a 4pm kickoff, it was very warm, with the temperature at about 30 degree Celsius/86 degrees Fahrenheit.  The final score after 90 minutes was 0-0. 

Wednesday was a recovery day for us, under the oversight of the excellent staff on hand, which includes fitness trainers and physio professionals.  We have a variety of options available and we spent time doing active recovery in the pool followed by mobilization and stretching exercises, as well as sports massages.

We are looking forward to a planned excursion to the Dead Sea!

Kickoff in Jordan

We have concluded the five-day seminar with some of the top FIFA instructors. The topics of the seminar centered on:  Interfering with an Opponent, AR Priorities, Gaining an Advantage, Tactical Fouls/DOGSO, Tackles and Challenges, Handling, and Positioning. In order to properly implement these concepts into our games we must be “In the best position to make the best decision,” an ever present theme of the tournament. Before we concluded the seminar, we had the honor of attending the FIFA referee dinner where we were presented with medals commemorating the tournament. The local organizing committee organized this cultural dining event so we could experience the Jordanian cuisine and entertainment. The food featured a variety of local appetizers, salads, and meats. We have come to love the local hummus!

The tournament kicks off tomorrow, Friday September 30, 2016. One of most anticipated games is the opening match between Jordan and Spain that is completely sold out. This is the first World Cup game in the Middle East, and the Jordan Football Association has invited 300 Syrian refugee children to experience this historical event. The U17 tournament features 16 teams divided into four groups. There will be 24 group stage games played in four venues located in three different cities. 

Tournament schedules and information can be located at:

http://www.fifa.com/u17womensworldcup/

The games will be televised in the USA at: 

http://www.foxsoccer2go.com

Welcome to Jordan!

Greetings from Jordan,

We arrived safely to Amman, Jordan.  The experience so far has been top class from the organizational greetings, transportation, food and accommodations.  The 2016 U17 Women's World Cup is a historical event as it is the first FIFA World Cup event held in the Middle East. The Jordanian people have welcomed us with open arms.

We have settled in quickly and are asking our bodies to adjust to the 7 hour (Katy) and 10 hour (Katja and Deleana) time difference. The first full day included a classroom session with introductory meetings as well as a video quiz.  We then had an evening fitness session at the university fields. The referees completed the dynamic yo-yo test on the field, with an expected standard of 18.5, and the assistant referees completed the ARIET to the 14.5-3 standard. These are on field fitness checks that replicate movements we do in the game. 

The next four days will largely consist of two parts: morning classroom sessions, and the afternoon/evening practical field sessions.  We will have a team of local university players to provide us with game-like situations.  The overall goal of the seminar is to develop consistency and uniformity in preparation for the first day of matches. 

Heading to the U17 Women's World Cup

Greetings! As Katja, Katy and I prepare for the U17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan, we hope that you’ll join us along the way. For all three of us, this is our first FIFA tournament; we’re very excited for this opportunity to represent our country!

We’ve been very busy for the past couple of months in preparations. One of the first steps was to successfully pass the fitness test. We took the new fitness test with World Cup standard requirement. For Katja, this involved six 40m sprints and 10 laps of 75m/25m intervals. For Katy and I, we had an extra component to the test – a test of agility and ability to change direction, a critical ability for assistant referees. This test involved a series of sprinting and side stepping in different directions. Then we ran five 30m sprints, and 10 laps of 75m/25m intervals.

In the months leading up to the tournament, we had multiple opportunities to work together on matches. With each game, we focused not only the game decisions, but also on refining our communications (both verbal and nonverbal) and working together as a team, and how to support each other so that we succeed together. We found that we improved each time.

The tournament officially begins on September 30 . The referees will arrive on September 24, for a week of technical training, fitness, and instruction. We are excited to arrive in Jordan and start this journey!