You may be a dog, but you definitely have a brilliant soccer mind. I'm actually not surprised, since we have two dogs at home ourselves. In addition to coaching and reffing, I'm also involved with putting out a soccer newsletter for our club. Would it be possible to re-run (with full credit, of course) one or two of your columns???

I really like the ones on coaching at practice instead of games; soccer for tykes; and the rules quiz. They would be distributed to competitive and neighborhood coaches in the Girls Southeast Soccer Association (home to two national USYA finalists this year!).

BTW: Why do you object to refs helping young players out??? I frequently remind beginning goalkeepers that they're allowed to pick up the ball with their hands, but should stay inside the penalty area when doing so and always make sure players know which goal they're shooting at before allowing a free kick to take place.

Since the purpose of my articles is to educate the soccer world and force my opinions on everyone, I would be happy for you to reprint any of my articles as you see fit. Please credit "Sam the Soccer Dog, S.D. Soccer Publications, Inc. and SoccerNet".

As for the ref instructing young players question...

Making a few remarks to help the players better understand the game is fine. My concern lies with the officials instructing the players on technical and tactical points. As a ref you know how important it is to remain objective. It is therefore unacceptable for the refs to overstep their authority and comment to the players on points of coaching. As long as you restrict your commentary to the laws of the game, there is no problem. I think we both agree on this.