Calling the game

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This article was published 14/09/2015 (3928 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It takes a certain strength of character to step onto a playing field to officiate at a game.

After putting yourself on the line, running back and forth, up and down as the play progresses from end to end, the one thing you can be sure on is to get an earful from players, parents and fans who might take umbrage with a call you’ve made. Right or wrong, rain or shine, the ref never wins.

But for Transcona resident Peter A. Manastyrsky Jr., refereeing is much more than merely a hobby or an obligation. For Manastyrsky, officiating is a passion.

“Once the whistle blows and the game starts, it’s hard to explain,” Manastyrsky said.

Reffing is a passion that has seen Manastyrsky, 37, rise from the district ranks of northeast Winnipeg to the national level. This year, he’s been assigned six assistant reffing gigs for the North American Soccer League, calling games in Edmonton and Ottawa.

“It’s a different level,” Manastyrsky, who is the executive director of Manitoba Riding for the Disabled Association by day, said. “The game’s a lot faster than it is here. It’s interesting, but it’s also a little nerve-wracking, too. But you learn to deal with it, the nerves before the game.”

Manastyrsky got into the beautiful game as a kid at Melrose Park Community Centre (480 Kimberly Ave.). He moved up to premier club play as a goalie with Kilcona Soccer Club (now Winnipeg Phoenix FC).

“We won a couple provincial championships, went to club nationals a few times,” he recalled. To pick up a few bucks while staying on the field as a youth, Manastyrsky started reffing mini-soccer games, but fell out of it by the time he was 14. His parents encouraged him to continue reffing, and by the time he was 18, he traded in his goalers gloves for a ref’s whistle, and never looked back.

“I was seeing there was potential to move up,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of people who want to referee any kind of sport.”

Under the mentorship of some of the older refs, Manastyrsky learned the ropes and quickly moved up the ranks, moving from a district to regional, then onto a provincial official.

“It was getting kind of serious, so I figured I might as well continue,” he said.

Manastyrsky said he considers reffing at the Canada Games in Brandon in 1997 as a fourth official and later at the Canada Games in Sherbrooke in the gold medal match as honours. He is also thrilled to be recognized at the national level.

“Soccer’s been really good to me,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of Canada, the only provinces I haven’t been to are P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.”

To give back to the game that’s given him so much, Manastyrsky makes a point of helping up-and-coming young referees.

“We have a good crop of young kids coming up,” Manastyrsky said. “Hector Vergara runs the prospect group. I help assist with other people. It’s about mentoring and developing them. Going out to see how they’re doing, and that the bad habits get corrected.”

For those who are interested in pursuing officiating, Manastyrsky sees a lot of potential.

“There is a need for officials,” he said. “Look at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, that’s a whole new world. There’s a lot of opportunity if you stick with it.”

Next month, Manastyrsky will travel to Calgary to officiate at the club nationals. He said that for now, his goals include remaining at the national level, and to take part in the 2017 Canada Games.

“I just want to keep going as long as I can go, and as long as my wife and family supports it,” he said.

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