Little Ginny must have noticed the person with the camera on the sideline. Instead of chasing the soccer ball, she left her position and headed toward the camera. She stopped, and as play carried on behind her, posed for photos.

"I like Under-8's. They're cute and they don't quite know what to do," said Jennifer Harrington, a 14-year-old Portsmouth youth soccer referee with three years experience. "Sometimes they just run right off the field."

A couple more such harrowing incidents took place in a beginner's game refereed by Kevin Gaul, who in a couple of weeks, will be entering ninth-grade.

"Sometimes funny things happen," Gaul said. "They'll throw the ball in and say somebody's name. So that person will catch the ball and run around.

"Something else you see is when the ball goes out of bounds, kids will tackle each other to see who get to throw the ball in."

It's up to Gaul and Harrington, just two of 25 youth soccer referees assigned to officiate Portsmouth summer league games, to make sense of the situation and when needed, with the help of coaches, restore order.

"I'm a really good person with kids," Harrington said. "I really like working with them. I like helping them out, completing tasks, reffing them and teaching them how to play soccer."

Show me the money

Most of the referees have at least a year's experience under their belts. And most of them have played soccer, or are still playing soccer. They know the game with or without a whistle in their mouths. But the best thing about refereeing games, besides getting exercise, is getting paid.

"I like the money," said five-year veteran ref Tim Bauchspies. "Sometimes you get $25 for an hour of work."

Harry Livingston, who will be a junior at Portsmouth High School the last day of the month, referees some nights and works in a Newport restaurant other evenings.

"I don't like being in the kitchen," Livingston said. "I like refereeing. I started doing it because I liked soccer and it's kind of fun to watch the kids play. And you make money at the same time."

Kerri Ryan, a possible future accountant and a third-year ref heading into eighth-grade, takes a practical approach to her job and her earnings.

"It's an easy way to start learning how to get used to money," Ryan said. "You can start putting it in the bank earlier. And, I enjoy doing the games."

Youth refs show maturity

The referees, most of whom officiate competitive games in the spring, certainly enjoy the summer games. The players surely like booting around the ball and the coaches, for the most part, also get pleasure from teaching the players the intricacies of soccer in the laid-back league.

Or as Gaul puts it, "It's summer league. They don't take it as seriously."

Most players and coaches are able to control themselves and have a good time. The same can be said for 98 percent of the fans.

Then again the youth refs, on occasion in spring league competitive matches, have witnessed bad manners. When that occurs, the refs have to show their maturity in the face of immature actions by adults.

"Sometimes parents don't always agree with your calls," Livingston said. "Sometimes they get up and get screaming. Sometimes the kids get involved in it to and they start yelling at me.

"Once I had to talk to some parents and tell them to calm down a little bit. But it's okay."

"Some parents get real involved," Ryan said. "Sometimes they try to back-talk your decisions. But usually, they're fine."

Meg Duckett, the referee coordinator for the Portsmouth Youth Soccer Association, said, "It's been really nice this year. There hasn't been as much hyper-competition.

"Competitive games are much different. The kids know what to do in a situation. We teach them to deal with the person directly."

Those situations are few and far between, especially in summer league matches. Most refs can't recall summer-league fans disagreeing with their calls and then vociferously voicing their opinions. As a matter of fact, one ref thinks she has such a good job, she recommends it to others.

"I think anyone who enjoys the game of soccer, whose just looking for a little extra money, should try it," Ryan said. "I think they would enjoy it."

You make the calls

Interested in becoming a soccer referee in Portsmouth? Here are a few guidelines

*Must at least be in sixth grade

*Must pass a referee certification class

*Must be certified by Soccer Rhode Island

*Need not be a Portsmouth resident

*Need not have experience

*Go to www.pysa.com and click on Summer Rec League, then on Ref Info

Referees get raise

Youth soccer referees who officiate Portsmouth Summer Recreation League matches received a boost in pay this summer. Meg Duckett, director of referees, said the change came after she received a letter from one of her referees.

"The letter said he'd prefer to ref Under-8 games because they're shorter and you get the same pay for reffing Under-12 games," Duckett said. "I took it up with the board and they agreed changes were in order."

Pay scale for center referees

U-8 $15 per game

U-10 $15 per game

U-12 $25 per game

U-14 $25 per game

BY STEVE ROGERS

srogers@eastbaynewspapers.com