Good refs are invaluable. A couple years ago my son slammed
by wpkirish (2021-04-15 13:02:50)

In reply to: officiating in all sports has gotten worse, IMO  posted by jt

Post Reply Return to Back Room

the ball after what he thought was a bad call. Not in a wind up and throw it manner but a hard two hand slam right back into his hands. The ref who did not make the call came over put his arm around his shoulder and walk him a few feet away and explained why he shouldn't do that and why he wouldn't be doing it again.

Could have called a T which would have hurt the team but handled it in a way that got the lesson thought to a 7th grader.

A good ref has a short memory and a thick skin. Too many show up with an attitude they are going to show who the boss is. Particularly in a community soccer league they should see themselves as part of the education of the game.

Curious on how others view this
by Nobilo  (2021-04-15 13:18:54)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I tend to agree with this poster that at youth levels Ref should be part of education of the game.

It mystifies me in U10 or U11 when the ref doesn’t explain to the players what’s happening. It takes forever for a corner kick or spot kick because the Ref signals and the kids have no idea what to do.

I get the kids need to learn the rules / signals, and the coaches need to devote some time...but at young ages I think the learning curve would improve if the Refs were encouraged to communicate more clearly and “teach” the rules.
That requires mentoring
by wcnitz  (2021-04-15 13:28:37)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

And there just aren't enough referees to do it.

Part of the problem is that for every competition under USSF, if it's 7v7 or 9v9 it still requires 3 referees. Only 5v5 is 1.