Question Number: 17488

Mechanics 10/24/2007

RE: Competitive Under 15

Stan of Sebastian, FL USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 17421

In follow up [17421] , neither of the boys was injured - thankfully. The referee crew appeared to be new, inexperienced young ladies (about 16). After the game, it appeared the assignor or some assessor was there to give them much needed feedback.

My son was the perpetrator of the retaliation. I felt he deserved a caution at the least because we do not teach nor do we condone such behavior. He is also a referee and he knows Law 12. He agreed with me and was shocked when nothing was called. He is now serving a "Dad's" Red Card Chore increase in penance.

In our club, we always make sure that young referees are given 1 adult ref in their crew to monitor and address these issues on the pitch. Does USSF have any guidelines for assignors on this matter? Again, no one was injured, but it could have really gotten nasty.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

All games are supposed to be assigned by certified USSF assignors, and USSF most emphatically does have guidelines which are taught to the assignors. However, just as there are some referees who ignore the Law changes from year to year, there are assignors who have their own way of doing things. Some subscribe to the "any warm body" theory of assigning. Not every league uses trained assignors, either. Good Ol Joe has been doing it since dirt was new, and why in the world would we replace him just because he isn't certified?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

It is good that no one was hurt. Coaches are often perplexed what to do when the referee fails to intervene. If coaches would simply agree with each other to tell their players to cut the crap thern the referee's inattention would not have as much impact!

USSF has a training program for assigning so one would say yes some fundemental logic would apply but often a lack of participants trickle down to lower matches recieving warm fresh meat instead of a well trained referee unless the local league has a performance mentor type operation in progress. One could promote the 1 adult mentor and 3 referees acting as a 4 man crew. Rotating different positions as a teaching experience, generally seeing how much easier a game is with 4 officials then just 1 or even 3 inexperienced without a 4 th.

In youth matches at tournaments we often try to have a 4 man crew work 4 games on a single field rotating through the 4 games in each position Ref, AR senior, AR junior, 4th. Each referee receives $100.00 plus food and if required lodging. The referees are not over worked and get to appreciate how a team of officials actually functions. I enjoy this working directly with them not just standing around and watching. A video to record the actions of the officials could be useful. One could use a note pad or tape recorder to keep notes in actual matches when we are participating as mentors not just assessing.
Keep in mind mentoring is encouraging and improving the referees, assessing is seeing if the mentor is doing his job well.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Thank goodness no one was hurt and I applaud your attitude. Yes there are guidelines but the reality is there are not enough experienced referees to go around in most areas. I would hope at a Select U15 an adult or very experienced younger referee would be in center but that is sometimes impossible. My local club has lost many of our adult referees who have tired of the attitude of coaches and parents and now do only adult league games where the pay is better and you only have to deal with the players. Also, small-sided soccer has effectively destroyed our training ground for younger referees and many end up in games they are not qualified to do. The mentoring system that was in place in a lot of areas as little as 7 years ago seems to have gone by the wayside. This is a shame as there's little hands on guidance for these youngsters coming along. They too end up quitting out of frustration.