Question Number: 22207

Character, Attitude and Control 10/11/2009

RE: Rec Under 13

Parent/Coach of Middle, Tn US asks...

This question is a follow up to question 22185

Ref Dawson makes an interesting statement. While obviously the ref controls the game, at the same time, the refs for many youth rec games are in fact still children themselves, only a couple of years older than the players. At what point does adult leadership need to step in? As coaches and parents, we should respect the ref's position on the field, but sometimes they are beyond their capability. I have two examples from my daughter. When she was U10, she played rec. During a game she (keeper) dove on a ball. Two opponents continued to kick until the ball was free. The teenage ref didn't know to stop play. Result -- trip to emergency room and two cracked ribs. My daughter is older and plays at a higher level now so of course there is more let play continue for a while before stopping play, but recently she was injured (cast + six week physical therapy). In this case the injury was in the 'stuff happens' category, but the ref never stopped play. Her coach had to go on the field and carry her off (we're not talking seconds here, but several minutes to go on the field, assess, and carry her off, all the while with play continuing. Ref's reason was play had moved to the other end of the field and treating her didn't interfere with play.

You probably didn't want to read all that background, but I coach the younger rec players. I want them to respect the ref's authority, but the question is, at what point does my duty as an adult to protect the little kids override my requirement to follow the ref's authority?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If as a coach (or parent) you feel that the referee is letting things get too far out of hand, you have two choices:
-- do nothing and hope nothing happens
-- pull your team (child) from the field.

Obviously that second choice must be carefully considered. A coach that pulls the team will no doubt be called upon by the club and league to explain the situation. You had better be sure the situation was a clear and present danger to life and limb.

For the U-littles, refs should stop play for boo-boos; the players need a little time with coach or parent for reassurance. As the players get older, U12 and U14, they should be expected to work through those minor bumps and bruises. Many parents don't see it that way though - they think that if their Jessica went down at U6 and play was stopped, the same thing should happen at U13. One of my pet peeves is a coach calling out, 'If you're hurt, go down!' If the player can't tell without the input of the coach whether she is hurt or not, she's not seriously hurting.

Obviously referees should stop play for serious situations - blood, apparent broken bones, unconsciousness - at all levels of play. It's for the less serious hurts that the referee needs to learn discretion. And there is the same learning curve for new referees as exists for new players. It takes time to develop.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Responsibility, accountability and consequences!
The accountability to act reasonably in unreasonable circumstances is a defining characteristic in the pursuit of excellence.
As adults our responsibility to help a young referee develop a sense of accountability is to promote excellence in everything we do or say! Leagues that provide for input, monitoring and training need to make the resources available to record and report and fix the problems rather than assign blame for who is at fault!

The authority of the referee, like any authority, is accepted by the participants guided by the reasonable behaviour outlined in the LO TG.(Laws of the game) This is no different than the political reality of government where we limit our desire to do anything we want (substitute *chaos* in there) in accordance with the rights of everyone to live a reasonable life. Most of us accept the constraints of allowing a referee, who is neutral, to make decisions regarding g the game. No matter our own perspective of right or wrong it is the only way a match can be played to conclusion. If we are allowed to dispute every call, then the game cannot be played. Yet civil disobedience is when we accept talking the laws into out own hands for the greater good. This is great as long as it IS actually in the GREATER GOOD category. To often the excuse to resist authority is SELF interest or perceived interest rather than the common good!

The LOTG require the referee to be the arbitrator of justice on that day, at that time, yet circumstances will create controversial or perhaps situations what I refer to as a "No brainer!" Something so obviously requiring out attention it is not thought about so much as acted upon. The head injury where a player lapses directly into unconsciousness or a bone break or a cry of pain of such anguish it makes out hair stand on end. Lightening for example or a pitch so frozen the player are skating. You might think these are NO brainers! If it happens out of sight or ear shot of the official? Put a shadow over a portion of the pitch creates partial freeze conditions? Lightening in the distance? Now the line of clarity blurs as to whether to continue or not and who has authority is inconsequential.

I often say that self respect is the gift we give ourselves because it cannot be taken; only given away. This in essence is our integrity in we know what we think we are. I have never knowingly set out to hurt anyone yet I have! I have never set out to call a game poorly yet I have! I recognize these things because I know them to be true. Perception of others though is not always based on the truth as you know it but through the red mist of what are usually volatile opinions as others choose to see it! It is very difficult to set aside emotions and passion these are often exacerbated even further by the NEEDS which drive the participants to a result in a competitive environment

In fact POLICY and by laws are the attempts to regulate the external forces affecting a match to minimize confrontation! I have as a coach refused to play on a field that was frozen! As a referee I walked off the field when the tournament officials said they would tell me when we would shut down due to a thunder storm! As a coach I have been threatened with expulsion for berating an official who had serious foul recognition deficiencies where my players were being injured and afforded no protection from the SFP or VC that was not being dealt with. I understood the no abuse policy! I knew my actions had consequences! Circumstances are what they are!
The point here it is immaterial who is at fault or where to find blame. One can perceive to seek whatever justification they wish, in the end, YOU OWN your actions!

As adults we need to SUPPORT the referee if he is a youth in charge of OUR children his responsibilities for this 2 hours of accountability do not end our own accountability but magnify it to the degree of importance on the way we DEMONSTRATE our responsibilities, conduct and attitude to our children to deal with adversity or uncomfortable situations. Respect for authority of the position be it (coach, official, player or parent) and the respect for the person who is in those roles, it is our responsibility to hold each other accountable! Self righteous are those that are so sure they are right that righteousness shall evade them, never knowing the wrong! Critical and poignant is the realization of so sure of being right that we can not accept the truth of being wrong!

A prayer to you and your family that soccer remains fun, safe and good heath to all

Cheers>

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Always a difficult situation to deal with. Hopefully the many ongoing training programmes for young referees help to improve the situation particularly in underage games.
One possible solution is for both coaches to agree pre match an understanding of how injuries should be dealt with.
I'm sure that if the ref is asked in the pre match discussion to outline his policy on injuries and how that matches the 'understanding' reached by the coaches, then it can be implemented quite easily in a game situation. If both teams are happy for the ref to stop immediately on an injury I don't see a problem. If coaches came to me and said something like 'Ref we would like for you to stop immediately on all injuries. We understand it is your call however we would like you to deal with any player that's down immediately to see if they need assistance. Is that okay' Would I have a problem with that? No
At underage I stop for every player that is down injured and coaches soon learn that player safety is more important than continuing the game. I have never had anyone ever complain to me about stopping for an injury and that's a message I give to young referees.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

As a parent, I understand the dilemma. We want to protect our children from injury in a game where collisions are common. Referees are slow to stop the game because they believe (wrongly sometimes) that the injury is not serious. Even professional referees can err in allowing play to proceed.

I don't agree, however, with the assumption that a teenage referee cannot handle the situation and therefore an adult must step in to do the referee's job. First, it isn't a matter of age or experience. The teenagers are players and know exactly what injuries occur and how players feel.

Second, all referees should focus on the PLAYERS reaction to an injury and when the players expect play to be stopped, rather than the PARENT'S reaction. Even though I am very quick to stop play under 12 and over 30, it is very rare that it makes any difference to the player's safety if play stopped when I blew the whistle or if I waited until the ball was out of play. I stop play because the game ceases to be fun when someone is hurt and needs attention.

Injuries to the head or chest that lead to loss of consciousness are different. They require immediate attention, and the time to initiate emergency medical response needs to be short. My instruction on matches with professional trainers is that if I don't correctly evaluate a situation in which there is a loss of consciousness, they have pre-permission to enter the field before I wave them on. Frankly, if a coach sees an unconscious player, it may be better to seek forgiveness for entering the field too soon than waiting too long for permission.

In most matches, what the coach has that the referee may lack is specific information about what has happened. What has creeped into our game is the player who is slow to get up as a form of dissent when the player believes a foul should have been called. The referee can misjudge the player who is down because they are mad, from the ones truly injured. 'Referee, number 6 behind you is still down and hit her head. Can I check her?' lets the referee know which this is.

I'm sorry to hear about the injuries to your daughters. My sons were both keepers, and I recall the anxious trips both to the hospital and to physical therapy sessions.