Question Number: 28621

Law 18 - Common Sense 7/25/2014

RE: High School

Hannah of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey United States of America asks...

What do you think about kids (younger than high school) slide tackling? Do you think that it is appropriate for growing kids to put themselves and others in that danger?

I found that kids are allowed to slide tackle from ages 12 and up. That is only a year after they change to a larger sided field. Doesn't that take away from learning the game and trying to progress their fundamentals?

Do you think 12 is a little young? How often do you see dangerous slide tackling in kid's soccer? What do you do to prevent it from happening again? Or how do you foul them?

Do you think the kids know how to slide tackle or where taught the correct way to do so?

I completely understand that soccer is a contact sport and sometimes it is fun to get into it and be aggressive, but is slide tackling necessary for kids to be doing?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Hannah
There are a number of important stakeholders here. Those include coaches, parents, referees and of course the players. Some young players have little understanding of safety and it is up to those charged with teaching the game to educate the players that safety of themselves and their opponents is paramount.
Referees in a game setting will do their best to ensure player safety. While there is nothing inherently dangerous about a tackle that involves a slide it can be when executed incorrectly in a careless or reckless manner. The wise referee will identify very quickly in a game when a player is placing opponents in danger and he/she will take the necessary action. That will involves speaking with players and advising them as to what is acceptable. It may also involve having a word with a coach about a player's playing attitude. As players get older the introduction of cautions begin to have an effect. The ultimate sanction is to remove a player from the game through a dismissal. Rarely at U12 should this be necessary. When faced with rough play at underage I advise referee to call all fouls even questionable ones. The players soon get the message about what is unacceptable and what is not.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Hanna,
Often the soccer associations in charge of young children, like the older adults matches will place slide tackle restrictions as they are a matter of precise timing and great reflexes. Kids developing them, older guys losing them! LOL!


I hold the opinion, be it correct or not, the most salient point to be made about slide tackling is it generally a last ditched effort by a beaten defender to knock the ball away. Defending players on the ground generally are not defending well and certainly not attacking. It can LOOK cool, it can be fun on slippery surfaces but it is almost ALWAYS risky! It must be perfectly timed and executed flawlessly to NOT draw a foul or worse a card . Kids go to school ! Adults go to work. Both have difficulty doing that if they get creamed at the pitch be it unintentional or not. Uncontrolled momentum is something that can leave a lasting impression

To consider the slide tackle as foul , referees considers if our slide tackler's leg or foot contacts the opponent first , prior to the ball contact. They weigh factors like direction, speed, the judicious angle of the foot in and whether studs are up or aimed at the player before or after the ball is played! Is there deceitful grabbing or tripping with the arm or hands as the players close rank! Was there, extracurricular use of the additional leg, to sweep or trap the opponents' legs! Dare they spot the dreaded two footed, legs extended, missile launch or witness the forceful momentum designed to push his mass directly THROUGH the opponent! This is where the cry of 'I got the ball ref!' really does not excuse a poorly executed slide tackle! Acting like a bowling ball to knock down a player is no different then if you ran over the player and gave him a one arm shiver, knocking him down.

On the flip side of the FAIR/FOUL COIN is the foul recognition by any official who claims to understand the safety parameters must recognize the right of an opponent to play the ball. One certainly CAN slide tackle from every angle in a safe or reasonable fashion, even from behind, toe poked many a ball through an opponents' open set of legs, however, all referees should look very closely at the mechanics of the Slide Tackle. Do not make up a foul on a defending player, who executes a great slide tackle, on a ball that his opponent showed a bit too much of, just because the opponent falls over the body of the tackler after the ball is struck away! This is FAIR contact and the price paid for exposing the ball.


Practise does NOT make perfect! Only perfect practise make perfect. Any football skill and technique requires good instruction, so the kids have a chance of learning good habits. Muscle memory, instinct and a calculative mind set to use the technique within its skill limitations, knowing how is part of it, applying when to do it and when not to is the other!

The mechanics of a good slide tackle have the back lead leg extended toe pointed down! The other leg is bent at the knee following along as a trailing L out in front of the extended leg. If the bent leg is behind the extended leg the pair of legs can act in a scissoring effect. The arms are often up near the face in a warding off or protective shielding, sort of keep the damage to a minimum, as they will pay a price for the attempt, fair or foul, as likely some part of the opponent will be making some sort of contact!

A referee can be proactive at the youth level, not to defy a coach his job, but to educate the children in foul versus fair. Fun, Integrity, Respect, Fair Play just words unless someone gives them life and meaning! The key point is that someone COULD be everyone!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Our local leagues ban slide tackling at U10 and below. In a lot of U12 games I get asked, 'Can we slide tackle?' I ask back, 'I don't know, can you?' Then they sigh and roll their eyes and ask, 'May ...'

But then I go on to say what I meant. Do they already know how to slide tackle? Because this game is not the place to learn. I remind them that if they do it wrong, things can go very bad. About that time the coach chimes in and discourages the kids from attempting it. Which is where we should have been from the beginning.

That said, I remember one U12 game with a player who was pretty good at slide tackles. He got the ball away and kept his legs down - classic good technique. But then he missed and got the opponent's ankle instead of the ball, and I cautioned him - appropriate for that game level since there are very few cautions that happen in U12 rec and it makes the point.