Question Number: 29295

Mechanics 4/10/2015

RE: Competitive Under 15

Derek of Cary, IL US of A asks...

After switching from rec to travel, I have found that I am not using the right mindset for competitive games. I first started my ref career in AYSO, which is all volunteer and the refs are as much teachers of the game as they are authority. The kids are not developed yet and they are prone to falling down over their own feet more than being tripped by another player, for example. I have been very lenient in my foul calling because of this, but it seems like competitive teams want you to call everything. I feel like I have to call the slightest trip even if the player continues forward with the attack, or a slight bump that knocks the player off balance momentarily. Writing this all down makes it seem like I know what is a foul, but I don't wish to call it because I don't know how much force is necessary for it to be beyond trifling.

So my questions to you are how strict or lenient should I be for different age groups (up to U14, competitive only), and at what point is a foul not trifling?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Derek
A foul is a foul. Now the referee has to decide if it is trifling meaning that it has little to no effect on the player. If it is a foul the referee can also play advantage as appropriate.
The game by its nature has contact and not all contact is a foul. A bump that unsettles the player can be trifling. If it causes the player to loses control of the ball or effects his subsequent play then that can be called a foul.
Now in the competitive game teams and players are looking for every possible advantage. That can be looking for fouls that don't exist or hedging their bets should a play not go to plan. I certainly believe that as the players get older the less trifling fouls become as the bump is stronger, the player at the receiving end is also stronger so that it does get more obvious what is not trifling.
Now the important part is that as long as the referee is consistent and the same to both sides the bar can be set at what ever level the referee wishes. I have done games where the players start to become aggressive in which case every single possible foul is called both ways. Insignificant fouls and possibly trifling ones get called as well. I also take disciplinary sanction on all misbehaviour so that the players get the message that the game is going to be strictly controlled.
If it is more relaxed I will raise the bar and allow the game to flow with trifling / doubtful fouls ignored.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Dereck,
referees like players, are at various ages and skill levels. The repetitive nature of good habits promote excellence. As an official you have knowledge via the sources you choose to seek out. The classes where you go over the LOTG. The mentors, you listen too! The matches you watch or play in! Sources such as ourselves where you toss out ideas, situations, examples to get a better sense and appreciation of your duties and the game. Such diligence shows your intentions are directed to becoming a better referee.

As you step up in management and skill levels, the speed of play, positioning the interaction between the participants and yourself evolves as you apply your current level of knowledge and experience to each match you do!
I have no way to assess your foul recognition, or situational awareness. I do not know who taught you or what you regard as fair or foul. I suggest though find a good mentor, get assessments and do as you now do, self assess in the post game.

Seek feedback from ALL! Colleagues, players, coaches, parents, try to get a sense of perception ,but do not lose sight not all are fully aware of the LOTG. yourself included! Be wary of accepting all input as absolute fact but overall impressions and consistent themes will appear. Try to avoid thinking you know better, even when you do. Arrogance is not a good trait for an official. There is a difference in being humble versus being humiliated. This applies both to the abuse you receive by those seeking to tear you down and the way you respond to criticism

In trying to convey the truth or explain something, the manner in which we do so speaks as effectively as anything we say . Confidence (humble certainty) + Courage (being unafraid of being wrong, thinking you are right) + Integrity (the wounds of honour are self inflicted)

I dislike the word lenient when you refer to calling fouls. FOULS must be acknowledged at EVERY level. Even at the youth level, those guilty of transgressions force our intervention, they are subject to the consequences of their actions. In the application of the LOTG we can apply compassion, seeking the spirit of fair play and address this as a balance to counter the pain or suffering. Once we are 11 aside the LOTG apply.

Yes there trifling and doubtful incidents where your situational awareness must be sharp enough to define the difference between a needed stoppage, a word or any action required to set a standard or provide guidance. Doing nothing says as much as doing anything when it comes to the decisions on the pitch. Listen to your gut . Instinctive to the reactions of those playing. Communicate with the players! Do not confuse playing advantage with trifling or doubtful. I do not recommend playing advantage UNLESS it is a golden scoring opportunity. Even then, at the youth level, they often scream injustice.

I recall a u-12 girls match in a tournament, a defending player turned and jumped placing her arms above her head the ball struck these raised arms some 10 yards outside the penalty area, right side, but the ball defected to the feet of a free attacker, mid field, twenty yards from goal, no defender within a mile,who had a clear chance to dribble in and shoot one on one.
Upon recognizing the circumstances I arm signalled and called ADVANTAGE!
I was right beside her but because her coaches were screaming for the foul she got scared and was unsure to proceed. Many of the players on the field had stopped, EXPECTING the foul! Tis why I dislike screaming parents and coaches from the touchlines yelling instructions! I told her, 'You go ahead, we are still playing. I yelled PLAY ON! only after she started forward dribbling to the goal and entered into the penalty area and took her shot keeper dove managed to get a hand to it but the ball hit the post and in. GOAL. Perfect use of the advantage right? I had everyone mad at me, including the opposing coach who felt the goal should not count, given there was a deliberate handling foul. Funny, moments before, he was saying in response to the other coaches SCREAMING for a foul that it was not intentional. Sigh, The goal barely mollified the screaming coaches. They were adamant I had no right to give advantage, they wanted the free kick and felt their strong kicker could score as well. Mom and daughter were happy though, her 1st goal in open play! So it was not all bad! lol

There was no LOTG reason to stop play. LAW 5 clearly gave me the right to play advantage . YET in hindsight perhaps it would be a less hostile climate if I did give the expected foul rather than try to educate those perhaps not ready to receive this info? In truth I had exacerbated a problem because NO ONE but me was expecting advantage in a u-12 girls match.

Expectations , yours and theirs do differ! Only by trail and baptism on the pitch will you find that level of certainty you are doing the right thing by allowing play to flow or grabbing it by the throat to calm things down.
I recall a men's match, working as a single referee I had no ARS. I knew it was a tough physical match and I felt it slipping a bit. At the half I was approached by a player who rolled his sock down to show the gashes on his ankle and back of the leg complaining that on the corner kicks his defender was hacking his ankles when my back was turned. The captains I called over, both felt the game was simmering on a low boil. So at the start of the 2nd half I called everything from bad breath to body odor if the contact so much as whiffed a possibility of a foul. I handed out two yellow cards within the first 8 minutes. It seemed to work , gradually I released the play, they responded and we ended the match with all 22 players.

You will need to make a decision at the first foul, best to start tough and ease off, then to do nothing, THEN get mad and try to clamp down. You need to not miss that first CMI (critical match incident) . I have found those participating can forgive our occasional mistakes but are likely to go ballistic at a perceived lack of effort. So communicate, interact in a meaningful way, use your ARs to the best of their abilities and stay open to the ambience of the match! Dissent, as unpleasant as some of it is does tell you something of the things you might be missing.

Cheers

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 32608