Question Number: 30092

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 2/8/2016

RE: Travel Under 9

Mike of Lockport, Ny Usa asks...

My son plays travel soccer, it's his 1st year , 2nd session, has played house for 4 years so he's played for awhile , at a game yesterday himself & another kid from opposite team were racing toward ball , other kid gets there 1st they get feet tangled up and the both fall to the ground, ok foul on my son, referee calls for the coach that our team needs a sub for my son, my first reaction is that when he fell he's bleeding , nope he actually made my son go sit out , is this something normal to do to an 8 year old accidental tripping ?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Mike
Very difficult to say. Certainly on accidental tripping there would be little if any need for sanction other then the award of the foul. Now when officiating underage games, getting the message of safety across is paramount. Perhaps the referee overreacted on the contact and trip, feeling that it was perhaps over exuberant with the late contact causing the foul. Certainly as players get older late challenges are very likely to attract additional sanction.
Look on it this way. Was there a small lesson in there for your son that late fouls can attract a greater sanction than just a free kick or that here was a referee that cared about player welfare and well being including your sons rather than just being indifferent to what happens.
BTW in the UK in small sided games yellow card offences are managed with a blue card which is a two minute timed sit out. My own opinion is that cards are not necessary for ULittles.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Mike.
the exuberance of youth will result in some rash challenges. The coach and referee and Parent must be on the same page when teaching our youth good examples and correct applications. Their cognizant abilities to incorporate certain actions with consequences or control their muscular coordination within a skill set develop slowly over time. One technique we use at the mini level is to ensure a player has the opportunity to develop good techniques is we install good habits. We try to teach the correct way to do things so it becomes an involuntary ability, muscle memory if you will. The mindsets are open to this technique as well where we engage as coaxers to bring about the recognition of fair play.

In your son's case I prefer a more involved solution than a referee telling a coach to sit him. I prefer we, as in coach, referee, and parent to explain the consequences of his actions to make him aware of the safety dynamics rather than say we are punishing you for trying to play a game. Youth often do not grasp they did anything especially wrong so they feel persecuted by adults yelling at them or preventing them from enjoying themselves. We might perceive the entanglement as unsafe, he arrived late, stepped on the back of his opponents foot/ankle while chasing the ball. He sees he was chasing the ball that up until a moment ago the coach and you were likely yelling for him to get to and this other guy was in the way?

As my sage colleague Ref McHugh points out life lessons are big as well as small. Instilling good habits, making many good small corrections to promote awareness and ethics as well as skill and finesse to become part of his character as a player is essential that we are on the same path. Education is not punishment, accepting consequences is not blame and encouraging fair play is a duty we all can get behind .

I do hope the sit out was accompanied by some intelligent discipline not just to blame him as if he was a bad and he is held at fault . The sit out must just be a consequence NOT a judgement! If there is a normal way of educating our youth, I can not say for sure it s practiced intelligently everywhere but understanding and compassion are a necessary part of it.

As a parent who watched his kids I can only say this it is a game ,it is meant to be fun try to keep that in mind!

Cheers