HS Referees

[Unregistered]

Correct, and the response to the 10% compared to the 90% is different how? Oh... That's right, it's not. The arrogance is in the presumption that you're always talking to the 90%, which is just as flawed as the defense of all officiating being the same.

There are excellent referees and there are incompetent ones. The fan who would suggest they know and can see as well as the official is foolish and there isn't much point to any conversation. The official that is no less rigid in their view, that would be dismissive of any criticism as invalid is just as flawed, and as such, there's not much point to any discussion with them either.

The fact of the matter is that the quality of officiating is not the same, not equal from the outset based on the fact that not all officials are equally capable. The vast majority are between adequate and excellent and vastly under-appreciated by parents and coaches.

My biggest complaint is based on watching varsity and sub-varsity matches for several years and seeing a troubling trend, confirmed in conversation with other officials, that there is a bottleneck at the top based on seniority. My argument is that quality of matches suffers and worse the safety of players is at stake if nothing changes when it comes to those exceptionally poor referees getting the assignments they get.

Half of what the refs complain about is just the normal moans and groans of a partisan crowd. Too many have rabbit ears and good number of them arrogantly want to take on the crowd to prove their authority.

I was at a high school game recently where the AR made about 4-5 pretty questionable calls (ie calling off sides from 4-5 steps behind, calling balls out when they were still in, etc). The worst of which was either a handball in the box or a take down by the keeper (ball was played back by defender and keeper went through attacker to grab it) in the last seconds of a game that he didn't have the balls to call. It is what is it. If they were great officials they wouldn't be doing high school games. The thing about questionable calls though is they do cause a commotion on the sidelines. It's a natural response that should just be ignored. Too many times it's not and it what happens is really the officials fault.

The real problem in that game was the AR reacted to those normal moans and groans and started jawing at the crowd telling them they didn't know what they were talking about. One of the guys he happened to direct his ire at happened to be a former long time club coach who was a collegiate hall of fame player. Granted he might not know the rules of the game as intimately as a ref should but he certainly knows the game. He had an opinion and shot it right back at which point that AR got into his face and started jawing at him. He actually caused the problem himself and I bet he went home and told all his ref buddies how awful the crowd was. That guy shouldn't be working as a ref if he can't hold it together in that type of situation and the game suffers because he does still get assignments.

[Unregistered]

About 90% of the complaints from the sidelines are for calls that cannot be seen clearly by the fans. BTW - you clearly don't understand the differences in HS officiating. Because of the half field split you don't run as much as when you are a CR in a 3 man crew. Amazing that you don't know this. You have to balance covering the last defender with proximity to the ball. This is one of the primary shortcomings of the 2 man system. You have to give a little up on both accounts. But then you watch so much soccer you were aware of this right?

Is that why all the HS refs are octagenarians or 300lbs? Is running not allowed in the two man system or simply discouraged?

I am fully aware of the limitations of the two man system. I have seen very good referees who take the game seriously do a very good job in the two man. It takes hustle. More often than not I see guys who if you paid them to stay in their car, they would take the money and take a nap.

[Unregistered]

Half of what the refs complain about is just the normal moans and groans of a partisan crowd. Too many have rabbit ears and good number of them arrogantly want to take on the crowd to prove their authority.

I was at a high school game recently where the AR made about 4-5 pretty questionable calls (ie calling off sides from 4-5 steps behind, calling balls out when they were still in, etc). The worst of which was either a handball in the box or a take down by the keeper (ball was played back by defender and keeper went through attacker to grab it) in the last seconds of a game that he didn't have the balls to call. It is what is it. If they were great officials they wouldn't be doing high school games. The thing about questionable calls though is they do cause a commotion on the sidelines. It's a natural response that should just be ignored. Too many times it's not and it what happens is really the officials fault.

The real problem in that game was the AR reacted to those normal moans and groans and started jawing at the crowd telling them they didn't know what they were talking about. One of the guys he happened to direct his ire at happened to be a former long time club coach who was a collegiate hall of fame player. Granted he might not know the rules of the game as intimately as a ref should but he certainly knows the game. He had an opinion and shot it right back at which point that AR got into his face and started jawing at him. He actually caused the problem himself and I bet he went home and told all his ref buddies how awful the crowd was. That guy shouldn't be working as a ref if he can't hold it together in that type of situation and the game suffers because he does still get assignments.

Fail. HS games in MA don't have "AR's".....

[Unregistered]

Fail. HS games in MA don't have "AR's".....

ISL does. One big reason there are less injuries in that league.

[Unregistered]

Half of what the refs complain about is just the normal moans and groans of a partisan crowd. Too many have rabbit ears and good number of them arrogantly want to take on the crowd to prove their authority.

I was at a high school game recently where the AR made about 4-5 pretty questionable calls (ie calling off sides from 4-5 steps behind, calling balls out when they were still in, etc). The worst of which was either a handball in the box or a take down by the keeper (ball was played back by defender and keeper went through attacker to grab it) in the last seconds of a game that he didn't have the balls to call. It is what is it. If they were great officials they wouldn't be doing high school games. The thing about questionable calls though is they do cause a commotion on the sidelines. It's a natural response that should just be ignored. Too many times it's not and it what happens is really the officials fault.

The real problem in that game was the AR reacted to those normal moans and groans and started jawing at the crowd telling them they didn't know what they were talking about. One of the guys he happened to direct his ire at happened to be a former long time club coach who was a collegiate hall of fame player. Granted he might not know the rules of the game as intimately as a ref should but he certainly knows the game. He had an opinion and shot it right back at which point that AR got into his face and started jawing at him. He actually caused the problem himself and I bet he went home and told all his ref buddies how awful the crowd was. That guy shouldn't be working as a ref if he can't hold it together in that type of situation and the game suffers because he does still get assignments.

Handball.... LOL.... Not even in the laws dude. Handling is. Bet you are one of those people who screams handball everytime a ball touches somebody's hand. What a joke....

As for the ex-players? Half of them don't even know the LOTG. They can be the worst. I had a high level club coach freak out on me once because I carded one of his players for persistent infringement. He insisted I made the law up.

[Unregistered]

Handball.... LOL.... Not even in the laws dude. Handling is. Bet you are one of those people who screams handball everytime a ball touches somebody's hand. What a joke....

As for the ex-players? Half of them don't even know the LOTG. They can be the worst. I had a high level club coach freak out on me once because I carded one of his players for persistent infringement. He insisted I made the law up.

Dude ... Arent you so smart! Bet they cal you the Pope because you are infallible.

[Unregistered]

ISL does. One big reason there are less injuries in that league.

No. There are less injuries because the pace of the game is typically slower. Soccer is a hobby and not terribly competitive at most of the schools. One step up from intramurals. But of course if you have empirical evidence to prove your assertion I am all ears.

[Unregistered]

Dude ... Arent you so smart! Bet they cal you the Pope because you are infallible.

I've officiated more games than you will watch in 30 lifetimes.

[Unregistered]

I've officiated more games than you will watch in 30 lifetimes.

The Soccer Ref "God Complex" on full display. What a stupid statement.

[Unregistered]

Handball.... LOL.... Not even in the laws dude. Handling is. Bet you are one of those people who screams handball everytime a ball touches somebody's hand. What a joke....

As for the ex-players? Half of them don't even know the LOTG. They can be the worst. I had a high level club coach freak out on me once because I carded one of his players for persistent infringement. He insisted I made the law up.

Q. If a defender plays a ball back to the gk with their feet and the gk picks it up, what is that under your rules?

Q. If a gk goes through the backside of the attacker and flattens them before getting to the ball, what is that under your rules?

[Unregistered]

No. There are less injuries because the pace of the game is typically slower. Soccer is a hobby and not terribly competitive at most of the schools. One step up from intramurals. But of course if you have empirical evidence to prove your assertion I am all ears.

Poster is either a fool or a troll. In either case, the claim about ISL being poor quality is simply wrong. In fact, a much better brand of soccer is typically on display in ISL matches than in your local HS. Are there exceptions, sure, but I'd stack what you'll find in the ISL up against the typical HS program any day.

[Unregistered]

For all the refs on here talking about the LOTG and relying on that as their ultimate defense, I think it's absurd how infrequent they issue cards and send players off on the girls side when the play warrants it. I've seen 2 instances this season, latest being Nipmuc's GC tripped from behind outside the 18 by the last defender and get awarded a free kick. Coaches were rightfully pissed off.

[Unregistered]

Poster is either a fool or a troll. In either case, the claim about ISL being poor quality is simply wrong. In fact, a much better brand of soccer is typically on display in ISL matches than in your local HS. Are there exceptions, sure, but I'd stack what you'll find in the ISL up against the typical HS program any day.

Sure. ISL is pathetic.