I love responding to comments from readers – it’s part of what makes writing a blog fun. But occasionally I find a comment and/or the response warrant a full blown post, so don’t be surprised if you ask an intriguing question and it ends up on Page 1
Recently a parent posted a comment on [...]
Anyone watching the Netherlands v Italy match in Euro 2008 saw a Netherland’s goal allowed that seemed to be offside – except there was an Italian defender out of bounds behind the end line. So many wondered if that player factored into any offside decision. The answer is Yes. The question was did he leave [...]
ÂÂÂÂYou’ve all been at a match like this. The kids are playing, trying their best, and a parent or two are stalking up and down the touchline, shouting instructions to their children constantly. Sometimes their kids ignore them, other times they are distracted by it. Their coach seems indifferent to it. You want to say [...]
Over at the ÂNC-Soccer Forum, Wreave shares an old April Fool’s gag they pulled a few years ago, complete with a dummy website. Anyone who has been involved in youth soccer for a while will appreciate the humor in what he wrote. My favorite?
One minor but important change is that the Law 11 offense formerly [...]
It wouldn’t be the weekend without another uproar over a (supposedly) missed offside call. So the head of the organization that oversees officiating for the English Premiere League, Keith Hackett, penned an article in support of offside and why the recent refinements requiring active play have made a positive impact on the beautiful game. His [...]
Wreave over at the NC Soccer Forum has a 5 question quiz to see if you are ready for the upcoming youth soccer season and any obscure calls that might be made. Check it out. Don’t scroll down until you answer the questions!
Are you ready?
Does it make you cringe when a longtime soccer coach yells at a referee over a call that the coach is a) absolutely wrong about and b) should know better? It’s often said one of the best things for an aspiring youth soccer coach to do is get their Grade 8 Referee Certification. Not only [...]
Offside confuses soccer parents – there is no denying it. I chuckle because I see some soccer parents who played AND have coached, yelling at referees for offside when it clearly wasn’t. So how would you explain offside to soccer parents? Josh at Throughball found a soccer parent asking that very question though he’s not [...]
As you all know, NC finally eliminated offside for U10 play at the Challenge (travel) level. One of the unanswered questions after this decision was made was what the tournaments would do as they weren’t affected by the decision. One of the bigger regional preseason tournaments in Winston-Salem, that used to be Classic only, added [...]
The USSF has released their annual advice to referees related to rule changes enacted buy the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in March. One change in particular will have a major affect on youth soccer parents, especially those who play on travel teams where rules like these are usually stringently enforced:
Law 4 – The Players [...]
North Carolina finally gave in to peer pressure and joined the rest of the country in prohibiting the enforcement of offside in U10 travel soccer (Challenge). I know this is old news for those of you in NC, but I felt it was still worth sharing for everyone else. Longtime readers know that I’ve talked [...]
The second proposal coming up at the next NCYSA Challenge Council meeting is to eliminate offside for U10 match play. This will be the second time this issue is considered, after it was rejected 27-24 last year. This is an issue I have written about before and feel very strongly about. I strongly encourage reading [...]
For years, US Soccer has issued position papers related to the Laws of the Game and things referees should be doing or looking for and highlighting ‘tough call’ scenarios. With the advent of online video, they have started to include YouTube videos as part of the papers which show the situations being discussed. Very cool.
A [...]
When our league was forming, I spent a lot of time visiting the websites of various established soccer leagues, trying to get a handle on what type of modified rules they played by. This was in the midst of the movement to small sided soccer, but regardless of the field size a league used, almost [...]
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