Referee’s endure an unacceptable amount of abuse from overzealous soccer coaches and parents. But there also are referees who just don’t take their responsibility seriously, and a recent forum poster lets off an epic rant on many of the reasons why they should.
Entries Tagged ‘Referees’
Insights On Becoming A Referee
Charlie Slagle, the CEO of North Carolina’s largest soccer league, Capital Area Soccer League (CASL), has a soccer radio show that is broadcast every Saturday morning at 7AM called Back of the Net. His most recent show looks into what is required to become a soccer referee and how far you can go.
Tackling From Behind
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 [...]
Will High Gas Prices Worsen The Ref Shortage?
With gas prices near $4/gallon in many places, the cost of driving even short distances is starting to be measured in dollars, not cents. Just driving to and from practices can start to add up for many coaches and families. But one other group is starting to feel the pinch – referees. With gas prices [...]
The Venn of Soccer
Anne Glamore of My Tiny Kingdom has narrowed down the benefits of youth soccer into a simple Venn Diagram
Halftime LOTG Quiz
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 [...]
Tell Your Parents (and Coaches) About The PIG
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 [...]
Aggravated Battery = Felony. Soccer Parents Beware.
The Ref posted a few links about this last fall and even now it’s still amazing. In a U8 soccer match, after a player was hurt after a collision and the referee didn’t call a foul, a soccer mom came onto the field to argue with him. As the referee continually asked the woman to [...]
Easing Up On Youth Referees
Over at The RefBlog, The Ref has been doing a ‘best of 2007′ series and he highlighted an excellent post he did last year about how the worst behavior exhibited towards referees seems to come from youth matches, not adult now professional matches:
The only thing that really caught my attention to the article was at [...]
Are You Ready for the Season?
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?
NCSRA Referee Mentoring Program
Since we’re talking about referees this morning… At the recent NCYSA Annual General Meeting, two international FIFA referees (Kim Oberle and Sandra Serafini) presented a new program they are championing in North Carolina called the NCSRA Referee Mentor Program. The program is designed to take referees who want to go beyond entry level and help [...]
When The Laws of the Game Just Aren’t Enough
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 [...]
The Ref’s Cell Phone
I would never advocate heckling a referee, but this is funny:
NFHS game a couple of years ago. Game going well, decent crowd, nothing really unusual. Crowd is relatively loud, but it’s just all background noise. Until, all of a sudden, a hush falls over the stadium and you hear this one loud voice from the [...]
Youth Soccer Coaches ARE Employees
I wrote a while back about a soccer league that had been severely penalized by the IRS for improperly classifying youth soccer coaches as independent contractors instead of as employees:
For the past two years, the association has been grappling with an I.R.S. audit that found the association failed to withhold taxes for a dozen paid [...]
