Dang. Leave it to Josh to cut to the chase.

I have refereed at many tournaments and youth events. I am amazed to find the worse of yelling from coaches and parents coming from the younger age group games. Is it really necessary to scream your lungs and chastise your U12 kids for not kicking it hard enough or not scoring. I dont have kids so this is truly a question I have for parents and coaches out there. If it is necessary then I will start preparing myself now. Along the same topic. The referees for these younger games are usually the newer and younger referees. It is a good place for them to cut their teeth on games and get the much needed experience. I know we all want the best referees on games but we dont get to practice our positions. The only way we get better is by doing more and more games. It is there that we can apply the knowledge that we learn in our classes and inservices. That being said I do not understand the insanity that some parents and coaches show when they scream at the young referee. Does it make you feel better about yourself when you do that? Do you walk away thinking “man I really told him?” I know when I walk away from games where a parent is screaming that much I just think about how much of a foul they made themselves look.

As far as Referees needed for High School. The fact is this; we need more of them. The ones who worked my games when I played are still working games and they are in their 50’s. The pool of referees is getting older and we need younger ones to fill in. As stated before it is shockingly easy to become a High School. The more referees we get the more we can put on the field. Most games need 3 referees on them. the 2 man system is not adequate. The 2 referees and 2 ARs is just ridiculous. But many referees drop out because of the politics of high school; Coaches rate the referees, and get to pick the referees for disticts, the referees at the Championships are part of the Good Ole Boy System. There is no assessment and no system set up for advancement. So there are lots of problems with High School officials. But the bottom line is we need more of them. So go take the test and I will see you out on the fields in the fall. I look forward to seeing some new faces.

If high school soccer is to improve, then clear rules must be set. (Is soccer a non-contact sport or another form of rugby? Is running through and taking the legs out from someone jumping to head the ball acceptable, a free kick, or a yellow card?) The rules for high school do not have to be the same as the World Cup’s. Next, more referrees are need per game to enforce the rules. Two referees are not enough. Two referees and two line-men should be the minimum. This would keep a referee in the play and limit some of the action between players away from the ball. This still isn’t close to the number of referees used in most high school football games (six according to Wikipedia) which has the same number of players on the pitch.

I understand that it is difficult to be a referee, but the rules of high school soccer make it much worse that other sports. Until the referees, coaches, and school administrators come to an agreement on the rules and how they will be called consistently game to game throughout the state, nothing will change.

It is hard to respect an official when a clear persistent misunderstanding of rules is apparent. High school refs have no real level of assessment and accountability. I believe referees will improve for high school if and when they assess each other and have coaches assess them using a similar format of the USSF assessment forms. Would you want a mail order teacher? doctor? Many refs are stepping up to leadership without a depth of soccer knowledege. At least make them train via Missouri Referee Development Program, Grade 8 or similar program.

Maybe go to the local associations throughout Missouri and recruit grade 8 refs that have 100 or so games under their belt. Recruiting USSF refs for high school and waiving the fee would also be helpful as they have previously paid in time and money to gain a license that requires more training than MSHSAA. The National Federation of State High School Associations even suggests the practice to gain quality refs. That was a point of emphasis in the NFSHSA 2007-08 soccer rule book.

We can collectively improve the quality of refs by holding them accountable to a standard we all can live with as players, parents and coaches. Continued poor accountablity and no changes in recruiting and training is only going to produce the same very negative decline in the state of of high school soccer officiating. As of now an official has no impetus to improve the knowledge of the game which creates further frustration of players, coaches and parents resulting in harsh criticism and poor sportsmanship. I am guilty. The solutions is for all involved to lobby for recruiting, training, and assessing refs instead of blaming MSHSAA and doing nothing but complaining.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/29/BA05T2GAG.DTL

My hope is that by pointing out these recent events and stories, which I have witnessed in this area in the past three years of providing coverage, that folks will think twice about some of the negative comments that are made. As you also advocate. Thanks!