Ref Shortage

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SILVER ELITE
Not sure if this is a question, bitch (it is socalsoccer) or observation.

Kid plays SCDSL F1 Champions. The past 2 weeks we have played with a single ref for our games.

First weekend the ref showed up 30 minutes late and said he was rousted out of bed. The game previous to us ended up as a scrimmage as they had no ref either.

2nd weekend the ref showed up 5-10 minutes late and seemed in a hurry. I didn't have a chance to ask if he was actually scheduled or not.

Both games went on but at the older ages, not having AR's is visibly tough.

Not bitching about the refs themselves but more the scheduling. Is anyone aware if:
1. Refs are scheduled and miss
2. There are issues finding appropriate refs
3. ?

I get #1. Things happen but if there are issues finding refs, should the league be contacting teams before they drive 70+ miles?

Ok, end of my rant
 
Just this weekend I did two games with "club" linesman because we didn't have enough referees. Almost every weekend I've had the same scenario come up. I don't know what area you are in or what age but the referee shortage is real and this is the outcome.
 
Add in the strong economy more people are working and there is less Availability to referee.

I will say this week at the Premier fields at Great Park we’re truly a reflection as to why refs are less interested in doing the job. Between the fans, coaches and players I saw almost every field that I could see the referees having to remove people from the games. This weekend seemed far greater than normal weekends.
 
Not sure if this is a question, bitch (it is socalsoccer) or observation.

Kid plays SCDSL F1 Champions. The past 2 weeks we have played with a single ref for our games.

First weekend the ref showed up 30 minutes late and said he was rousted out of bed. The game previous to us ended up as a scrimmage as they had no ref either.

2nd weekend the ref showed up 5-10 minutes late and seemed in a hurry. I didn't have a chance to ask if he was actually scheduled or not.

Both games went on but at the older ages, not having AR's is visibly tough.

Not bitching about the refs themselves but more the scheduling. Is anyone aware if:
1. Refs are scheduled and miss
2. There are issues finding appropriate refs
3. ?

I get #1. Things happen but if there are issues finding refs, should the league be contacting teams before they drive 70+ miles?

Ok, end of my rant

I've mentioned this before, but we played flight 1 SCDSL a couple years ago and we never had 3 refs, only 1, when our games were in Orange County. Our home games in SD always had 3 refs. In general, the refs we had in SCDSL were of lower quality than what we experienced in other leagues. I just assumed that there was a shortage of refs in the OC, probably not an SCDSL thing, although SCDSL was the most poorly run of leagues we've played in.
 
Americans take alot of what we have in the soccer scene for granted. Latin America and Europe don't always have pristine surfaces. In regards to referees, all amateur games are officiated with one referee!! Only when teams are at the professional level do you see three referees on the field....

I think most of us should get used to this. As for the phrase ref shortage, I think it's more of a shortage of human decency from one side....(ahem parents/coaches/players).

Just the sad fact.
 
Teenage competitive players are the future lifeblood of the referee program. Most pass the test, do well, know the laws, and play soccer themselves. They can try to get a job at McDonald's, or any number of other places for minimum wage of $12/hour.

They can AR a games that they love, for almost $30/hour tax free.* They can center a game for over $40/hr.

So ask: yourself, coaches, and parents on the sideline: Why do most quit after a year or so?
The answer is obvious. It ain't worth it to them.

*tax free meaning there are no deductions. Whether they may owe tax is a separate issue...
 
my son is a ref who prefers rec games. pay is less, but the people are nicer.

make a bad call in rec, and the parents understand. make a bad call in comp? ten adults yell at you.
 
my son is a ref who prefers rec games. pay is less, but the people are nicer.

make a bad call in rec, and the parents understand. make a bad call in comp? ten adults yell at you.

Make a good call in comp on a close play, ten adults yell at you.
 
I think it goes both ways. There are some really bad parents and some really bad referees. Once you are getting paid $30 to $40 per hour a certain level of competency, fitness, knowledge of the laws and game management should be required. And for the bad parents there currently isn't a bad enough punishment for them for getting ejected. Maybe for every parent that gets ejected a coach, assistant coach or team manager gets ejected too. What is the sideline behavior like in other countries with youth soccer?
 
my son is a ref who prefers rec games. pay is less, but the people are nicer.

make a bad call in rec, and the parents understand. make a bad call in comp? ten adults yell at you.
My daughters are the same. Both ref and prefer Rec. Parents think every tournament is world cup and have no issue screaming at a 14 yr old girl when their 9yr old gets called. There is a ref shortage because of bad parents plain and simple. This also feeds the lack of quality refs as the teams have no choice, better to have a bad ref than none at all.
 
. Once you are getting paid $30 to $40 per hour a certain level of competency, fitness, knowledge of the laws and game management should be required.

Too many people use that logic as an excuse to yell at the ref. It doesn’t help. Being yelled at makes most people worse at their job, not better.

Better to ask your coach to report the bad refs. If it is really a problem, the scheduler will try to avoid using them. More likely, the ref just had a different angle than you did, and saw something different.

If bad refs really bug you, take the course and try to be a good ref.
 
I would do that, but right now I'm going to culinary school because the chef overcooked my steak.

When you got your burnt steak, did you scream obscenities at the cooking staff? If so, I’d bet they escorted you out of the restaurant and suggested you not come back.
 
When you got your burnt steak, did you scream obscenities at the cooking staff? If so, I’d bet they escorted you out of the restaurant and suggested you not come back.
Well, in my defense, burnt is a long way from medium rare.
 
The money excuse is poor. Most of you go to a restaurant with crap food and service, and still tip 20%!! Yet, some of you pay $3-7$ in game fees and feel inclined to yell at the ref. Do you yell at the waiter or chef????
 
The money excuse is poor. Most of you go to a restaurant with crap food and service, and still tip 20%!! Yet, some of you pay $3-7$ in game fees and feel inclined to yell at the ref. Do you yell at the waiter or chef????

Don't dispute that refs are leaving because of the abuse (without an AYSO service requirement this year, and with kiddo applying to middle school, I've found myself taking a lot fewer games because I don't need the money and the hassel is just not worth it). Also don't dispute that there are some really bad refs out there that either just aren't competent or don't care (not to mention those that are still on the learning curve but might some day be great). But the soccer and ref issue is larger than just the US. In the UK, there was this summer a case famously where a 14 year old ref had an emotional breakdown because of the taunts he received from coaches and sidelines. And in Spain my relative was telling me how he's retired because he can't stand the abuse either.

Part of it is the coarsening of the culture (with it's go go go speed and the coursing of dialogue...you see it everywhere in say for example how 20 years ago it wasn't acceptable to curse in public and now all the teenagers and adults do it, with the internet helping things along). And while there have been abuse in other sports as well of referees, soccer is uniquely suited to problems because the rules are sometimes subjective and the ball is very fast moving and given the number of players on the field it is very hard for refs to see off ball fouls. Add to that a healthy dose of winning is important and you've set up a powder keg.

But money is an issue of it. Like anything, it's a market, and the supply curve applies which means pay more and you get more supply. With the economy doing well, there are other options for working class refs. The referee taking the assignment weighs the bad aspects of the assignment (the abuse, the time lost with family, wear and tear on body, and opportunity costs to do other things) v. the good aspects (getting paid, the love of the game). So, given that the problem is universal (not just our country and having to do with the culture in general), there really are only 2 things that would make an impact (at least as far as I could see): a zero tolerance side line policy (which means a ton of more people are going to get tossed out because refs have got to start handing out the cards like candy) and paying refs a whole lot more (which means the cost of soccer goes up, which means it's less accessible to those working class players).

You can have your soccer developmental, accessible or competitive (pick 2).
 
Don't dispute that refs are leaving because of the abuse (without an AYSO service requirement this year, and with kiddo applying to middle school, I've found myself taking a lot fewer games because I don't need the money and the hassel is just not worth it). Also don't dispute that there are some really bad refs out there that either just aren't competent or don't care (not to mention those that are still on the learning curve but might some day be great). But the soccer and ref issue is larger than just the US. In the UK, there was this summer a case famously where a 14 year old ref had an emotional breakdown because of the taunts he received from coaches and sidelines. And in Spain my relative was telling me how he's retired because he can't stand the abuse either.

Part of it is the coarsening of the culture (with it's go go go speed and the coursing of dialogue...you see it everywhere in say for example how 20 years ago it wasn't acceptable to curse in public and now all the teenagers and adults do it, with the internet helping things along). And while there have been abuse in other sports as well of referees, soccer is uniquely suited to problems because the rules are sometimes subjective and the ball is very fast moving and given the number of players on the field it is very hard for refs to see off ball fouls. Add to that a healthy dose of winning is important and you've set up a powder keg.

But money is an issue of it. Like anything, it's a market, and the supply curve applies which means pay more and you get more supply. With the economy doing well, there are other options for working class refs. The referee taking the assignment weighs the bad aspects of the assignment (the abuse, the time lost with family, wear and tear on body, and opportunity costs to do other things) v. the good aspects (getting paid, the love of the game). So, given that the problem is universal (not just our country and having to do with the culture in general), there really are only 2 things that would make an impact (at least as far as I could see): a zero tolerance side line policy (which means a ton of more people are going to get tossed out because refs have got to start handing out the cards like candy) and paying refs a whole lot more (which means the cost of soccer goes up, which means it's less accessible to those working class players). Or you could, like AYSO, impose a mandatory service requirement on people (but you get what you pay for).

You can have your soccer developmental, accessible or competitive (pick 2).

Or you could, like AYSO, impose a mandatory service requirement on parents (but you get what you pay for).
 
Americans take alot of what we have in the soccer scene for granted. Latin America and Europe don't always have pristine surfaces. In regards to referees, all amateur games are officiated with one referee!! Only when teams are at the professional level do you see three referees on the field....

I think most of us should get used to this. As for the phrase ref shortage, I think it's more of a shortage of human decency from one side....(ahem parents/coaches/players).

Just the sad fact.

Nobody gives a crap about Latin America or Europe. We are talking about SoCal
 
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