Parent Compliments

[Definitelynotanotherref]

Here's my spicy hot take for the week:

If we referees really believe that parents are uninformed/biased, then we should ignore/dismiss parent compliments just as much as we do parent complaints.

Similar corollary for coaches. If a coach compliments me towards the beginning of the game, sometimes I say "Appreciated coach, but not necessary." In a polite tone of course. I don't want to start the precedent that my calls can be reviewed by coaches.

 

[MWN]

Here's my spicy hot take for the week:

If we referees really believe that parents are uninformed/biased, then we should ignore/dismiss parent compliments just as much as we do parent complaints.

Similar corollary for coaches. If a coach compliments me towards the beginning of the game, sometimes I say "Appreciated coach, but not necessary." In a polite tone of course. I don't want to start the precedent that my calls can be reviewed by coaches.

85% of parents are misinformed or just simply don't know the laws. 15% of parents do and many of those parents are also coaches and/or referees themselves. Parent complements usually come from the 15% of knowledgeable parents. One of my favorite compliments came from a grandmother, who also happened to be the wife of a college soccer coach, she complemented me on my demeanor with the 7v7 players and how I didn't just make a call, but explained why the call was made and also tied 3 sets of shoes during the game.