Refs shortage

Eagle33

Eagle33

PREMIER
So I predicted ref shortage a while back. However with the amount of games and leagues popping up, this becoming a serious issue.
I also noticed that available refs don't give a $$it for the most part (of course there are exceptions). It's either from doing too many games or just being fed up with the whole system.
 
The refs we’ve had in ECNL have been great. Always 3, always in the right position, good control of the games.
My youngers that are still playing in SoCal league have had one ref each game. Only one of them actually moved enough to leave the center circle. I think that’s what Eagle means, they aren’t showing any desire to be in the right position to make calls. Of course, I don’t care much…the short sided games are just glorified practice until you get to 11v11. But I am in the minority there. A lot of U Little parents think every game is the World Cup.
 
Think about refs in following categories:
  • Adult; experienced; in good condition
  • Adult; experienced; aged and not in good condition
  • Adult with no experience (huge thanks from me to those individuals)
  • Youth referee; no experience, not in good condition
  • Youth referee; no experience, in good condition
  • Youth referee; has some experience, in good condition
  • You can come up with a few more
Now, add next conditions for all above-mentioned categories
  • 1st game in the morning
  • 2,3,4 games in the same day - all games went smoothly
  • 2,3,4 games in the same day - at least one game happened to be difficult (what ever the thing was)
  • Cold, hot temperature, and etc.
Now, depending from with what referee/condition combination your team ended up you could tell/predict/ended up with the output of the refereeing quality.
With not giving excuses for some unsatisfied quality in reefing I would suggest to deal with it as an adult.
-Cheers
 
It’s the luck of the draw regarding referees this season. My U17 DD had 2 NPL games this weekend.
Saturday in Temecula- Had 3 referees but it was a mess. The center referee and one of the A/Rs got in an argument during the game because the Center Referee wasn’t paying enough attention to the A/R. Play was stoped for 2-3 minutes during this. After, they kept yelling back and forth throughout the game.

Sunday in Oceanside - Only had one referee probably in his mid to late 20s. Both sides were concerned cause it was the two top teams and it was going to be an intense game which it was. Referee did do a pretty good job especially with the black touchlines for throw-ins. He did t catch everything but no one does. To me, he did the best he could with such a fast pace game. The game next to us was a boys U17 or U18 game with one referee also and that game was crazy with a couple of player fights almost breaking out.
It is frustrating but at least the kids are playing once again.
 
It's hard to blame a ref, who has been doing sixth game in 100 degree heat, for being 50 yards away from play. However, this referee should not be accepting this sixth game of the day.
 
RedCard said:
It’s the luck of the draw regarding referees this season. My U17 DD had 2 NPL games this weekend.
Saturday in Temecula- Had 3 referees but it was a mess. The center referee and one of the A/Rs got in an argument during the game because the Center Referee wasn’t paying enough attention to the A/R. Play was stoped for 2-3 minutes during this. After, they kept yelling back and forth throughout the game.

Sunday in Oceanside - Only had one referee probably in his mid to late 20s. Both sides were concerned cause it was the two top teams and it was going to be an intense game which it was. Referee did do a pretty good job especially with the black touchlines for throw-ins. He did t catch everything but no one does. To me, he did the best he could with such a fast pace game. The game next to us was a boys U17 or U18 game with one referee also and that game was crazy with a couple of player fights almost breaking out.
It is frustrating but at least the kids are playing once again.
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I hate ticky-tack fouls being called. But I think that refs should be more strict in the opening 20 minutes this year. Especially if they are running the game by themselves. It sets the tone for players and coaches to be on their best behavior.
Our Saturday game the ref didn't call much in the beginning. Girls were going in pretty hard and it only got harder (because they could get away with it. And because as the game got into the final 10 minutes, players were tired and sloppy).
 
AFC said:
It's hard to blame a ref, who has been doing sixth game in 100 degree heat, for being 50 yards away from play. However, this referee should not be accepting this sixth game of the day.
Click to expand...
There is a strong possiblity that if the ref did not accept this game, there would not have been a game at all.
 
timbuck said:
I hate ticky-tack fouls being called. But I think that refs should be more strict in the opening 20 minutes this year. Especially if they are running the game by themselves. It sets the tone for players and coaches to be on their best behavior.
Our Saturday game the ref didn't call much in the beginning. Girls were going in pretty hard and it only got harder (because they could get away with it. And because as the game got into the final 10 minutes, players were tired and sloppy).
Click to expand...
Sorry for trying to be funny but let me add a few more for your mentioning "specially if they are running the game by themselves " They better to run faster to be on both end sides for better catching offsides and they must be closer to the ball to better see all those hand balls, tripping, holding, pushing, elbowing, end etc.
But, to be serious, what I don't understand as a referee and a parent why clubs don't step in and try to deal with the referee shortage situation with what they can do. Why don't clubs increase the pressure on the coaches by explaining them that keeping calm is the right thing to do and remind them before every game day. Why clubs don't require for head coach to go and talk to parents before every single game to remind them stay calm end not going after referees during the game. For coaches and parents, if they didn't like the way referee did the game then they can address it after the game via proper channels. Coaches and team managers know or can find out who to talk if you want to give feedback for referees.
One little tiny example from the game I just did for u15 girls NPL teams. The game was going steady, nothing serious in terms of physicality, In the middle of the 2nd half when one team was loosing by one and the girl of the loosing team kicked the ball somewhere from the middle of the field and I was turning my head toward the ball going to penalty area. The next thing I hear is the scream from the coach that his player was pushed after she kicked the ball. I didn't see it so nothing I could do about it. The coach was keep screaming and trying to bring my attention to this episode for the next couple minutes. Guess what, after that, he started screaming at his players and very loudly questioning my calls. It wasn't something big but it could put the game on different path. And I have to tell you that this is not a single isolated case. Something like that happens pretty much in every game regardless of the age or level of play. And, sometimes, it could end up in very ugly way as players and parents pick that up and bring to a different level.
That is not helping, especially, when a new referee sees that and think do I need this. Or, the referee who could still do some games will decides to retire and not to deal with it anymore.
 
SFR said:
But, to be serious, what I don't understand as a referee and a parent why clubs don't step in and try to deal with the referee shortage situation with what they can do. Why don't clubs increase the pressure on the coaches by explaining them that keeping calm is the right thing to do and remind them before every game day. Why clubs don't require for head coach to go and talk to parents before every single game to remind them stay calm end not going after referees during the game. For coaches and parents, if they didn't like the way referee did the game then they can address it after the game via proper channels. Coaches and team managers know or can find out who to talk if you want to give feedback for referees.

That is not helping, especially, when a new referee sees that and think do I need this. Or, the referee who could still do some games will decides to retire and not to deal with it anymore.
Click to expand...
I'm also a parent and a ref. on Sat night there was an email going around of at least 25 games that needed referees. I picked up two extra games late in the afternoon to try and help. At SoCal Sports Complex all the fields around mine were 11v11 games with one referee. One of the fields had a referee who got injured and could not do his last game, we were lucky to find an AR on another field who could step in to help out. I can also speak to not being treated well by coaches this weekend too. It's disheartening that clubs aren't doing a better job of coaching their coaches. My kiddo also referees (6 years now) but won't take many games, the younger refs are treated even worse than the adult refs.

If clubs and parents want better referees, they need to stop yelling and commenting on every play. They need to cheer on the sidelines for their kids. Coaches need to coach. Just my .02
 
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Have lots of people filming/videoing each game nowadays, turn those into assistant refs somehow you might be on to something?

What would parents do? Yell at the camera people or something. That displaced anger has to go somewhere's?
 
lafalafa said:
Speaking of Dying Careers You May Want to Steer Clear Of,. Will officiating technology soon be accurate and affordable enough to be used more widespread?

finance.yahoo.com

Dying Careers You May Want to Steer Clear Of

It’s tough to change, but your job could depend on it. Be flexible in your career goals – and talk with your kids about their own aspirations, because if you want to be employed for the long haul, you need to think about how industries are changing.
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Have lots of people filming/videoing each game nowadays, turn those into assistant refs somehow you might be on to something?

What would parents do? Yell at the camera people or something. That displaced anger has to go somewhere's?
Click to expand...
We'd need to transition refs to Camera bodyguards. I could see a few parents destroying ref cameras.
 
Looks like the Austin Showcase in 2 weeks for the Boys EA teams just got “postpone” due to a lack of referees.
 
rainbow_unicorn said:
Need to increase ref fees to entice refs to come back.
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I'm fine paying refs more.
At the very least- Let's pay them in an amount that ends with a zero.
This is the SoCal ref fee schedule: http://socalsoccerleague.org/_files/Referee Fee Schedule 2021-2022,docx.pdf
Amount per team to pay refs:
2005 and up: $77
2006/2007: $68
2008/2009: $60
2010/2011: $51
2012-2014: $43

Just round up so the team manager doesn't have to stop and get change. Or so we don't expect refs to carry dollar bills to give proper change.
Make it 3 tiers:
11v11: $80
9v9: $70
7v7: $60
 
timbuck said:
I'm fine paying refs more.
At the very least- Let's pay them in an amount that ends with a zero.
This is the SoCal ref fee schedule: http://socalsoccerleague.org/_files/Referee Fee Schedule 2021-2022,docx.pdf
Amount per team to pay refs:
2005 and up: $77
2006/2007: $68
2008/2009: $60
2010/2011: $51
2012-2014: $43

Just round up so the team manager doesn't have to stop and get change. Or so we don't expect refs to carry dollar bills to give proper change.
Make it 3 tiers:
11v11: $80
9v9: $70
7v7: $60
Click to expand...
They break it up per age group because of the time difference of each game but yes, an increase with rounded numbers should be done for the different age groups.
 
Just got this from Calsouth, I assume others did as well. We've only had two MLS Next games and was missing an AR in one (I assume to injury or something since the prior game had a full crew). I felt sorry for the club linesman in our game.


State Referee Committee Response to Referee Shortages in Fall Season​
We are excited to welcome our fall league season. The pandemic affected our soccer community greatly, we want to acknowledge and send our deepest sympathy to those in our community who lost a loved one. As soccer continues to recover from the shutdowns, we want to thank all the club/league administrators, coaches, parents, referees, and players for their commitment to local soccer.
Our State Referee Committee services equally all matches, tournaments, and leagues affiliated with U.S. Soccer in Southern California. We have worked countless hours to recruit, register, train, and mentor referees to provide service for all leagues and tournaments. During the beginning of the shutdowns, we predicted a referee shortage due to many factors pertaining to the pandemic. We communicated to our soccer community with advance notice of these foreseen shortages by email, phone, and social media platforms.
Our current referee registration numbers and participation in our new referee courses are very low compared to past years. We need 6,000 referees to cover all matches in a normal fall season and we have only 60% currently registered. Taking in account referee availability, injuries caused by match overload, increasing sideline referee abuse, other gaming leagues, and COVID concerns, we are in a referee shortage downward spiral.
As the shutdown restrictions were lifted, our SRC and Cal South State Cup Organizers formulated a referee shortage plan of action, and not one Cal South National/State Cup game was short of referees. We recently provided a similar plan for Coast Soccer League and SoCal/Discovery League to ensure all referees/assignors are properly licensed, trained, and risk-managed.
U.S. Soccer Policy 531-8 Section 2-3 refers to using unregistered referees/club linesmen in unforeseen emergency situations; however, this action is not recommended by the SRC or should not be the normal procedure due to the high risk of liability the clubs and leagues potentially could face if a problem occurs. Player safety is our utmost priority and if no registered referee is present, rescheduling is the recommended option.
Coast Soccer League referee coverage has been the model league thus far. CSL staff provide timely schedules for our referee assignors, few game changes, better referee working conditions, minimal referee abuse incidents, and a referee phone application that provides assignors/referees a better opportunity to cover league matches.
For leagues that are having trouble servicing their members with referees, it would be extremely helpful for them to change administrative procedures and provide fair working conditions for their referees and assignors to be effective.
Recently, SoCal staff and the SRC made the decision to mutually pause game distribution involvement with SoCal and Discovery League for a variety of administrative concerns and practices. SoCal game distribution will be done within league administrators. However, we will continue to oversee that referees/assignors are properly certified and to aid in coverage when shortages arise if communicated in a timely manner.
Our mission is to provide equal support to all leagues/tournaments to recruit, train and mentor referees for our local soccer community, as we recover and heal together.
The only way to get out of this shortage is
with the help of the soccer community (you).
Become a referee today!​



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I got that same email and was going to post it.
I think CalSouth is the main organization that trains referees. Now that SoCal League/SCDSL has told CalSouth to "pound sand"- What incentive does CalSouth have to help out the mega-club league?
Does SoCalLeague / US Club Club offer referee training?
I know that CalSouth doesn't do the referee assigning- But can they try and steer refs towards Coast?
 
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