tonight: Briefing for Coaches, Managers and Parents

[Lee Robert]

Briefing for Coaches, Managers and Parents,

In this briefing we want to learn how we can improve the quality of the referees and the enjoyment for all.

The Referee Abuse Prevention policy is punitive, it is a step to reduce abuse so we can retain more referees.

The only solution is communication between the team and referee communities. That is the purpose of this briefing.

If you are interested in gaining a better understanding and being part of the solution you are invited to attend.

Tonight: Wednesday, Aug 6
time: 7:00 pm
Zoom Registration: Click Here to Register

All the best,
Lee

 

[watfly]

Briefing for Coaches, Managers and Parents,

In this briefing we want to learn how we can improve the quality of the referees and the enjoyment for all.

The Referee Abuse Prevention policy is punitive, it is a step to reduce abuse so we can retain more referees.

The only solution is communication between the team and referee communities. That is the purpose of this briefing.

If you are interested in gaining a better understanding and being part of the solution you are invited to attend.

Tonight: Wednesday, Aug 6
time: 7:00 pm
Zoom Registration: Click Here to Register

All the best,
Lee

Has there been any discussion of mandating that teams sit on opposite sides of the field with the parents on the left half of the field to the left of their players' bench. It won't solve the abuse problem, but it will help mitigate direct contact with AR's and give coaches more ability to control parent behavior.

 

[Lee Robert]

Has there been any discussion of mandating that teams sit on opposite sides of the field with the parents on the left half of the field to the left of their players' bench. It won't solve the abuse problem, but it will help mitigate direct contact with AR's and give coaches more ability to control parent behavior.

Some leagues have adopted this, but not all. This is a competition rule.

 

[watfly]

Some leagues have adopted this, but not all. This is a competition rule.

They're effectively all competition rules. Seems like that's something refs would want to promote. It's the simplest and most effective thing that can be done in an attempt to mitigate ref abuse.

The new ref abuse policy is only going to create more instances of conflict if the refs are the ones issuing the ejection from the game directly to the parent and not the team's coach or manager. I'm very skeptical of the policy being effective, and given US Soccer's history of failed policies, failure is probably assured.

 

[watfly]

They're effectively all competition rules. Seems like that's something refs would want to promote. It's the simplest and most effective thing that can be done in an attempt to mitigate ref abuse.

The new ref abuse policy is only going to create more instances of conflict if the refs are the ones issuing the ejection from the game directly to the parent and not the team's coach or manager. I'm very skeptical of the policy being effective, and given US Soccer's history of failed policies, failure is probably assured.

I would also add that, the other problem is it has too many gray areas in the different levels, particularly on the verbal offenses. It may look straightforward on paper, but implementation is going to be more difficult. Let's be perfectly honest, we can't even all agree on the application of the LOTG.

 

[Lee Robert]

I would also add that, the other problem is it has too many gray areas in the different levels, particularly on the verbal offenses. It may look straightforward on paper, but implementation is going to be more difficult. Let's be perfectly honest, we can't even all agree on the application of the LOTG.

if you have not already registered for the briefing, it would be very good to share your viewpoints.

 

[sigmabody]

if you have not already registered for the briefing, it would be very good to share your viewpoints.

Not attending (ironically, I have an overlapping club meeting to attend tonight), but fwiw, it's somewhat unclear what the intent here is. Your initial message describes an "education" meeting, where you talk at parents about how to not express their frustrations when refs make bad calls ("conceal, don't feel", as the saying goes). From that initial description, I didn't get the impression there was going to be any input for viewpoints (which would be largely immaterial anyway, since US Soccer has already mandated the policy and punitive approach).

I'd also be personally curious about how many people attend (and by imprecise approximation, how many people this change is news for). As I noted before, this was circulated within my son's club around six months ago, with several very clear notifications (ie: "this is the policy, no dissent will be tolerated, your child will be punished for your actions, etc."). I personally feel pretty well-informed on the change, but I do also appreciate the efforts to educate others who may not have been so vigorously informed previously.

 

[Surfref]

They're effectively all competition rules. Seems like that's something refs would want to promote. It's the simplest and most effective thing that can be done in an attempt to mitigate ref abuse.

The new ref abuse policy is only going to create more instances of conflict if the refs are the ones issuing the ejection from the game directly to the parent and not the team's coach or manager. I'm very skeptical of the policy being effective, and given US Soccer's history of failed policies, failure is probably assured.

The training provided to the referees is that we do not engage with the parents. The game is to be stopped, both coaches meet with the referee and told what needs to happen and who the offending parent is, then the coach associated with the parent(s) handles the situation. If the coach refuses then the coach can be ejected.

 

[watfly]

The training provided to the referees is that we do not engage with the parents. The game is to be stopped, both coaches meet with the referee and told what needs to happen and who the offending parent is, then the coach associated with the parent(s) handles the situation. If the coach refuses then the coach can be ejected.

That's great to hear.