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Please reread. Nowhere did I say that all "hot" games should get nothing but top officials. I believe I said that I disagree with top officials routinely asking off "hot" games for no reason other than the heat. You should take your share, as they are assigned. No more. No less.

If you go back over the entire thread, I seem to recall saying that EACH game should have a "lead" caliber person, a "young" comparative newcomer and a third. The assigner should know which games figure to be bigger/hotter/tougher/whatever, and assign accordingly.

As to the idea that certain coaches are indirectly punished or disciplined by not getting referees who have asked off their matches ... Wow!

You wonder why many coaches, players and parents don't trust officials. Think about that one for a minute. You're essentially admitting that you hold a grudge and don't mind "punishing" a coach. Where's the possibility that a coach might change for the better WITHOUT your "discipline"? Where do you draw the line?

To me, that borders on a disqualifying bias for ALL matches.
You are essentially asking OFF matches for personal reasons, with the result that you are essentially asking ON to OTHER matches for the same personal reasons. Do you get to pick matches because you like a school/coach/players/parents?

If you can't manage those basic emotions, you shouldn't officiate.

Backscreen, most referees don't "routinely" ask off hot games. Most have places that they don't like to go referee...that's the end of it. Those referees take their share of hard games at other venues, that is all.

Your second point is well taken.

I don't know of any coaches that are punished or disciplined by not getting referees. I do know certain programs that get OK to subpar referees because the "good" referees don't want to go deal with their bush league behavior. It is what it is, but these coaches or programs bring it on themselves.

Of course referees remember what coaches have a tendency to do. Ever heard of the phrase, forgive them but don't forget? That is what we do. I have made a comment to a coach, that even though he gets on my nerves, I will still call a fair game. You can really, really dislike a coach, but still call a good game. I know, I have done it.

If being human is a disqualifier for all matches, you better just go to robots to officiate a match.

BTW, I never ask specifically for a school or coach, I just say where I don't want to go. The rest is done by the assignor. Plus we have to fill out a form about where we went to school, and any personal conflicts with refereeing at any school.

James, I suspect you and I could talk about this on a rational positive basis.
In this thread, I've seen one official admit he asks off games because of real or imagined heat from coaches, fans, etc., and another condone that behavior by suggesting that officials effectively improve coaches' behavior by not taking those assignments. (And letting lesser officials work those games.)
Again, I say WOW!
Now suppose, just suppose, you ask off a match involving Coach X and his band of hooligan players and parents. So someone else -- quite possibly not as qualified -- gets that match and has to deal with the same issues. And because he's not qualified, he misses a call or two, then gets jumped after the game in the parking lot. If I had ducked that game, and subjected a lesser colleague/peer to verbal abuse OR WORSE, I'd hang my head in shame.
Yes, by all means, geography should be a factor in assignments, although the flipside might be perceived homer-ism. And yes, conflicts of interest SHOULD be identified and avoided ON THE FRONT END.
But in the end, good officials, like elite athletes, step up. They rise to a higher level. Anything less calls into question their ability to work ANY game fairly. And that perception KILLS the good refs more than the bad ones.

Why not make it a 2-strike pass. Each Coach gets 2-strikes on officials they would not like to officiate their matches. Each Official would get 2-strikes on schools they would not officiate. Then let the chips fall where they may.

Backscreen, then consider me a bad official. I am OK with that. Just know that when I go home at the end of a game, I know I did a good job.

If an official got jumped after a game, that would be too bad, but that would not be on me (even if I refused the game). I would not hang my head in shame either, I would think.. "no wonder I didn't want to go there and do a game". I have a responsibility to come home to my wife and kids in one piece, and that trumps anything that you can attempt to shame me with.

Feel free to call into question my ability to work any game fairly, and feel free to think that it hurts the referee profession. I can give you a list of coaches, players and other officials that would disagree with that statement. Your blanket statement like that shown above should make you think introspectively why young referees don't continue on....because of ignorant perceptions like you just displayed. It is ideas like that that cause the problems I see at matches.

If you live up to your own expectations that you expect everyone in the soccer community to live up to, I would fully be surprised.

United Parent....that is not a bad idea. At least everyone would know where they stood.

QUOTE:
So in a sense by the "good" officials not doing some teams, they are slowly changing some behavior of coaches, teams, etc.
RESPONSE: You are kidding, right?
Really guys, all this does is pass the buck and punish kids, who deserve better. It rationalizes a poor choice.
I say again ...
Nothing I have suggested here is unrealistic, unfair or onerous. A MODEST fitness check. A MODEST tweak in evaluation. A MODEST call for accountability. A MODEST call to step up.
Most professional people appreciate accountability precisely because it weeds out those colleagues who bring their profession into disrepute. Who are you protecting? Why so defensive?
I Do agree with the classroom/sideline analogy, to a point, though I prefer the classroom/training analogy. The sideline is the "final exam." One thing I'd say about the classroom: as a teacher/coach, I'm expected to give my best to ALL students/athletes, not just those I prefer working with. I don't get to blackball a kid or parent.
I'd point out that coaches do occasionally yell at officials for VALID reasons: 1) To protect their players' physical safety; 2) To make officials aware of potentially unsafe or unfair conditions; 3) Because poor officiating can compromise their coaching careers.
Many coaches (especially at the college level) are evaluated based on wins and losses. They are not "independent contractors" who can turn down scheduled matches because they don't like a long bus ride or a hostile crowd. Years ago, I coached in a league that included an opponent whose adult fans were openly hostile and borderline threatening to some of our players and staff. But we couldn't blackball THEM -- without risking forfeit -- even though it would have saved us a 150-mile round trip and some verbal abuse on game day. So we played, and when we faced that same team at our place, we went out of our way to be hospitable. We considered it a teaching/learning opportunity.
One or two of the whinier officials here would do well to do the same.
That said, I agree with a limited two-way blackball system. Coaches can blackball 1 official per season for "unspecified reasons." Officials can blackball 1 coach OR venue for "unspecified reasons." I can tell you as someone who has coached high school sports that many coaches WILL NOT blackball an official precisely because they're concerned about reprisals from that officials' colleagues.
The bottom line is respect.
I've attended approximately 180 high school, college, club, Academy and pro soccer games over the last four years. In most of those, I've had a dog in the fight. I can't remember the last time I "yelled" at an official. If the crew walked by me on its way out, I thanked them or simply said "good game."
Some here say, be part of the solution. I am trying. Are they? Are you?

kinda new here and new to being a ref.
like both despite flamers.
refs are paid and fill out 1099 forms for public/private hs games, so income is reported to irs.
fans/parents/coaches who cry about every call, be a good sport, there is two sides to every call not just yours
Just like the rest of life, some are better then others,most try to do their best.

This is the same conversation, year over year.

Refs are humans just like everyone else. Some kind of feedback system would be great. You can not expect perfection. Without feed back you cannot expect improvement either.

If you study greatness, feedback is a MUST, (practicing perfect). Surgeons get better with age, and family doctors go the other way,or their skills flatten out. The reason is surgeon gets real feedback, FAST. Family doctors connection to results is not as clear cut.

I have watched hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of matches, both of my kids are physical players. IMHO overall the refs let the girls get away with too much. A cleaner game will be more fun to watch, higher scoring, and will improve creativity, something American soccer needs. "Letting them play", hurts the kids and the game.