SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Bridge coach at Aiken Tournament

This discussion sounds like antics similar to those in coaches pitch on a little league field, where they have almost as many 'coaches' as players. This 'alleged' physical incident may have been prevented had the referee, early on, warned the coach for the abusive/foul language. That type language is not permitted if it is against your opponent or your own players. I was not there and have no evidence to offer in this matter. Yet, as a ref, there are a number of coaches who come to games with chips on their respective shoulders and attempt to intimidate referees as much as than can get away with. Maybe a stern 1st warning, followed by a toss for second offense would have avoided any subsequent physical incident. The game is to be played by guys/gals and controlled by refs, not by any coaches. All concerned should view, play and coach the games with a competitive spirit, tempered with rational conduct. We should have a greater appreciation for the 'beautiful' game that involves much skill and technique and team work. Soccer is a great and fun sport if coached and played in the proper spirit.

'To say that these men paid their shillings to watch twenty-two hirelings kick a ball is merely to say that a violin is wood and catgut, that Hamlet is so much paper and ink.' ~J.B. Priestley, The Good Companions, 1928

There is no place for abusive or offensive language on the soccer field. I have recently tossed a couple of coaches up here in WI for swearing. I don't tolerate it, and it is not a part of the game that I enjoy. It sounds like some refs need to grow a pair and take control of the coaches a little more. It is unfortunate when coaches act like that, it shows the players that they need to treat the refs like that too. A stern warning and an ejection would have most likely been warranted for this behavior from the coach. As for the possibility of hitting a player, the coach should not have been that close to the field. If he stepped onto the field, toss him. As a ref, you control who enters and leaves the field of play. Make sure the coaches have a box they can stand in, and make sure they are within it. I know up here in my recertification clinic that I just attended for 06', this was a huge topic in WI. They are having problems with coaches walking onto the fields, and there have been a lot of coaches tossed for this over the past couple of months. There needs to be a crack down on this type of behavior. We don't need soccer to regress into a sport dominated by thugs.

Soccerboy

wow, we actually agree on something. that might be a first.

Here is a discussion of the incident on a Georgia website. In case the link does not work, you can google Georgia Soccer Forum and get there. Its on page 3

http://www.network54.com/Forum/171923?it=2

You will have to scroll down the page until you get to the topic

"Coach strikes opposing player at Aiken Tournament."

Dexter, okay...maybe I was being a TAD sarcastic with my post. The main point I was trying to make was that any number of people can witness the same incident, but each person will paint a slightly different, to completely opposite, picture of the same scene. This doesn't mean that NOTHING happened, only that we are human, and we all see things from a different perspective.

A very good example (yes, another one - but, this one is real) would be the great discussion on these boards after the Irmo-S.Aiken State Championship game some months ago. I can’t find the link to it now, but somewhere out there is posted a video clip of a questionable goal. Okay, there is no question that a goal was awarded by the referee, but whether the ball actually crossed the goal line, and whether a S.Aiken defender kept the ball out of the goal illegally, IS in question. I have seen the video numerous times, and I have read numerous posts stating that one thing or the other “obviously” happened “because it’s right there on video.” “Look at the shadows,” “Look at the angle,” etc. An entire stadium witnessed the incident, but it’s amazing how many differents descriptions of the same incident there are.

I have seen the coach in question (back to this subject) at practices and at games many times. Now, I’m not going to be like the parent in the news who says their “wonderful, sweet child would never ever hurt a flea,” while that same sweet child is on trial for murder. No, I don’t “know” everything about this coach, but if you lined him up with a hundred other coaches from around the state and asked me to rank them according to their propensity for aggressive behavior, he would be very near the opposite end.

Tommyboy, I don’t think Carson was accusing the player of intentionally running into the flailing arms of this coach – I believe he was merely suggesting that when the incident happened, the kid took advantage of it to the fullest. NOTREBMALHH gives a good example of how easy it is to manipulate people when the circumstances are ripe. This is one of the reasons I love my TiVo – in the middle of pretty much any EPL game, there will some some contact between players, and one of them will dive backwards as if hit between the eyes with a sledgehammer. Funny thing is, when I play it back in slow-mo, I usually don’t see any (or much) contact at all. The fans in the stands don’t have TiVo – what do you think they see?

Dexter, I know this one will also sound like a “second gunman theory,” but regarding the “cursing,” I have seen first-hand (and you can quote me on this) how this could possibly be a “mis-interpretation.” As I mentioned, I have spent a good amount of time around a few of the Tobagoan coaches in the area. They tend to have very strong accents, and there are plenty of words they say that just do not come out right. I watched one game in particular where I was asked afterwards by more than one spectator what I thought about the coach’s foul language. Fact is, there WAS no foul language. After said spectator went through the words they heard, I gave them the translation of what was actually said. I, myself, have listened to them talk, and on more than one occasion, perked up when I “couldn’t believe” what they just said, only to realize what the actual word was several minutes later. I am sure that you will not believe me until you witness it yourself, but it is true – I am not exaggerating.

Okay, I have finally come to the end. I am NOT saying that the above is what actually happened, and I am not saying that nothing happened – I am merely suggesting that what APPEARS to be OBVIOUS is not always so. Do not believe everything you hear, even if it is from a witness – remember, there are three sides to every story – his, hers, and the truth.

Lowerstate4A, you are right, this is a first! And with gas prices approaching $3.00 a gallon everywhere, it must be the end of the world!

Please allow me to clarify what I said in my previous post. "The other side of this story is" means that this is what I heard in the coach's defense...right or wrong. I don't know what happenned b/c I wasn't there. I was just mearly defending BridgeFA's use of the term "alleged" before someone is oficially conviced of something. Also, I figured this board deserves all of the information (or alleged information) that's out there.
I'm glad you got a laugh, tommyboy, but I wasn't trying to be funny. If I were, I would have posted:
A farmer was milking his cow. He was just starting to get a good rhythm going when a bug flew into the barn and started circling his head. Suddenly, the bug flew into the cow's ear. The farmer didn't think much about it, until the bug squirted out into his bucket. It went in one ear and out the udder.

Any word on what the final outcome of this mess. I notice that Santana is no longer listed on the Bridge website anywhere. was this bridge's doing or did SCYSA come down on this?

Lowerstate4a,

I went to the GA forum just to see what they had to say. I want to say that I am SO thankful to be in SC and have the parents that we have. Those people are crazy and really need to get on some meds.

Later

I have to agree with you chapin. The Atlanta teams may still be ahead of SC teams in quality, but we will soon catch them. But, I hope we never get as crazy as the GA crowd. This GA forum post sounds like something right out of the Red Neck League:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=171923&messageid=1125259466

I agree 100% but i think part of that is because of the way the board is set up. A couple of years ago, Kyle was using a different board where you did not need a username. It was pretty much chaos and alot of trash talking going on. Kyle definitely made the right decision when he went to this type of board.