SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer High School Officiating - Is It Getting Worse?

You can do that as soon as you learn to spell.

which word did i misspell?....

I was checking the Arbiter (the website for requesting/assigning/listing officials) this morning when I noticed a link I had overlooked before: "Evaluate Officials."

Being the curious sort, and in light of the recent discussions here, of course I clicked it.

I was greeted, in bright red, by the statement, "No evaluations need to be filled out."

And an "Exit" button.

Kinda figure that says it all.

Is the coach of a team that might have lost the best person to evaluate a referee that might have made several calls the coach was not happy about?

Sometimes not; depends on the coach and how objective he/she can be regardless of wins or losses. In an ideal world, the same person parents trust to educate and mold their children in the ways of sportsmanship wouldn't be the one to turn losing into a sour grapes vendetta against an official who was doing his job to the best of his ability. But then, I know we don't live in an ideal world.

Of course, the coach who may have just won and is grateful for the calls that went in his favor might not be the best person for the evaluation either...

Or the parents in the stands who want their kids to win and whose deepest understanding of the rules is, "we're supposed to get the ball!"

Or the players on the field who are competing not only with each other but with all manner of teenage struggles that may affect their objectivity...

Or even the other officials, who will probably not want to cause dissention amid the ranks and need to protect themselves from retaliatory bad evaluations...

Let's see...who does that leave?

That's always the issue isn't it? The only independent system I know of is the assessor, and even those opinions are tempered. I have had several assessments and found them valuable, but outside creating an independent entity for grading officials it would be difficult to get an unbiased opinion as to the quality of a game that was officiated. Even then, you would have to have an official or a former offical do the evaluation as many of the coaches are not familiar with FIFA or HS rules. Any constructive suggestions would be welcome.

to be fair most high-school refs are not very good

How is that fair? Have you had "most high school refs" officiate your games? If you think that you can do a better job, take a course and become part of the solution. Frankly, I do not think that you will last a season when you find out what you have to deal with. Screaming coaches, obnoxious fans, and teenagers that apparently have not had much parenting based on their level of respect. We welcome your involvement.

Quote:

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If you think that you can do a better job, take a course and become part of the solution

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Achmed thinks that silly thing to say. Most of us peasants contribute to soccer in many ways already and not have time to ref.
Holy Crap - If doctor looks at Achmed’s toe when Achmed has sore throat, is Achmed not allowed to complain? Or does Achmed need doctor degree before complaining.
Why is it when good ref is around, there is not so much screaming coaches, obnoxious fans and badly parented teenagers?
If you did not want to go into the desert, why did you get on camel?