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

No! But I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night

Post deleted by Kyle Heise

The 2 ref system is do to the fact there are not enough refs in some areas and some schools don't want pay for 3 refs, But I bet you that these same schools would not want 2 refs for basketball or 4 officials for football. Soccer is not very high on the ladder to most ADs.

I agree with this. Pay them more. I read in "The State" once the pay rates of refs in the state. I don't remember exactly, but im pretty sure football refs are paid more than $200 a game while soccer is less than $100, closer to $50 I think. I could be wrong with these numbers, but I know there is a tremendous difference in the pay rates.
But as refs are paid more, they need to be taught better. We complain on these boards day in and day out that the refs are horrible. So if we pay them more they need to be properly prepared, b/c as it is, any one with $50 and a weekend can ref a soccer game.

I think paying refs more would just result in more officials who don't know what they are doing. There would be more just doing it for the money.
What we really need is people who truly care about the sport that are students of the game.
We also need to train our parents and fans to come to the games to cheer on the players not demean the refs.
We all need to understand this: If a parent is demeaning a ref, think what they are saying about certain players, the coaches, etc. If they are willing to say things about perfect strangers, they are probably going to be saying things about others.
A book that I am reading says the most successful people look for positive ways to solve problems without hurting the people involved.
I think some people on this forum are truly looking for a solution to our problem while others just want a forum to rant and rave.
Which are you?

Watch a football game sometime. Higher pay has not led to better reffing.

I don't really think money is the solution.

In a day where a ref works a JV & V set of matches, I believe the pay is probably in the range of $70-$80 for the set, plus mileage. Remove the mileage and deal with only the actual payment for the games, even on the low end $70 for the night.

JV game, 1 hour and 10 min of "work"
Varsity game, 1 hour and 30 min of "work"
pre and post game, 1 hour of "work"

Works out to be approximately $19 per hour. What other "part time profession" requires 1 hour of classroom instruction, pass a test, and less than $50 of admin costs each year, but pays more than $19 per hour?

Many who hang it up tire with the assignment process, working a terrible 2 man system, and spectators who feel it's their right to demean the referees.

Fix the people and the social aspect of how they attend the games, and what is deemed to be acceptable behavior, and you may fix the issue. Each year, in addition to soccer matches, I attend several HS football games and basketball games, and with the exception of the rare instance of the "loud mouth" person demanding the refs head, it's not the same. But attend any soccer match, and often times it's all you hear. Better yet, go to what you feel is a competitive soccer match in your area, where you don't really have a personal connection, and just watch and evaluate how you are as a spectator, compared to those that night. It can be eye opening.

Good point..
Soocer games bring smaller crowds and the spectators can get closer to the fields than say football..I think there is ranting and raving at football but those get lost in the bigger crowd noise and they are not on top of you like in soccer..Refs have never costs us a game and we could not play without them..Next time your team gets a BAD call do the same thing you do when your team gets away with one...
Keep your mouth shut!!

We had good reffing(sp) last night. Jeremy Wills and John Taverina (not sure if I spelled that correctly).

Bear,

Your "assessment" for part time employment, and the training for officials is way off!!
At a minimum, a high school official must complete a 3 day training to become a grade 8 official and to even be eligible to officiate high school. Secondly, he must renew his license
with an eight hr class each year. Third, he has to attend 2 high school league classes each year before the high school season begins, and yes, they have to pass a test each time they take a class.

Just wanted to let you know what requirements had to be completed before they could officiate.

This should be good...Waiting?!