SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP refs

Ok, since you decided not to PM me and go ahead and come back on here, I will take the gloves off a bit.

#1) I never said that not giving 100% would ever make the game any worse. If I am doing an easy game, I can give what I would consider 70% effort and still do an effective job of controlling a game. I have never lost control of a game, and if that were to start to happen, I would ratchet it down on the kids and would enforce contol to the upmost extent. You assume that you have to give 100% in every game as a referee...that is not the case. There are games that are just easy, you can go out there, have great rappor with the coach and the players, and everything clicks. I do a great job, and everyone leaves happy. That is what I am talking about.

#2) There are games in which the level of play is subpar, and this does not require diffucult decisions to be made during the game. I can control those games with little effort:
a. Because they are typically newer players
b. Unskilled players are easier to deal with than ones that try to hide the fouls
c. You can't get into a great position on the field with some of the play because you can't read what they are going to do with the ball.
d. Newer players are easier to control on the field.

As you can see, it makes it so you can easily control the game without giving what I would consider 100% effort.

#3) What do I consider 100% effort?

I would consider 100% effort to be a game that you know is going to be challenging, such as some academy games or higher level state cup games...or the ever so fun U-14 and U-15 boys games that can't control their testosterone in an effective manner. You have to stay on top of those games in order to maintain control. In those games, one mistake can snowball into a game that goes downhill fast. This is much different from the "easy" games that don't require you to be totally on top of eveything. You have to control the subs, make sure the coaches are in the technical area, make sure the players are not warming up in the line of sight of the linesman, you have to watch behind the play to make sure there aren't any cheap shots, you have to have complete and total control of the game. That is what requires 100%...and not ever games dictates that as a necessity. So get off your high horse that every games requires that much effort, because I am telling you it does NOT. How do I know this, I have refereed thousands of matches, and have been consistently held in high regards from coaches, players, fans and tournament staff. You can't tell me that I am wrong.

#4) If you tell me I have no pride in what I do, come talk to the referees that I have mentored via our referee association. Come talk to the coaches that I have refereed for, come to the state cup finals games that I have done, come and chat. I am tired of you going on and on about how I have no pride. I am not going to get on here and beat my chest with all of the acheivements that I have recieved over the years, but the list is long. I have a ton of pride.

#5) I have coached soccer and baseball. I have 3 kids, two of which play multiple sports. I laid into a senior referee that was the center for a regional match that I thought did such a poor job and had an injury because of his poor refereeing and told him that he should retire. This cost me the ability to do any playoff games the next year because he was one of the assignors...I knew that was a possibily but did it anyways. I constantly bust my butt at work where we have people that are so lazy that they just hide behind the union protection.

hey soccerboy, this just seems like the ol bait & switch.
your first few posts just invited the wrath like bs17.
i refused to be baited & just assumed your first few posts were not correctly stated..give us a break.
we all know better.

I think that Soccerboy has touched on a sensitive nerve that many of us have. It's not his comments per say, but when it comes to referees, we feel their is no recourse when a bad one lands on our kid's field.

I think so much anger and frustration with the ref's is the fact that they are untouchable. I have NEVER heard of a referee losing his\her license over negligence or unprofessionalism. I have NEVER heard of a ref being reprimanded for negligence or unprofessionalism. We see it from the local level all the way to the world stage.

Maybe what the game needs is better oversight over the officials. We are all human and we are all going to make mistakes, but every parent out there has a referee they absolutely dread seeing walk up to the field. That referee that seems to always get it wrong.

I am not a ref although I had the license and have ref'd a few matches, I didn't enjoy the game from that perspective so I never persued it any further. I understand it is difficult and that calls will be missed or wrong. That is part of the game, but when it is done consistantly and without regard, it becomes dreadful.

I certainly don't condone parents or players addressing referees, but that will never go away until another avenue for redress is available.

Bottom line is this. Where do you draw the line? It's not up to you to decide which game deserves your full attention/effort/commitment. They ALL do. Excellence in ANY field is largely the product of good habits, exercised consistently. If you take a check -- no matter how piddling -- you do the job to the very best of your ability. even if you're volunteering, if children are playing, they deserve your best.

Most of us know you're not always going to be 100%. Maybe you're sick/injured/distracted/whatever. But, just like the kids you're officiating, you should be doing your level best to give 100% of whatever you have THAT DAY. Allowing it to devolve into a conscious decision to give any less is degrading to the kids you're officiating. Not to mention yourself and your colleagues.

Have you ever given thought to the idea that your professional (or unprofessional) effort may serve as a role model for the self-same young players whose ability you mock with your lack of focus/effort? Have you ever considered that some kids may want to become officials themselves, and are getting a real eyeful from you?

I'll stick with what I've said here, whether "baited" or not. Your initial message was loud and clear. It came across as a lame excuse from someone who (subsequently in this thread) claims to know better.

Maybe you should stick to mentoring. At least there, you can "talk the talk" without ever having to walk the walk.