From the sidelines, have you ever yelled at a youth or high school player about how incompetent he is? About how terrible her first touch is? About how poor his shooting ability is? About what an idiot she is? Probably not.
Now, have you ever yelled similar things at a 16 year old referee working his first season of U-12 games? Or a 20 year old college student working her first HS season? If so, then you are part of the problem. There is an incredible turnover rate of young referees, mostly due to the abuse they take from coaches and parents in their first year on the job.
If the young referees don’t stick around after their first year, they never become good referees. Sure, a lot of the young referees start out for the money, but I can guarantee that the vast majority stay in the game, and strive to get better, because they love the game and they love to give back to the soccer community. That doesn’t happen if they get abused by coaches and spectators expecting FIFA level referees for recreation level soccer matches.
No youth or HS referee is making $25 – 50k per year. In fact, few if any MLS or FIFA refs are making that kind of money.
Before you complain about the declining quality of referees, think about your own actions towards the young ones, the ones that may be the great referees next year, or five years from now. If you want to yell at an old guy like me, go for it. I can handle it. If you want to yell at a new ref, please don’t. Much like new players, we need to help them develop, not drive them away from the game.
