SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer Shortage of referees?

I've already been notified that when Goose Creek comes to Berkeley on Friday, there will only be two officials. That will make three out of five home games where there have been only two available, although we request three for each game. Once again, it's not a matter of money or preference; there just aren't enough officials to go around. I appreciate the guys who have shown up to officiate our matches; just wish they had some more help so that everyone could get a full squad!

Dain, dain, dain,

You don't say a word about abusing refs, but you make sure we know about how biased it was for 1 ref to be related and the call he made from the other side of the field and your good buddy bruin using the word farcical.

You have to be an idiot to ref. Refs can't win.
And yet, for those who do not know it, those same idiots who refs are some of the nicest, most caring people you will meet.

Is that why people like dain and bruin do not ref?

I wouldn't say that you have to be an idiot to ref. Though, I will agree that in a sense, refs can't win. If you think about it, they can only make half the people happy, half of the time. It's really a lose-lose situation for them.

That said, I would not say they were idiots. (Given, walking into a lose-lose situation 'just because' would be a bit idiotic.)

In my opinion, ref's do not go out onto the field 'just because'. It's the love for the game itself. If they didn't truly love soccer (or just officiating), why else would they stay out there and take all the hateful remarks said to them? And even after they hear hateful or downright rude comments sent in their direction, they still hold their head high. It takes alot of good attributes to make a good ref but I don't think idiocy is one of them.

There are alot of very kind, down-to-earth refs out there. It's a shame that we are faced with a shortage of these kind of people to ref our high school games. Though, if you think about it and look at all the abuse they are put through, can you blame them for avoiding the situation, thus, avoiding being a ref altogether?

The sport of soccer is growing and maturing in this region. Overall quality of coaches, players, and even officials is better every year. I think we have the best crew of officials in Beafort Co. we've had in the past six years that I have been observing. Beaufort and HH both have a great chance to win Region 8. Beaufort Academy and HH Christian are very competitive in SCISA. We need to figure out how to get more people out to see our games. Last nite, Summerville came to HH. Bothe games went to pk's, but only a couple hundred people saw these excellent, exciting contests.

Not sure if I agree with the "only half the people half the time" concept about officials, Keep. I guess that just depends on the attitude and character of the observers. I've come out on the losing end of matches where still thought the officials did a great job of keeping the game under control and calling fairly. On the other hand, I've come out on the winning side where I still felt like I had to beat the other team AND the calls to get there. I'm happy to say I haven't had those feelings lately.

People need to realize (and many do; they're just not the vocal ones) that the officials aren't there to help either team win or lose the match. They are there to ensure the safety of the players and to make sure everyone gets a fair shake, and if they accomplish those things, people should respect them for a job well done no matter which side of the scoreboard they fall on. That concept of "The refs are good as long as we win" is about as shallow as it gets.