Have a grade school child in a recreational youth soccer league? Ever play one of those teams that has a kid who somehow manages to trip or elbow every single time they are near the ball? The referees are usually high school kids who play soccer. They get paid a little, in other towns maybe they volunteer. They’re gonna miss hand balls, out of bounds calls and maybe a penalty or two. Annoying, but no big deal and it’s usually equally missed for both teams.
On the other hand, I just don’t get how they miss it play after play, quarter after quarter, when one kid is constantly sticking his foot out to trip people or sticking his elbow into another player’s head or neck to get position. They call this stuff in competitive, travelling team leagues because it’s a real penalty. Why not call it in the recreational leagues where it could well result in a broken arm or leg? It seems like every two or three games there’s one child among the 25 or more on both teams who does this. I spot it in the first quarter, even around all the incidental trips and kicks and shoves. I wish the refs would, too.
I’m with you, Darren… I’m appalled to hear that not all refs are as great as the ones in our league (Virginia Rush Soccer).
We’ve been blessed so far in that all the refs are attentive… but also that the coaches are mostly all on the same page.
I’m still not sure if it was a dad or a coach who decided that his U8 team needed a goalie the whole time when typically the U8s don’t play with one… (u10 use goalies because they have bigger goals)
And he was loud and angry sounding, too.
Our coach and all the dads who help him try to focus more on the positive, unless it is a bad behavior thing.
I’m so with you on this Darren. I coach a soccer team and this weekend it was more like hockey. One kid on the other team kept tackling kids from my team. They never called it.