Referee Shortage

I always hear about how bad the referee was. How I can't believe he or she missed that call or the ref caused us the game. The parents complain, the players complain, the assignor complains (that they can't get enough referees) the coaches complain either that the ref is no good or they can't get referees. Is it any wonder that there is a shortage. How would you like a job where everybody is always complaining? Some coaches even acknowledge that they like to play the ref by yelling and complaining about a call early so they can maybe get a break later. (It doesn't generally work that way) If we want good referees we need to develop them as youth players and help them improve so that they will be ready for the bigger games. Coaches you want better referees how about laying off the U-9 referee who misses a call and letting your parents know not to scream at them. I wonder how many coaches could handle someone yelling at them everytime they didn't make a perfect substitution or coach a perfect game. I have a suggestion for every team, have someone record the parents and the coach during a game and play it back at a team dinner. That might quite the sidelines at least for a while and give us a chance to get in some new young referees.

Youth Soccer

As another H.S. soccer season ends and I look at the girls graduating it reminds me of when they started. My wife coached most of the senior girls (including my daughter) in club soccer when they were U-8 and several years after that. I remember parents being concerned that their little girl was not tough enough to play Division 1 soccer, a girl crying because her shoelaces were wet and several of them staring at the clouds, grass, etc. during the match. I remember all the lunches, trips, hotels, and travel with the teams, but what I remember most is the laughter and fun. What isn't a big deal are the losses which we thought were the end of the world, the coaching mistakes which "cost us the game", or that crazy referee "who cost us the game". After being a player, coach and referee I have learned (it took a while) that the best games are the ones where as a parent I listen to my ipod or talk with other parents and just enjoy the game. I was not be calmest coach or parent in the past, but looking back at those years, I realized it was a waste of time, energy and enjoyment of the game. It is sad to see the seniors leave, but fun to remember the past adventures, USA cup against the monster team from Canada, Embassy suites in Austin, lunches and naps in the car between tournament games. Oh and by the way the little girl who cried over her shoelaces being wet became one of the top forwards in the league, the parents who were not sure if their little girl was ready for Division 1 became an amazing defender and all of them became unbelievable young ladies. Thank you all for the fun years and memories.