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I really, really hate picking on officials.
I do, because we all make mistakes. When it comes to the way a game is called - tight or loose - I get tired of coaches moaning, parents saying the officials were horrible or kids not adjusting.
Just like an umpire in baseball, sometimes the strike zone is small - sometimes it's large. Good players and teams adjust, and it's that way in soccer, too. You have to adjust.
But when you have three people on a field and it's not a snap judgement call, someone has to have a clue - right?
Earlier in the week, I wrote about how an official at a recent regional game said the contest was in "stoppage time." Four to five minutes of stoppage time was added in a 2-1 final. Can you imagine if the game was tied during stoppage time?
This story was just brought to my attention, and my response is this - are you kidding me? You tell me.
http://www.thetelegraph.com/sports/marquette-32305-penalty-regional.html?orderby%m
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We see questionable referees on a regular basis - out of position, inconsistency in calling fouls;not between teams but in what constitutes a foul, don't ask about off-sides. The refs become part of the game versus adjudicating it (seen in other sports too). Games become very choppy, frustrating the players. Is there some measure of performance that the IHSA uses to grade refs?
In regards to the Naperville Central Soccer game vs. West Aurora on 10/24/09, you have incorrect information. The 2nd Central goal by Chris Prince, was assisted by #11,
John Franzese, not Peter Beasley.
In response to Billy Mac, yes there is a rating scale that coaches have the ability to use to grade out refs. It is up to the coach to get each ref's number, log in to the IHSA site and then grade them on their performance on a 1 to 5 point scale. Categories, include: This ref is not qualified for Varsity contests, This ref is only qualified for Varsity, This ref is qualified for Regional's, this Ref is qualified for Sectionals and Finally this ref is qualified for State.
You NEVER get any response to any rating that you make, and you see the same people ref-ing year after year, so I'm not sure if it makes a difference. The best thing a coach can do, is find out who the assigner is and ask if a certain ref, not be allowed to have any of your home games.
Every coach also has the responsibility to submit their top 15 ref's every year. However, the system to vote for them makes it difficult to edit the list in a timely manner. So I'm assuming that most don't. I've been told that the rating scale and the top 15 list is what is used to determine the tournament ref's.
In the end I'd simply like some consistency during a game, from one call to another. Sometimes not an easy thing to achieve.