I apologize up front for the length of this post. It just kept growing.
HELP WANTED: No experience necessary. Work your own hours. Make $15 - 30 per hour in cash. Get paid every hour.
How on God's green earth could such a want ad ever not have more applicants than positions?
Well, if you make a simple change to the want ad to say:
HELP WANTED: Perfection expected at all times. Earplugs strongly suggested as verbal correction delivered via uninformed personnel throughout your shift -- most having no real knowledge of how your job is done. Highly varying weather conditions including extreme cold/heat, harsh winds, rain, sleet and snow are possible. 15 hours of initial training (employee paid) followed by five hours of annual training (employee paid). Work uniform required (and can cost up to $75 to be paid before your first game). Very little formal/informal training outside of the classroom will be provided.
The latter job listing is somewhat less apt to have supply exceeding demand. Yet, it is closer to reality. So, how do we allow the first job posting to morph into the second? And what can we do about it?
I am currently an instructor (USSF, high school -- soccer and basketball), assessor, assignor, and referee (USSF state referee, high school and college referee for both soccer and basketball). I have been an AD (for nearly a decade), been the president of soccer, basketball and baseball programs (for nearly 25 years), and have played sports throughout my life and still do. While I am not a spring chicken, my boys (age 19, 21 and 27) keep me young. I have NEVER been a member of any "good ole boys club" to be sure. I have been and will always be a bit on the opinionated and rebellious side.
In my opinion, there are many reasons why the first want ad morphs to the second.
1. A training methodology that does not match the way younger students WANT to learn
2. Sideline behavior on both sides of the touchline is completely unacceptable in many cases
3. Younger/newer referees receive almost NO "on the job" training
4. The refusal of the referee committee to accept the fact that there is a "path" from AR to Center that could be used
5. Assignors desperate to fill games assigning referees to games above their current skill level
6. The onerous annual training requirements for a job that, for the vast majority of referees has changed very, very minimally over the years.
What can we do to make things better? Well, I have a couple thoughts...A couple of them a bit on the rebellious side.
TRAINING METHODOLOGY
1. While we have moved some training online, the presentation style of most instructors is outdated and boring.
2. We do not incorporate handheld devices and tablets into the training instead we tell the youngsters to put their handheld devices and tablets away during training.
3. We do not utilize YouTube for training nearly enough -- ask a young kid how ofter he or she views a YouTube video
SIDELINE BEHAVIOR
1. During this past weekend, one of the parents from one of the 130+ teams participating in a tournament I directed this past weekend sent me an e-mail infuriated that their team's coach had been dismissed from the technical area indicating, "the coach was merely questioning calls, a coach ALWAYS has the right to question calls" (this was a U-09 girls game, by the way).
2. Parents continue to get bolder and bolder on the sidelines. There are no "low level" games that provide a fertile training ground for referees. Parents and coaches from the ECNL and USYSA National League down to the U-itty-bitty level feel that it is open season on referees.
3. Leagues MUST (as a group, because if only ONE does it, the teams will go to other leagues and the "good leagues" will fold) put strong coach and parent behavior rules in place AND enforce them. Our league removed several spectators and a few coaches during our tournament this past weekend, but should have done more.
ON THE JOB TRAINING/MENTORING
1. I have found that children of referees tend to drop out at a much lower rate than others.
2. I believe that this is the case for two reasons. One, the DNA of a person who can take the abuse and keep going moves down to the child or children. But, far more importantly, the "Momma Bear" or "Poppa Bear" is there to provide the support system for the brand new referee. They ensure that the new referee does NOT get put into bad situations early in their careers. They mentor their kids from the beginning frequently for all games for a full year or two before the referee is "ready to leave the nest."
3. For referees who do not have the parent referee to help them, we need to provide a "virtual parent" for these referees. I believe that EVERY NEW REFEREE should be assigned a "mentor" (complete with a meeting on the last day of the referee class) who will look over the referee's shoulder similar to the way a parent would. This will COST MONEY -- sorry, we cannot expect people to "give back to the game" for free there are not enough people willing to do it. Money from where? IMO, from the teams and clubs as they will be the ones gaining the most in the long run.
REFEREE PATH FROM AR TO CENTER
1. This one generates the most discussion of all. Even going to the point where every referee has been told that their insurance will not even cover them should there be a problem during the match. Yes, I am talking about the TWO-PERSON system (or Dual System as High School and College like to call it).
2. While I agree that the two-person system is less than ideal for a men's college match or varsity high school match, there is absolutely NO REASON why a 6v6 or 7v7 match on a 40 yard by 60 yard field cannot be properly managed by a two-person crew.
3. The advantages of two-person on these small fields are numerous. First of all, this system allows a person to transition from being an AR (completely incapable of forcing a stoppage in play on their own) to being a Center Referee (in which they are the ONLY ONE capable of stopping play). It allows the newer/younger referee to get accustomed to calling fouls and utilizing their whistle to stop play. At the same time, the more senior member of the crew can always "step in" and make a call if necessary (these small fields can easily be covered by a single referee, therefore, the call being made by the second referee is reasonable and can provide a teaching moment at half time or after the game). The referee also tends to get better at determining offside. While this CAN be done today, it can ONLY be done in recreational games.
4. By incorporating a progression from AR on small field to AR on larger field to two-person on a small field to a center on a small field to a center on a larger field, we are providing a more gradual flow from AR to Center hopefully meaning more better experiences for the referee pool as a whole.
ASSIGNORS OVER-ASSIGNING REFEREES
1. In many cases, referees who quit after one to two or three years will point to a single event or single weekend at a tournament that was a bad experience that was bad enough that they decided to quit.
2. As assignors, we are pressured by the tournaments to get referees on the field. The theory is that it looks better for the tournament to have three yellow shirts on a game (regardless how new or bad they may be) than to have a club line.
3. This causes assignors to put "shirts" on a game rather than a referee who is actually qualified to do a particular game. While a club line is not a good option, sometimes, it is a better option than putting a very inexperienced referee in the middle of a game in which the referee is not prepared.
ONEROUS TRAINING/RETRAINING (RE-CERTIFICATION)
1. Every year, ALL USSF referees are required to attend a five hour referee re-certification class.
2. While it makes COMPLETE SENSE for those of us doing DA games, National League games, Regional League games, State League games, high level tournaments, amateur games and even U-15 and up club games and perhaps even U-13 (full-sided games) and up games, to go to five hours (and in many cases far more than five hours annually) in annual training, I believe that we make a mistake in REQUIRING ALL USSF referees to attend five hours of in person/online training every year.
3. I have proposed a Grade 8 "emeritus" status in which these referees could be used as ARs for games at U-14 and below (except for the upper level games mentioned above.
4. MOST younger referees tend to get very little out of the recert courses (those who want to move up are the exception). Most younger referees retain virtually nothing from these sessions. They attend only because they have to and as a result the retention value is extremely low for most of them.
5. The LOTG have changed VERY, VERY minimally over the past 25 years. The Offside law has been modified (especially its interpretations), handling has been slightly reinterpreted, the goal keepers roles have been changed slightly (passbacks, six seconds vs. four steps, etc.), the term DOGSO has been introduced, clarifications on cautions for the "professional foul" have been modified, tackles from behind have been modified several times during the period, as well as a few others, BUT a hold is still a hold, a trip is still a trip, a push is still a push, obstruction is still (OK, it is now called impeding, but the interpretation is the same), etc.
6. I know, I know, "A referee who attends an annual recert is BETTER than a referee who does not." I get it AND I AGREE. However, is this Grade 8 "emeritus" referee BETTER than a club line who CANNOT call offside and cannot call fouls? They know what offside is (OK, if we know that they have a Grade 8 "emeritus" badge, we MAY have to explain the nuances of the new interpretations of the law, but at the lower and younger levels, a Grade 8 "emeritus" will do just fine).
7. Most importantly, if we can get a larger pool of ARs from this Grade 8 "emeritus" pool, the shortage might be mitigated in the short run thus allowing us to avoid a number of the pitfalls we are forced into in the current situation.
8. Perhaps we could put a limit on the time frame for a Grade 8 "emeritus" of say four years (every Men's World Cup year, the Grade 8 "Emeritus referees would have to recert).