And what have you learned from this experience? Specifically when you're late and the CR says something like "Straight to sides, please?"...
Not sure if this truly belongs here, but enjoy ...[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFJ8LP6go_U&feature=player_embedded#at=40"]YouTube - Chelsea signing Lucas Piazon scores a bizarre goal for Brazil U17[/ame] (from CONMEBOL U17 YWC Qualifying, no less)
Who failed to check the net? FIFA sponsored international championship and we have a valid goal that blows though the net directly behind the upright?
Wow! This is inexcusable and the CR might want to find some other way to put kids at risk. 35 pound weights do not anchor goals. They fall off easily and are no substitute for real anchors or heavy sandbags. The CR didn't want to get into trouble? What if the weights had slipped off again and someone got hurt and then it was found the CR knew the goal wasn't properly secured. While no one wants to be a pain in the butt, this is a huge safety issue. I caught unmitigated hell at a State Cup some years back when I held up a game almost an hour until the goals were secured. It put a kink in a lot of people's schedules, including mine, but when safety is concerned this is something you simply have to take seriously. I told the teams/coaches/parents I was sorry but it wasn't my fault the goals weren't secured and there simply was no way in hell the game was going to start until they were
You absolutely have to stop them using the goal not anchored. Period. Out of fairness you probably should not let either team practice on the other goal. They can run around the field to warm up
I know we are concentrating on the hole in the net but wasn't that just some beautiful teamwork by the yellow team? Pinpoint short passes and a terrific shot. Stuff like this reminds me why this is called the beautiful game
In my area, a majority of games are played in a complex with multiple fields. If you are that fortunate, and if another isn't being used, tell them to go there until the situation is fixed.
I started the day with a couple of solo small sided games, and I got to the location early because I KNEW the goals were not going to be anchored. I asked the coaches if they had the key to where the sandbags were, and they looked at me like I had three heads. The guy with the key showed up, the sandbags were put on the goals. And good thing too. These were the tallest u-littles I have run into in a while. Right before the 2nd half kickoff, I looked at the 'keeper for the vistors and she was pulling on the goal net and trying to boast her self off the ground. Without those sandbags, that goal comes over on her. Always demand the anchors or else NO game. Just when you think it isnt going to happen in your match, it most certainly will.
The goals at our complex are large, heavy, industrial goals with bulky rear counter weighted crossbars on the ground, and they are anchored with long pieces of U-shaped re-bar hammered into the ground. They are so heavy the maintenance crew rarely move them and sometimes they become part of the ground as longer grass and soil build up around them. The past two weekends: High, sustained winds, with gusts in the 50-60 mph range. Takes six Q-Tips to clean the dirt and grime out your ears when you get home. We lost an anchored goal this past Saturday in the middle of a match, and thankfully no-one was hurt. I'm told the facility's anemometer came within 2 mph of a policy-driven shut down. I tell coaches that if they notice a goal starting to wobble in the winds, to scream at me and get their kids away from the goals. I tell my ARs to absolutely check the anchoring, every time. I officiate these matches on high alert. It's very dangerous, but high winds in the spring are the price we pay for living in the high desert.
Every time I see a new post to this thread, my heart skips a beat. How are people still not getting this right?
I had a 5pm match this evening on a field that had been used all day. Neither of the goals (the really heavy ones with wheels) had been staked down. It's incredible to me that nobody else bothered to check all day, and I'm not pleased with this. I'm going to send a note to all the referees on our arbitersports database to remind them again (for the umpteenth time!) no-stakes or weights = no game!
Had a women's match today with portable goals. Told the home team the goals needed to be anchored. Their strong-willed goalkeeper felt the need to argue with me on the issue, telling me that "the goals aren't going to move." I was unimpressed. She staked down the goal after a profane rant. When I found just before kickoff that the other goal hadn't been anchored, I told the home team that they needed to stake down the other goal as well. "Isn't that the other team's job since they put up the net on that goal?" the same goalkeeper asked me. "No, it's your responsibility as the home team." Another profane rant. She ended up being cautioned for dissent during the first half after a third tantrum. The goals were safe, though.
Why were there 3 tantrums? The game need not start for you to card her. She should have been carded upon the first profane tantrum.
I typically don't see a need to caution for dissent unless it's affecting my game control. Her teammates just shrugged off these tantrums as if this was something she did on a regular basis. In fact, when I finally cautioned her, her teammates were telling her to shut up. The caution came out because everyone was starting to get annoyed with her behavior, not because the match was getting out of control.
It continues, although this did appear to be a pick-up game. http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/video?id=8503017&syndicate=syndicate§ion
This is truly a sad event, but happened to some kids playing pick up, not at a match or tournament. Too often I see kids unsupervised by the parents using the goals as a climbing gym and if you get enough kids on it, sandbags won't do anything to keep it from tipping.
My house backs to the soccer fields at my kid's school. Whenever I see kids climbing on the nets, I walk out and have a little chat with them. I might come across as a crabby old bastard, but it is worth it IMO.
Sigh..... Yes, it was unsupervised - how do we get the message out to the people who run the fields as well? Fields are run by such a variety of folks (cities, park districts, clubs, etc) - how do we get them to take some responsibility for dealing with goals when they're not being used for games? As a referee, I need to reinforce this with my assignor, to get on the clubs to be very clear that we won't be playing on game day unless the goals are secured - and then I have to step up and more consistently enforce that. I understand and like the lightweight portable goals - they allow much more use out of a field compared to the fixed (in concrete) goals that used to populate parks around here. But I don't know that the old goals ever fell over and killed anyone. Sigh.....
Not that we need any more reminders, but this was distributed to us this week... http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/video?id=8560462 Also, something else you may want to consider...I was doing a HS girls varsity match last night. We checked the nets before the game and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary - they were anchored, and I didn't see any major holes. During halftime there were quite a few guys playing at the one end of the stadium (my end, I was AR1). I kept one eye on them and one eye with my team as we were discussing. They were getting pretty rowdy, so after halftime I decided to check the net again to make sure it was still in place, etc. For the most part, it was, but now there was a big hole in the net. I brought it to the center's attention, but that net was not really under attack in the second half. Just a thought to keep in mind...
Here's the PSA mentioned in the news clip [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i8KWPxb1j4"]Zach's Law PSA - Promoting Soccer Goal Safety - YouTube[/ame]
I had a U12 boys match last night in very windy conditions. The goals at this field are secured by a chain going through an eye bolt in the ground. This allows the goal to come a few inches off the ground before being restrained by chain. It's not my favorite method, but it does seem to work. As I'm checking the nets and chains the wind picked up and started to blow the goal over, leaving the back bar off the ground, held only by the chain for a good 10 to 15 seconds. At this point, I decide I don't trust the chain to last through a whole match without snapping under constant tension. I inform the home coach that the goals are unsafe and indicate my intention to abandon the match. The coach insists that I have to play the game anyway because he coaches three teams and can't possibly reschedule the match. He threatened to report me to the league (to which I readily agreed) and did call the assignor (to whom I insisted to talking and who confirmed that it was my call to make). Finally, realizing I wasn't going to be intimidated, he asked if he could get sandbags to weight the goal down, to which I agreed. Twenty minutes and several sandbags later, the goals are rock-solid and we played the match without incident. I was absolutely astounded that the coach gave no consideration to his players' safety but only to his schedule.
Well, he can always turn to the bench for a substitute, but a schedule?! That's really tough to juggle.