Yeah, I'm in there with PAWest... in fact, I'm very close with office staff and the board of directors. In fact, your entire story should go to the state office, regardless of whether or not it's affiliated with PAWest. I know that they'd rather be safe than sorry in situations like these. As far as refereeing goes, unfortunately, being in Erie puts you a bit out of the loop from the rest of the association, since the area is so far north from the general metropolis of Pittsburgh, however, there are several people up there that would be more than happy to point you in the right direction. I could give you their names through PM if you would like. Check out www.pawest-soccer.org, which has all of the information you could need. Definitely contact the SRA about the situation, he's a pretty good guy who will get you to the right people. Edit- And yeah, Steve is probably right... Since Erie is so far out of the aforementioned loop, those renegade groups of people that didn't like PAWest and US Youth Soccer have been able to get a pretty firm grip on things up there.
I saw your post yesterday and wanted to respond but here it is a day lot (but not a dollar short!).... Brother, I hear you! Technically, Law 5 (I believe) or the law on scoring instructs the referee to record the score. If they don't really keep score, they don't really need a referee. So do so and you seem to be doing very well at it. The more you inspire respect for the laws by players, coaches AND spectators, the more everybody will learn and value the aspects of sportsmanship called for in the LOTG. Especially in youth leagues, parents are sometimes the most difficult of issues faced by ALL referees in EVERY sport. True in most situations. Nobody wants to debate, they only want to grandstand. Professional behavior and attitude will get you through this...and you sound like you're serious about it. Cool. Restraint is one of the greatest attributes I see in referees of all sports...mockery should be the Seven and a Half of the Seven Deadly Sins. If anybody ever threatens you or follows you after a match this is ASSAULT! and a criminal offense...assault on a sports official is a FELONY here in NC and a great verbal defense from one of these idiots. Please don't be threatened by aggressive/ignorant spectators...they know not the message conveyed by their actions. All the more reason to submit your report to the sanctioning league (if applicable I don't remember if your league is affiliated). Shouting never works...if my instigator wants to yell, I let him or her...stand there until they're done because eventually they'll run out of things to shout and then stand there looking like an idiot (I learned this from Ron Luciano, baseball umpire). Whenever they finish, begin a conversation in a normal tone of voice. I've never had this backfire on me. Another horrible situation probably created by aggressive "spectators." Sean it seems like you are of sound mind and Law XVIII equipped to be an excellent referee...realizing that I only have one side of the story from all these events. It also seems to me that you're one of the "new" referees that we really want to keep! The referees posting here are GREAT! I've learned a lot myself since I started reading this site and I've been at this for more than twenty years. If you're willing to try a different soccer group of people you might find out why we all love what we do...referee, play, coach, parent or just watch. Your dedication to the game is commendable from my point of view. I couldn't see what part of the country you're from (assuming USA) but wherever you referee, look for some different assignors, leagues and sanctioning bodies to work for. If I had your experiences, I probably wouldn't want to continue offering my services to those leagues either. Find some high-up muckety-mucks in your state USSF or HS associations and ask for their advice about what leagues to work for...we all go through your experiences but with experience and a little inside knowledge they get fewer and farther between. Stick with it!!!
Thanks njref, This girl got at least 1 yellow from me in 5 games this summer for dissent. Her mouth was enough for a YC. But you're right, I was definitely too easy on her, not too hard (as her coach and thug parents thought). I do not know why the league doesn't get USSF certified. I say I was head ref, but this comes from no qualifications. We have few adult refs. When I signed up 3 years ago, they said there was a head ref opening. I asked what I would need to do, they said make the ref schedule for my areas, and do training. Since my work schedule is nights and weekends, I figured, good, I can schedule myself around work. At least 90 pct of our refs are teenagers trying to make a few extra bucks. We give them 1 hour of training each preseason, then off they go. If I work with them in a game, I can give them personal instruction. But I've had refs come up to be pregame and ask "So what is offside?" or "How do you know if it's a corner kick or goal kick?" A majority of them do not assert themselves enough to enforce laws or house rules, or even, e.g., call throw-ins loud enough. When I work a game, you can bet things are enforced. And that likely was the root of the problem with the rabid parents. A vast majority of the players, coaches, parents compliment me. I've always been friendly (but firm) with the kids. They definitely know who the ref is, but I try to get the kids to relax and play a good game. The parents like the fact I work to teach the kids when they do something wrong, which is the purpose of this league and why I originally signed up. I will miss that part of it, and the majority associated with the league who are great to work with on game days. I've had disagreements, but I've never been afraid to confront a player or coach and tell them exactly what I saw, or why I called it. It seems this league, however, is not quite sure what to do when the extreme happens. They aren't sure how to actually enforce it if they banned a parent from the games, or if a coach has a problem with a particular ref. The league has been around 33 years. Everyone who is anyone seemingly has played in this league at some point. It's very well-known in the community as being for fun and having a family-friendly atmosphere. There is very little cynical play, and few arguments. But I feel I can handle it if the negative stuff occurs. But that's why these incidents have been so shocking. I didn't call my games any different than I always do. Yet, I don't know how these could have been avoided, at least on my end. I think it is time to get my license. I definitely think I am ready for it. And I'd appreciate the security of having support if something ever became ugly again over me simply doing my job.
Step 1 as "head ref": require all refs to pass USSF grade 8 or grade 9 class. Solves lots of problems even if they can't officially wear the USSF badge because it is not a USSF sanctioned league.
But then they are not supposed to be taking those rogue games. If they are found to be refereeing more unaffiliated games than affiliated ones they could be expelled from the USSF.