watched my nephew play u12 this weekend. I have not been certified in a few years and I am not familiar with local league rules for this age group but I have a question. Here is the scenario. Team A was pressuring hard in team B's final third. A was down and throwing everyone forward. B wins the ball and the defender sends an outlet pass to midfield which springs a 3 on 2 advantage for B. The striker for B takes the ball to midway between the 18 and center circle. Ref blows the whistle to stop play because a kid on A was down behind the play. A parent yells out "what are you doing? We have advantage". The Ref yells back "I have to stop play when anyone is on the ground injured." Now I understand local rules may be in play hear especially with the spotlight on head injuries but to me this seems like the wrong call by the Ref. This seems like it would invite coaches to tell their kids to fake injuries(yes I know but I am sure it happens) to stop attacking advantages. Opinions?
Can't fault the ref here. Depending on precisely how it looks, I might keep play going for a few seconds to see if the downed kid gets up or stays down, but at U12, putting safety first is never going to be wrong IMO. And of course, if the referee thinks that the players are faking (or being coached to fake), there are tools for that. (I should vent that I'm touchy on this right now; my niece's U13 team is down five players with two concussions [including my niece], a broken leg, a broken arm, and a broken pelvis! I'm not sure at what level of play that sort of risk is appropriate, but it sure as hell ain't U13.)
Tell the damn 11 year old he can just suck it up and wait for the next stoppage! How dare he slow the attack for what is surely to be the tying goal in a long standing rivalry between two clubs with a rich heritage! /sarcasm Having not been there this is tough to say for sure but why not lean toward protecting players when they are this young? The ref's comment that he has to stop play - outside of a local thing - just because someone is on the ground is not necessarily true. But, again, safety first and if the injury appeared to be serious the ref absolutely should stop play to check.
'Fraid so. We had a U-13 girls game this spring where a player faked an injury well behind play, as the opponents rushed towards goal, so the naïve referee stopped play and asked her "How are you doing?" She immediately popped up and said, "I'm fine." The really sad thing is that she pulled this stunt twice in the same game and didn't get cautioned either time.
I was at my nephews practice last year talking to my brother. After practice the coach called the players in and gave them a talk. nephew walked over to us after practice and said coach just told us that if you are anywhere near the box and you are touched you should fall to draw the penalty. he looked at is dad and said if I can't score without cheating I don't want to play. he paused then said besides I'm not Brazilian. he gained much respect from me that day.
From what you've written, advantage is moot because there was no determination of a foul, only the observation of an injury. Ref's prime job is to ensure safety of all players, which includes setting the bar for injury stoppage higher or lower depending on the age/competitiveness of the league. At U12, for me personally, that bar is still relatively low. B's embryonic attack is not a consideration when evaluating whether to stop for an injury, only the ref's determination that this situation, this day, needs a stoppage. While a rule like "stop the game when anyone is on the ground injured" may be a pretty static one (assuming it's not a misinterpretation of the referee's duties), it does plainly put player safety at the forefront. Which at U12 is entirely appropriate. Teaching this as a tactic seems unlikely, but if the ref felt it were happening then other duties come into play at that point.
Thanks for your opinions. I very rarely did u12 games when i was reffing. usually opted for u14 and up as well as doing HS games. I can see opting to put safety first
I would suspect that it is a paraphrase of expectations rather than a specific rule. AYSO teaches referees to be quick to stop play for injuries -- essentially recognizing that the younger kids are, the more "serious" any injury is -- and as we know the mandate is for referees to stop the game for serious injuries. U8 or below, any apparent injury is "serious" (and if don't recognize that, we're gonna be stopping the game anyway when mama bear comes onto the field). At U12 (unless were talking about very competitive levels) most apparent injuries are serious and warrant a quick stop. By U14, if it doesn't look serious and there is an immediate goal scoring opportunity for either team and play is not moving toward the apparently injured player, then I'll briefly wait to see what happens before stopping play.
A referee with whom I am acquainted has stated in public that all players cheat and all coaches are evil because they teach them to cheat. He recently whined about a new coaching technique - practicing miskicking the ball so that passes back to the keeper wouldn't look to be so deliberate.
While any time they are on the ground night be a misinterpretation. Stopping for an injury is a judgement call, and at this age level not surprised. In my experience parents tend to get real serious anytime their child may be injured. I've had more than one situation where a mom freaks out and begins to cry for their child.
I had a woman march across the field and yell at me because i would not allow her some to play with the cast he had on. he had a partial cast with a metal brace added to it. The metal was exposed and I felt it could cut someone. She went off on me saying other refs let her son play the way it was and that I should let him play. After she stopped making an ass of herself and embarrassing her kid who was a high school junior i told her I said he could not play the way the cast was but if the coach added padding around the the metal area and along the ridge if the forearm he would be fine. I said we wouldn't want your son pulling a freddy kruger on the other team would we? She turned and walked away. I could hear the kid's teammates busting his balls. I specifically remember one kid saying "your mom is hot when she is mad!".......she was kinda
How do you all deal with this? U9, kid goes down after getting hit in the face. He's crying but proves to be basically OK. While he's on the bench recovering, his mom is there with him. After about 5 minutes, the mom seems to be no longer tending to her son, but instead just standing behind him and watching the game politely. League rules are that only pass-holding people can be on that side. Now, I'm not going to immediately send her back as she's making sure her kid is OK, but at a certain point she's just watching from that side. Should I ask the mom at the next convenient opportunity to please go back to the spectator side if she's satisfied that her son is OK? Is there a good way to word that?
I'd call the coach to the side and make him take care of it . Coach if your player is fine and healthy enough to return please ask the parent to return to the other side of the field
My daughter's U18 team was in a winter tournament (and it was freaking cold!) a couple of years ago. In the semi-final game, she had just received the ball in the PA from a lobbed pass. It was a little tricky to control, but she had only one defender and the keeper to beat. Just as she had seemed to gain control and it would have taken one touch and shoot, the referee stopped play for an injury (from the center circle). I grabbed my head and bit my tongue. I said to myself, "You couldn't have waited two more seconds?" I don't recall which team the injured player was from, but she stayed in the game. I mean these were 16 and 17 y/o premier players. Her team ended up winning by a point, but I would have liked to see her have that goal. As for the OP. Where I am, we have what's referred to as an Academy program. It's a step above rec, and like a pre-competitive travel league. They do play teams from other clubs, so there may be some rivalry considerations, but there are no standings, playoffs, or other such things. Stopping for an injury in this situation wouldn't be the end of the world. I would hope player safety is primary on everyone's mind.
When my son was U-11, his best friend got clothes lined by an opponent in a game. Jordan went down like a rock had hit him. The referee was just about two seconds slow with the whistle, long enough for Jordan's mom to start yelling her opinion of the other player. As soon as she heard the whistle, mom is headed onto the field, my buddy and I, as the coaches, were walking towards Jordan but she was power walking and not towards her son! The perp's mom immediately saw where Jordan's mom was headed and she was a few pounds lighter. She zipped out there, grabbed her son by the arm and just kept walking with him, towards where the cars were parked. We never saw either of them again. And Jordan is now a doctor.
U9 I don't think I would notice the mom nor make any issue of it if she was as you describe. If anyone else were to make mention then according to GA Soccer you inform the coach as we are to have no interaction with non rostered people period and I agree it's a good policy.
I imagine I would allow her to be there as long as her son is on the bench, but if he is well enough to return to the game I would ask the coach to have her return to the spectator's sideline.
My war story... Large tournament with teams from all over the state. I am AR2 in a U18B match where white is leading by a goal with a minute left. White is passing the ball around near midfield using up clock. Right in front of me red player challenges for and wins the ball and the white player goes down. There was nothing overly physical in the challenge and I figured white had more than ample motivation to have play stopped. Red takes off with the ball. The parents behind me are losing it, screaming "mad down, man down!" The ref either ignores it or doesn't see it and we both follow the rapidly developing play down field. The parents just won't shut up and I say "He's OK, he's not gonna die". Big mistake. A minute later the match is over and I have this horrible mom in my face making all sorts of disparaging and personal remarks, really ugly stuff. For the next 20 minutes I had to stand there while she talked to the referee, then the tournament assignor, and then the SYRA, all the while getting more and more histrionic. The kid in this particular play was fine, and the crazy woman wasn't even his mother. Her son was not playing because he was injured in a match the day before.
You made a completely unprofessional comment. While she should not have gotten nasty and personal, I have no objection to her going to your superiors. Other than discipline, I can't think of any situation where a ref should address spectators. It certainly should not be done in a sarcastic, condescending manner.