Referees rotate in basketball. No problems there. Heck, sometimes I even like to rotate in the dual system.
More whistles makes for a better and safer game. That's why all modern passenger jets now have 8 engines instead of 3 or 4 like they did in the 60s and 70s.
I know what it says in the back of the book, but around these parts, the expectation is that the 2 refs in the duel sort of "box play in". The lead does what the book says (wide of play, in line with 2LD), but the trail does not move up and take a CR position. He stays behind play and wide on his side. This means that sometimes stuff happens a fairly long way from either ref. Note that the duel is used almost entirely at the sub-varsity level (JV, Freshling, Middle School). These are easier/slower games with fewer fouls and less misconduct (I didn't say none, I said fewer). These are also earlier starts (4:00 to 5:30), where I'm using the older refs that can get to those early starts taht probably couldn't manage the method described in the NFHS rule book.
One of my friends was doing a dual and his partner called offside, from the trail position! Dick is a VERY nice guy, but I think he had a "full and frank" discussion with his partner after the game.
Nice. That time my fellow duelist called a defender offside, at least he did it from the lead position. We also had that "full and frank" discussion, but it was before the restart.
Much smaller area though, I would've thought unless you have 3 young fast refs, you'd want to keep the older more experienced guy in the center and the fast guys on the outside.
Out here in the sticks of Eastern CT (and almost all of CT) , all public HS games (JV and V) are done with the dual system (which I agree, is lousy). Simple economics (cost) and numbers (not enough refs). Only games that use 3 refs are some playoff games, and Prep school games. The Preps pay more per ref and all 3 refs get same pay (last year $99 per game - woohoo). On the positioning of the dual trail official, we are encouraged to move up and in as far as we comfortably can. If the game is slow enough, and the official is quick enough, then this can be almost same positioning as a normal CR. But the unfortunate reality is, most refs can't or won't work that hard and hang back and out, and so there are often possible fouls where both refs are screened and don't get called, which can raise the temperature of the game.
Around here, referee numbers/availability generally dictate whether it's dual or DSC. Total cost to the schools is the same, so they just order a crew. Dual crews split the DSC fee equally. Usually, the most competitive/rivalry matches gets DSC as available then duals on the rest of that day's games. Some days it's duals aross the board plus asking/telling a school or two to reschedule... Good synopsis. I have been warned by our chapter's assessor about eventually getting caught being too deep. I do try to constantly scan the teams' positioning relative to a potential OS on a quick counter, pay attention to their speed/skills, and back out as needed. It just sucks when you know there are shenanigans going on in the middle or defending right side but lead is focused on OS and trail's out of position to see & call it. Then, as you said, temps start flaring.
I had a coach go bonkers in me during a dual last season. I try to press up as trail, and I was fairly deep with the ball on my corner when a long ball over the top flipped the field position on me. Obviously I was focused on the play and couldn’t tell if the lone striker was offside or not. That’s when he went nuts. I can get deep and call the contact or hang 50 yds back and call offside. Both is tough.
Well I still have Reverse, Neutral and Park. But I shift slowly (and my sainted father used to call me shiftless) ...
Storrs is in a metropolis compared to Salisbury where I did a U-12 travel team match. When I left Becket, Ma I thought it would be neat to take all the back roads for fun. Instead of 35 mi it turned into a 50 mi adventure on some dirt roads that hadn't seen a wagon since the 1770's. Of course I forgot to give the player passes back to the coaches!
PA is a state (the state?) that not only uses the Double-Dual but rotates through the positions. A measure of how your game is going to go is the degree of precision with which the first guy in the center identifies the time of your switch. If you hear "See you at 13:30," you know it's going to be a long night. Rotation (at least around here, not sure around Philly) typically works like this: at/near 13:00, CR and team side ref swap. Then, at/near 27:00 of 2H, new CR and team-side ref switch. This rotation keeps the third CR as far from the teams as possible, before that shift as possible. It also provides first/third CR shifts of 27min, and a middle shift of 13min, then halftime, then 13min. The middle shift is useful for newer or...more veteran officials. If there's OT, some crews replicate the rotation from regular time, some have two guys each do a half. I guess we're supposed to get out our slide rules and split those up too So usually the last part of pre-game is, "Who wants to go when?" In the middle, that is. Some guys like to go first and be done, which means they get a long ride in front of the benches. Some guys like to go third because it means they get to spend minimal time near the benches, and/or because of the cache associated with finishing the game off. Generally guys who say "I always go X" are going to yield issues for the two others on the crew. In my experience is, when the others on your crew are also soccer refs, things can work well if they are good refs. The ability to leave the touchline as SR lets you get closer to some things, esp. in the PA. You get the hang of not letting anybody get behind you, much like the dual. A whistle on the team side is also handy for managing subs. When others on your crew are NOT soccer refs, mileage may vary greatly, not least in terms of who runs where, when. The assumption that both CR and SR will sprint on a breakaway is not a good one. I've been deeper as CR than the SR on that side, and have been the Lone Ranger as SR when attack comes my way fast. I've heard arguments that it's done like that here because guys don't want a pay differential, or because there are so few soccer refs. I don't know why, I just know that's how it's done. There was a proposal, voted down by PIAA, to go DSC this year. In other news, the same conclave has allowed us to wear black pro-style USSF jerseys, if the whole crew has them, instead of zebra stripes, so that's something. Should add that double-dual is used for (usually larger) Varsity games, with others getting duals.
Regarding a dual, in my neck of the woods (Eastern Iowa) we do duals for non-varsity games. We rarely have to do a dual for varsity, but it's not unheard of. I know I move more than some, but my general guideline as the trail is to get as deep as the defending team's attacker closest to his attacking goal during active play. That at least gives me a fighting chance to hustle back to the offside line when possession changes. I will get deeper on set pieces and just do my best to get back. I realize that offside will have to suffer a little, but I want to be closer for set pieces. The farthest I usually get to the middle of the field is the near-side football hashmarks (yes, I use them as a guideline when I'm on a multi-use field). It's not ideal, but I try to at least get somewhere close to the middle third of the field when the ball is on the opposite side of the field.
Kind of derailing discussion, but how do you guys move during a dual? I am a firm believer that Ref 1 and Ref 2 should follow the pattern of AR1 and AR2 (as in where you stand generally) and stay there the whole game but most guys want to switch at HT. I hate doing that because it makes offside players move from RIGHT to LEFT instead of the usual LEFT to RIGHT. I really couldn’t care less about who has to deal with coaches or spectators . But I’m in the minority on that.
I was taught if you are lead, you get wide and assume the position of AR, pinching in some if the action is across the way. Stay with the 2LD until you need to get on the end line. If you are trail, you start pinching in when you get to the midline and get to where the CR would be on a DSC. Easily more than half of the older guys I have worked a dual with keep their shoes on the touchline and never cross the midline. I have never asked why, though. Maybe I should.
I haven't met anyone who wanted to switch at halftime in my neck of the woods, even though I think the rule book suggests that. If I'm working a youth game I worry about who's AR1 and AR2 with regards to dealing with troublesome parents or coaches. If I'm an AR and I'm working with a teenager as the other AR, I'll take the worse assignment (usually parents). But for HS games where I'm reffing with other adults, it doesn't usually matter much. My favorite R1/R2 story is from a GV/BV doubleheader. The assignment website will show the officials as Referee/AR1 even if the game is a dual. I was listed as referee for both games. I take R1 (coaches' sideline) for the girls' game. We switch for the boys game. Fight breaks out in the 2nd half, red cards to a player on each team. After the game my partner says, "You were listed as the referee, you write the report." Gee, thanks.
That reminds me - stop me if I told this one already - of a few years ago when there was a discussion at our recert clinic of which dual ref should blow for which restarts. It finished up with "Let's keep it simple this year folks - lead has all whistles." Very first game I'm R1 with a guy I've never worked with before. Pregame, he says "So at the clinic they said lead has all whistles." "Yep, works for me." "And you're lead, so you have all whistles." "Wait ... what?"
In my neck of the woods, trail has pretty much all restart whistles except on throw-in's after subbing - that's by whoever is on the side of the TI. Trail is always supposed to look for lead's "ready" hand signal before blowing. But one particular colleague has a bad tendency of whistling restarts without checking first... often subs are still coming/going, I'm in the middle of writing down the goal, etc. He even once blew for a kickoff when the ball was still sitting outside the circle. In a hurry to get home or something?!?
Yeah - no one goes there unless they have their 2nd home there. People don't realize how much of CT is can't get there from here nowhereville. I forgot to give passes back once. Such a PITA that I needed to find a solution. The best, simplest one was to put the passes UNDER my bag on the ground. That way, if I forget, once I pick up bag to leave, nice visual reminder that my work is not done.....
No, don't ask why unless you are TRYING to get an older ref to tell you that is all the field they can realistically cover. They already know you know.
IMO, the reason why is that they have never really thought about it. Most haven't. I wouldn't ask them why, it just locks the behavior in, as they think of reasons that justify their habit.. What I do is tell them I like to pinch in during play; and not to be surprised if they see me at the top of the 18 on corners, and they can feel free to do the same. When I look up and see my dual partner standing next to the sub flag on a corner kick -- when I am straddling the goal line-- I just wonder WTF call are they getting ready to make... But, like I said, they just haven't ever thought about it.