When my cohort make his presentation and tells us "It's in the book, but we don't do this" I'm tempted to be a smart aleck and ask "What else in this book do we not have to do?"
I'm only 51. And if I had my way, we'd ditch the dual system and use the diagonal system of control (which we do use for playoffs). But I keep being told that we don't have have enough refs for it and the schools wouldn't play for an extra official.
We specifically do not allow the teams to be on opposite sides. Had a few schools not want to comply when we first changed the rule, but not starting the game until they moved the benches convinced them to do it our way.
We never had teams on opposite sides until two teams got into a bench clearing brawl. Then the private school league mandated all region games have teams on opposite sides for the rest of that season.
We almost never had teams on opposite touchlines until during the height of covid. Most everyone returned to normal for fall 2022. Last year, I was R1 for a dual at the most outlying small school we cover for the 2nd or 3rd time that season. I get there and see the opponent's benches are on opposite touchline. Huh? Home coach tells me since they're their rival and their coach is a real A-1, he put them over there for his own sanity . I had a rookie partner, so I take the troublesome team/coach side even though I expected no real issues in this matchup... Ha... had a fight in the last freaking 3' (the players starting it knew each other and had off-field issues) resulting in 3 RC's, 2 YC's and one for an asst coach. Home coach was smarter than I gave him credit for...
The only time that I have had team benches on opposite touchlines was the first USSF tournament that I officiated after COVID in April 2021. I hated it since I had to look at both sides at every stoppage to see if there were subs!
I think some of it is what you’re used to. When I started 40 some (gulp!) years ago as a kid, the league had teams on opposite sides, with parents on the same side as their own team. AYSO (at least around here) does the same. And the HS league has teams on opposite sides. I like that it keeps the coaches away from one another, the teams away from one another, and (for the youth leagues) the parents away from one another.
Slightly changing lanes, but we did drift to where the benches are... Has anyone done a game where both teams and all spectators are on the same side. We have a high school where a closer association did not renew their contract because of referee abuse. We are farther and are stuck with them. The teams and spectators are on the same side of the field. And these spectators know NOTHING. The ball goes out near the midfield line, and the visiting team's players will go ten yards back, then run up ten yards and throw it in where the ball went out. The coach loses his mind saying you have to stand still when you throw it in. Since he is near the spectators, they hear him and believe him. So they lose their minds when an opponent runs up and throws the ball in. That's just one example. Of the 21 high schools our 35 referees go to, this is the only one where the two benches and all the spectators are on the same side.
We switch sides, directly across the field, so you lead right (or left, it doesn't really matter) in the first half, then go across to the other side and lead the opposite way. I actually like the swap, you generally get one half with a coach in your ear and one half of peace and quiet.
I was talking to an older official about this and reminded me that at one point, we were encouraged in Central New York to also switch half way through each half. That would mean we would change the touchline on some dead ball after the 20th minute, after halftime, and then on a dead ball after the 60th minute. I think that suggestion was made by an official who primarily did basketball; they seem to switch sides constantly. We haven't been given that advise in about 15 years.
Not like screaming dissent, just the constant "what'd he call?" "that wasn't off blue?" running commentary.
I’ve definitely had that setup here. Sometimes teams just have their benches set up on the only side of the field that has proper stands. Usually there’s a track around the field, so coaches and parents getting chatty with each other has never been an issue, at least that I’ve noticed.
hoops reds switch (or rotate in 3 man) on basically every stoppage. But the court is just a little bit smaller than a soccer pitch . . .
One of the reasons I like doing NFHS more than USSF is there is usually a track and a fence around the field. Pretty easy to tune out a crowd that is 20-30 yards away.