Last night I did a U12G rec match where the yellow coaching staff was spread along the touchline. One for each third of the field. I noticed this after the first few minutes and decided to handle this during the halftime break. When I informed the head-coach that he and his staff need to stay around thier bench, he told me that I was the first referee to tell him this. For the second half, they stayed around thier own bench. Is this something other people let slide and I'm too picky? --Shawn
Good for you. Coaches continually yelling instructions to players during a game is one of the most detrimental aspects of youth soccer in the USA. Their players probably wanted to come over and thank you for getting the coaches back to the bench. In most of the youth leagues that I work the coaches and teams are on one side of the pitch and the spectators on the other. Coaches are permitted to leave their bench area to give instructions as long as they behave responsibly and return to their bench area immediately. I prefer to limit the white noise emanating from the bench because it can be distracting.
Good point! Clearing out the noise let's the kids play better and have more fun. The ref can also speak to the coach about parents yelling at players, too.
Fields should be marked with technical boxes for the coaches and players. It should be approximately 5-10 yards from the center line and 0-10 yards from the penalty area. The distance touchline depends on available space, but usually 1-5 yards. Coaches can wander out, but only briefly for relaying instructions. Coaches who can't seem to behave or stay in their areas should be warned or (in extreme cases) dismissed. We have these restrictions for U6 on up. The coaches here seem to understand the rules, and follow them most of the time.
Dream on! I'm happy if I have four outer lines, a PA and a midfield line. Tonight's OTH match had a goal line painted in front of the immovable goal posts. Neither team could hit the broad side of a barn so it was not an issue. Several squirrels were killed in the nearby woods, however.
I call this rule. Not sure why. Almost every time, they just move over and don't give me any grief about it. But there's always the exceptions. Prof