State policy here is that if the game is played with a short crew, the missing crew members' fees are split among the referees that did work the game. So if you do a game solo that should be a dual, you get 2X the fee. If you do a Varsity game as a solo, you get all three referee fees. Once in my time as an assignor, we had a JV/Varsity double header (so dual followed by DSC) that we were told about 2 hours before kickoff. We got one referee to cover both games, and the AD decided to play anyway. Only complaint from the AD was that it was way too much to pay that single referee. I sent him a snippet of the state bylaws, with the policy, and a shrug.
In our neck of the woods coaches can refuse to play if all we have is a solo. With things as bad as they were last year we had several that they agreed to. I did one, HSBV with what turned out to be a State semifinal team. It ended 8-1
Few years back I soloed a match in a Summer league composed of incoming HS varsity teams. One team was led by a very successful Div III college coach and the other by a former pro. Needless to say I got nothing right and the law changes in force were stupid and should have been ignored. I had fun though!
We get 1.5x for doing a game solo, AND middle schools here typically play doubleheaders (7th grade game and 8th grade game). For about the same time you spend at a varsity game you make more than double the money. And less people scream at you. It's not a bad gig.
I have done varsity boys in the state's largest classification solo. Some years ago, but I still remember, as we were all out there for kickoff, one of the players said, "Where are the guys with the flags?" I quickly said, "You've only got one game, don't you?" Tweeeet!!!!! Relatively small field and I don't recall that we had much yipping and yapping. I also remember a very low level girls varsity game solo. So 'low level' that when I went to the visiting coach before the game to get his roster and ask the magic question, he was over picking blackberries about 10 yards off the field. We have a state rule that varsity gets at least two before sub-varsity gets any. Of course, with JV games in the afternoon, that really only affects the smallest schools that don't have a JV team but have to play in the afternoon because their field has no lights. JV2 games are almost always on the days that the varsity and JV aren't playing. Most of our JV are duals and JV2 may be duals or solo. Schools can request either two or three for their varsity games but it usually comes down to whether you are playing in the afternoon (dual) or the evening (DSC.) I don't remember how the money shakes out. There is a statewide rate that schools can be charged, per official, with some variation due to the size of the school. Our association, like most, has its own pay scale, with different rates that depend on the size of the school, varsity v sub-varsity and R, AR, dual, solo R. Years ago, R1 on a dual got a few bucks more but that just led to complaining by R2's that they got there first and 'did all of the work' before the other guy got there, yahda, yahda, yahda.
I find it interesting how much some of you are against solo HS matches. I have been doing summer VB HS games and they are all assigned solo. Not my favorite, but not that difficult either. I emphasize that there are 22 of them and 1 of me and good luck with the offside trap......this is summer training - let's see your skills and conditioning and leave the rugby moves until the fall......... Only had 1 YC in 8 games. If my partner did not show up for a regular season dual match, I would happily take the 1.5X ($150+) and let the kids play.
It’s a matter of safety. You can’t effectively cover the game. There’s absolutely no denying that. You can ask them to play clean and nice all you want but that’s about as effective as having the US and Mexico play a “friendly” and expecting it to go smoothly. Something will eventually happen. If all they want to do is get out and run around, they don’t need a ref.
Can't do varsity solo here but all other levels are usually one ref. That has not been my experience at all. You miss more throw in direction and offside calls and you need to run more, but you absolutely can still manage the game and keep it safe.
You just admitted you miss things more easily. It’s not going to be isolated to throw ins and offside. It may not have happened yet but it will. Three sets of eyes don’t catch everything either but they certainly catch a far more acceptable amount than only one will.
Nice twist. Misleading of course. Far more huh. Given the number of JV games I've covered on my own I can't agree. Keep your work rate up and pay attention and they are doable.
Huh? Your exact wording “You miss more throw in direction and offside calls…” Are those not things you are missing more easily as I stated. And did I not go on to say that it’s probably not isolated to the specific items you mentioned? I don’t see where I misquoted or twisted anything you said. You might not like it but there’s no reasonable argument to say one referee covers a game more or even equivalently effectively as three.
It's what you miss that matters. You said "It’s a matter of safety". Implying that the game is unsafe at that level with less than three refs is silly. I'm done with this worthless discussion.
When my daughter played JV at a small girl's school about half of her games were solo and half were dual. It was pretty much a wash as it seemed stronger refs were assigned when it was a solo. (Some of the dual refs were, well, interesting . . .)
I don't think I've ever worked a HS game (V, JV, or 9th grade) solo. I've worked a very small number of low-level varsity games where I would have been happy to be out there solo and pick up an extra $40, but anything remotely competitive would be a nightmare.
The issue for me isn’t so much offside. You have 21 ARs on a HS football field from goal line to goal line. The bigger issue is you have 4 suicide corners instead of 2 and the deeper you get the farther you run the other way if and when it flips.
I will not do any full size field games solo. I almost got stuck doing a middle school boys game solo. Thankfully a now referee mentor agreed do work it as a dual with me. That game needed two. There was exactly one game where I think I could have done it solo. Two small private schools middle school girls game. The field looked between a USSF 9v9 field and a normal high school field. Both teams were low skilled and played like they wanted to have fun. Well behaved. There wasn't a single other full size field game I did that I would have been comfortable working solo.
ALL of our MS games are assigned solo. And pretty much every ref I know is happy to do them. Why - $80 for an easy 60 minute game. And if they play a "jv" game (6th graders usually) for an extra 20 minutes, you get $108. I will take that all day long and twice on Sunday These games are typically done by the 1st/2nd yr refs who are working their initial JV games (dual) and trying to move up to V. And there really is not any choice. Not enough refs (or money) to put more refs on the games.
I did one JV2 girls game solo several years ago. It was assigned as a dual, and my partner never showed. It was two of the larger schools and played on a turf football field. No problems. Using the football lines, I caught several offsides. The girls were fairly skilled, but not overly aggressive. I would not like to do a similar boys games, which tend to be much faster and physical. I have also done a few Middle School games solo.
Does anyone else hate this one? The whole stadium watched your player go flying into a tackle and clean out the opponent. The whole stadium watched me stop the clock and give your player a yellow card. Why do I have to waste everyone's time and run across the field so you can berate me from five feet away instead of 40 yards away? I think about 50% of cards I give coaches in NFHS are in this little follow up conference after I have already carded a player.
I keep this one short and sweet. From a long way away, "6 white, unsporting behavior" for example. It's not a conference - it's me calling to the benches loudly enough for them to hear. If the coach is going to get a card from me on this, he would have got a card regardless of where I was on the field.