Local story worth posting. Soccer ref says he's pressing charges Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer IMO, a great op-ed piece on the incident. Sports violence starts long before the majors Attack on soccer ref in under-10 game is grownup rage C.W. Nevius
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges Guy - this doesn't surprise me one bit. There are a lot of A-holes out there coaching little kids, and it makes me wonder how parents could entrust their children to idiots like that. I have been refereeing CYSA games for 12 years, and during this time have seen the parents and coaches of even younger ages groups (U-10, U-12) act like every game is the seventh game of the World Series. And of course, like the little sponges they are, the children pick up on this and reflect the attitudes of their parents and coaches. The sports culture in this world has gone seriously awry, and something needs to be done lest sports become less a healthy, stress-relieving activity and simply another martial exercise in war. I look back very fondly to the days I was a child when sports consisted of kids in the neighborhood by themselves, without supervision (or interference) by adults. Maybe this is the model that works best; I am beginning to think that organized sports for sub-high school kids may be a poor idea...
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges bsman, I know you didn't mean it this way - but please don't paint us all with a broad brush. For every idiot coach there are hundreds who volunteer a huge amount of time and care deeply about the general welfare of their kids, not just how well they play soccer or whether they win. What I am about to say is not the least bit of an excuse for the coach's behavior. He should be arrested and jailed, let alone allowed to coach again. But what happened to the league's discipline? I see lot's of questions raised about how well this league and even this ref went about dealing with what was obviously a brewing situation. First, how does a ref NOT do a credential check prior to the start of the game. PARTICULARY, on a team that has 'age problems' in the past. I don't get it. I've never seen that happen in all the youth games I've watched/coached. If the team is late - disqualify them. The league SHOULD have a rule about how long before a game the team can appear and expect to play. At least you delay the start of the game and shorten the length a bit if maintaing a schedule is critical. Second, this apparantly had been going on for some time, with accusations previously, some of which were apparantly not addressed by previous refs. The league MUST take action on the first offense with severe penalities on the second. There should NEVER be a third. The way to keep things from escalating and getting out of control is to keep them from escalating - stop bad behavior the minute it starts. It looks to me like this guy was a known quantity and no one wanted to address it.
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges Wow, that's sad. I hadn't really encountered something of that element until last Saturday for the U-8 team I coach. The two opposing coaches were relentless with the kids. Among other things, they were focused on the boys playing physically, rather than simply trying to control the ball, something difficult for a 7 year old to do in the first place. My boys weren't having any fun, getting frustrated because they were getting pushed and shoved. A very frustrating experience for my boys and myself. I never saw a single smile on any of the faces of the opposing players or coaches. WORK! WORK! WORK! was how they approached the game. No joy, no fun. Really sad.
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges Hey Jim - Sorry! I was reacting to the news without spending too much time thinking. I agree - there are a LOT of parents and others out there with all of the best intentions who are doing a lot for the kids. However, I still think that there are some fundamental problems with the way soccer is run; way too much emphasis is put on winning at way too early an age. I am beginning to think that select leagues for under 10 kids are one of the causes, rather than symptoms of this phenomenon. I wonder if maybe AYSO isn't a more rational system these days (although I understand that AYSO has its share of idiots too...) Maybe the best approach would be to have one-year bans on coaches and/or parents who demonstrate abusive behavior either towards their players or officials. I don't know - whay I do know is that these things have gotten way out of hand and past the point where one can simply attribute it to 'a few bad apples'. I think it's a pretty sad state of affairs when referees in an game for kids under 10 have to be concerned about ringers!!!!!!!
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges Agreed.....ALL players need a valid pass and if a player is late he is required to check in with a pass to the referee asst. This coach was allowed to behave this way. He should have been banned permanently after one incident of playing an illegal player. Last year a U-16 coach was banned for sneaking an illegal player on.......at halftime, the coach of the other team was alerted by a parent that a new kid showed up and never checked in.....the ref checked, 17 passes.....18 players, game forfeited and coach suspended. His explanation of losing the pass was a lie which was easily proven in a district meeting and he was banned.....end of story. There is no room for cheating in youth soccer and zero tolerance is a must. I have coached for 11 years and I've only seen three or four coaches that I would NOT let my child play for. I don't mind coaches that yell TO players, it's the ones that yell AT players that bother me.
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges In AYSO league, I have been a coach administrator and instructor for the last three years and have been coaching (pretty much year round) for eight years (AYSO, CYSA, and school). As an administrator, I have the "pleasure" of dealing with about 90% coaches who are generally positive and have good intentions. However, there is the other 10%... Each year I have 2 to 3 coaches who are too competitive for the league. Most of them are negative to some of their players, don't play all of their players the proper amount during the game, and tend to keep players in the same position rather than having them learn different positions (U12 and below). Unless there is a severe case, the coach is not "invited" to coach the next year. In one case, we put a coach in "probation" for the remainder of the season after an incident with an official. Remember. these volunteers (both coaches and referees) are supposed to have the proper training and experience for their positions, but often don't. The bottom line is that I'm not surprised this occured. Several years ago, one of our former league administrators (who was officiating) was almost assaulted after a game. In a separate incident this year, a friend of my wife was officiating a girls CYSA U14 or U16 game in which a fight occured during the handshakes after the game, continued to the parking lot, and resulted in some girls going to the hospital and the police being called. Frankly, I blame our society where people feel their "entitled" to anything and don't give a crap about other people. Throw in a general lack of accountability for their actions, you have the incidents which occured and will continue to occur. Sorry, I go can on for along time on this subject...
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges I have to register some partial disagreement with this. It's chicken and egg, they feed back-and-forth on each other. When it's "winning's not everything, it's just ahead of whatever's in second place," and "winner take all" mentality, we reap what we sow. On all levels.
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges Exqueeze me for pulling politics into this, but... I believe that the recent violence in youth and adult sports is a reflection of the building tension in this country. The war in Iraq, the polarizing election, and the economy are affecting everyone's behavior and encouraging the "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore" attitude. I am on a CYSA league board, and this season we have had 5-6 incidents of violence and threatening behavior. Normally we get only 1-2 cases per season. Then, 2 days after the Pacers-Detroit game, my womens outdoor game was terminated because of a fight between 2 of the players. And we're in a low-skilled division, so we're not a bunch of hot-headed prima donas. Too many people are going to the edge, and I think it's a reflection of Bush's unilateralism.
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges The trend to violence in sports, and society as a whole, began long before George II was elected. This is one thing that we can't really be blamed on him.
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges The ref is one good dude..... http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/11/27/BAG60A1VKV1.DTL The worst of it, several pointed out, is that the boys on the team, the Cabritos (Little Goats) are only 8 and 9 years old. Not only have they been swept into a controversy, they're left without a team or a coach. This week, a coach stepped forward. He's experienced. He speaks Spanish. And he's a longtime supporter of soccer in Richmond. His name is Bruce Greenlee (the referee). "I've been thinking of volunteering to coach,'' Greenlee said. "(Although) I definitely need for Alvarez to be brought under the criminal justice system before I go near that team.'' There are tentative feelers from both sides. Greenlee says he would be interested, and when Rodriguez floated the idea to the Cabritos' parents, he says they told him, "That's not a bad idea.'' It's a great idea. It would go miles toward restoring trust and credibility to the program. Greenlee, considered a tough but fair official, certainly knows the game, and the Cabritos would love to get back to playing soccer. "This shows a good heart from Bruce,'' says Rodriguez, who says he's known Greenlee about five years. "Everybody has to hear and see this.''
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges They'll look for any excuse to blame Bush. This was hardly a polarized election (thank God). We can only blame our society for violence in sports. The break up of the family is a huge part of it.
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges Bump. CW Nevius with a followup in today's SF Chronicle. Boy, this Alvarez guy (the Cabritos coach) sounds like a dick beyond description. The soccer punch-out still hurts by CW Nevius
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges your link is to a picture, not an article can you re-linky?
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges Fixed, and thanks for the catch. The photo was in my clipboard from earlier today.
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges No doubt about it. Super-jerk. Can anyone tell me why if this happened in Richmond, the Alameda county prosecutor is involved? Did the dick ask for a change of venue already?
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges Everybody involved is from Richmond, but the incident happened in Albany, which is Alameda County.
Re: [NQR]Soccer ref says he's pressing charges UrawaRed should know about things that happen "in Albany".
Here's the latest from Chuck Nevius about Richmond youth soccer, playing off the thread of the previous columns. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/15/BAGT1AQM951.DTL
Nice to see that C-Dub saw fit to give soccer some positive press, specifically Richmond Soccer.......also nice to see the Richmond High kid get a Cal scholarship.
Nevius gives more ink to Richmond soccer: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/12/BAG00BNTTQ1.DTL
#9 Monte Vista took down #1 Richmond and Richmond fans and players handled it with true class. Kudos! De LaSalle, on the other hand......an embarrassment in every sense of the word......I blame the coach. I coach that age level and my boys damn well know how to win and lose with class.