Skills Vs Refs

[greensleevss]

The skill level throught out D-5 has improved throughout the years. Has the refering improved over the years has well?

I have only been to a few games thus far this year and i dont think that it has. Dont get me wrong i appreciate that fact that the refs come out and do there job, its the quality factor im questioning. They seem to enforce the rules, as they should, but they never seem to have control of the game as they should.

Example: Went to Ridge's second game. A Ridge player was taken out and a free kick resulted. It was then asked by Ridge weather or not the kick was direct or indirect, and was told direct ( this is not just the players word here the game was recorded and you can hear Direct Kick when watching the game) The kick is taken and the ball goes in the goal with no one else touching the ball. So at this point everyone things GOALLLLL! But its not. The ref comes back and now say that it was an indirect kick. Why the indecision after the call and play had been made should not be happening at this level.

This is just one example of many that is out there I'm sure, But where are the refs at?

Of courese this is only MHO and I shall now step down off my box.

[Gunner18]

i dont think the refs are that bad that they need a topic discussing it. sure they make mistakes and sometimes costly ones, but it happens to the best refs in the world. i was watching an English Premier League game a few weeks ago and a ref gave one of the players 2 yellow cards but failed to give him a red after the 2nd one...it happens. if you were at the bedford vs forest hills football game last year then you probly noticed that the refs called the play dead because they thought one of the running backs that got tackled had the ball when in fact Troy Harris was running down the sidelines with the ball and open field....refs make mistakes, no need to harp them about it

[greensleevss]

Yes refs do make mistakes along with everyone else im well aware of this fact..... but that’s not what im talking about here. What im saying is that soccer programs throughout the district have gotten better and more skillful over the years. Im Asking do you think that the refs skill has improved, stayed the same or have gone down hill as a result of the soccer team improvement? That is the topic here!

[Former Wildcat]

As soccer star has stated numerous times, the level of officiating in D5 is not on par with the rest of the state. I played in D3 ten years ago, and we had much better officiating. Now the level of play in D3 is also much better so the two might go hand-in-hand.

[Former Wildcat]

This is mainly because D3 schools tend to be AAA and AA while D5 is A. I think D5 A teams would be comparable to D3 A teams. Didn't want to bring down the level of soccer in the area, but larger schools are able to consistently field better teams.

[soccer star]

That is exactly what i have been trying to get across former wildcat.
I am not trying to harp on thses guys from D5 , but i guess it comes across as harping because i easily get frustrated with the level of reffin because i also played high school ball in D3 and youth ball for club in Eastern PA.
I am also a high school ref in D3, college ref, and USSF grade 6 in eastern pa and when i come over to coach in D5 and see the difference it is just hard to deal with sometimes.

[justdunkit]

last year in a game at north star vs berlin the game was tied late in the second half a despiration shot was fired up by a berlin player. as his foot made contact with the ball the buzzer sounded and the clock read 0.0. the north star goalie was already on his way off the field. the shot was from about 20 yards out so there should have been no conflict. the ball went in the goal and the refs counted the goal. remember this isnt basketball there is no after the buzzer made shot, once the buzzer sounds in soccer the play is dead. In actualality if it was a good shot a few tenths of a second should have been up on the board and a kickoff should have occurred but the goal stud and instead of overtime it resulted in a berlin victory. the refs need some work :?

[greensleevss]

Ok so it seems most people agree.... D5 ref's skills are not up to par.... Now I ask what could/should be done to resolve this problem?

[once a runner]

Seems simple enough....you guys who know what is going on should take the test and start refereeing.

[4him]

I hate that answer...It almost implies that a better job can't be done, but it can. It is a responsability of those holding the position to better themselves. If it were any other occupation and the person was performing that poorly, they would be fired. However, due to the lack of numbers in the reffing field, these guys still have work.