Chairman's Referee Coverage Letter
CHAIRMAN'S LETTER
Referee Coverage
By David Repka, 03/21/07
As you may have seen on our website, in February 2007 the Board of Directors of DC Stoddert held a Strategic Retreat. In addition to Board members, the group that day included a number of recreational commissioners, coaches, staff personnel, and certified referees. The purpose of the effort was to focus on recreational soccer to identify areas where improvements in our programs are necessary. One of the key topics that was discussed is referee coverage.
This is not by any means a new issue. But it is one of those chronic issues that never seems to get solved. And, in reality, it is an issue with a number of embedded sub-issues. How do we build a pool of trained referees sufficient to cover the large number of recreational games? How do we educate our coaches, players, and parents to treat referees better? How do we implement a logical referee assignment system that will assure that games are covered well in advance? And what type of system should be in place for "stand in" coverage by team volunteers when no referees are available?
Recognizing the difficulty of the issue, I am nonetheless committed to a goal of 100% coverage for recreational games at U9 and older. This goal is important because the players deserve a game officiated by someone who is trained. The goal is important because coaches should not be distracted from their job by the need to find a last minute "volunteer" from the sideline. . And it is important to have a representative from the league at every game to ensure that player, coach and parent behavior is all consistent with our expectations for a youth recreational activity.
Is the goal achievable? Absolutely! It will take a little time and a lot of effort, but it can be done. We will also need to recognize what hasn't worked in the past, and we will need to find support in our soccer community to fill the gaps. No Board can create referees out of thin air or retain referees who feel disrespected and unappreciated on the field. Nonetheless, here are some of our first steps.
First, we recognize the limitations of the Junior Referee program and we are making some revisions. The program will now be open to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders (with current Junior Refs grandfathered). We are urging all players in this age range to sign up for the class (see the notice elsewhere in this Newsletter or check the website). The class is free. This is a great way to learn more about the game and to earn some money. For game assignments, we will not cover U8 games. Nationally, referees are not recommended for these small-sided games, and we need to focus our resources where they are needed. We will assign Junior Refs to U9 and U10 games only — an age level where the Junior Referees can be more comfortable and successful.
Second, we are seeking high school students and parents to referee games at U11 and U12. To ref these games, we are offering a FIFA grade 9 certification class. Yes, this one-day program seems daunting. But it is only one day and it will qualify a referee to officiate games at any level of recreational soccer. And, it meets the "stand-in AR" requirement that many Travel leagues impose. All teams in this age band will be expected by their commissioners to send at least one representative to the certification class and to referee games. This is essential to the goal of covering games.
I recognize that last year we adopted a "volunteer parent referee" requirement for U10 – U12. We offered a course and had a very good turnout of recruits. Then, as an organization, we failed to implement the program; we did not get our parent refs out on the field. Hopefully we learned from that. We need to try again with this expectation. We will implement the training — as do the Travel leagues — through the FIFA 9 certification. Each team should assure that they have a qualified referee in their ranks. The DC Stoddert referee assignor will assign games that meets their schedule. In addition, this will assure many available "stand ins" (with sufficient notice!).
Finally, as in the past, games U13 and older will be officiated by young adults and adults with a FIFA 8 certification. We have a dedicated pool of referees in this category, but will always need more. I urge anybody interested to explore class availability on the website or contact the League Administrator. The FIFA 8 is a valuable certification and creates many opportunities for interested referees.
We can meet our goal of 100% game coverage, but only with a pool of more referees at all of the various levels that I have described. As an organization, we need to train those referees and provide appropriate mentoring and oversight. We will do that! But as a community, we need to step up and help fill the need. And, as a community we need to constantly remind ourselves to treat referees respectfully so we can retain them to ref another week.
