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This letter appeared in the May-June 2008 issue of Soccer Journal.
I read with interest the commentary on “Officials v. Coaches” (Center Circle, November-December 2007). This is a serious issue because it is not just an issue between the coaches and the officials, but is becoming a worse issue between officials and players and their supporters.
I played since college until my knees gave out and have been a youth coach for about 30 years, a referee for more than 10 years and a referee trainer for almost five years. In addition, all my children played soccer in youth programs and in high school. They also tried college ball. I have seen a lot of change in the game, in officiating, in coaching and in supporters. I have been a player, I am a parent and supporter, I am a coach and I am an official. Thirty years ago you didn’t see this erosion of relationship. So why is the relationship eroding now?
I believe it is because of several reasons. The foremost reason is that we still have many players, coaches and supporters that do not understand the Laws of the Game, how officials try to allow the game to flow or how they are being taught to interpret the Laws.
Players think they know the rules because they have been playing for years. Some believe that because they are good players, they must know the game. But how often do I hear, “I got the ball first ref.” That may be true, but they also came in with their cleats up, which they do not realize or think about as a foul.
Coaches (high school, college, and professional) may read the Laws and may go through them extensively and generally know what the Laws say. This does not mean they understand the interpretation or the spirit of the Law. When a foul is or is not called and they disagree, were they watching for the foul or watching the general run of play? They may have missed what the official was watching for.
Supporters, in general, know next to nothing about the game and its laws. They do not understand offside and they especially do not understand “advantage.” They are used to other American sports, where when a foul is called or committed it is sanctioned immediately. They do not understand why it is a foul one time and a play another.
My point is that a better job needs to be done educating coaches and especially players in what constitutes a foul or infringement of the Laws of the Game. It is not enough just to have read the Laws or to have had the Laws enforced upon us as a player. Educating coaches, players and parents is the only way to begin to keep this relationship from eroding further.
I think that the two “Starting XI” perspectives make some good points and I generally believe that officials try to do these things. That’s not to say that they do not sometimes make mistakes, let physical play go too far before enforcing the laws or get caught out of position. But I find it interesting that both groups decided to primarily focus on what the officials should do, with little focus on what coaches and players can do to improve the relationship.
I am not saying that coaches and players should be trained as officials or that officials should have played the game to be able to understand where the other is coming from in their points of view.
What I am saying is that officials need to better understand what coaches and players expect from an officiating crew and be better prepared when they officiate a game. If they know nothing of the two teams they officiate they can be in for a rough time, especially if one team is better at finesse and the other a physical team.
At the same time coaches and players need to have a better understanding of how officials are being trained to interpret the Laws of the Game and what constitutes a foul in the course of play.
Where does this all start? It starts on the youth level by better informing the coaches about the Laws of the Game and them in turn teaching this to the players and supporters. On our team, we do a workshop for parents explaining what they are seeing on the field and explaining why sometimes you have a foul and sometimes not. I have sat in the stands on occasion explaining why a foul or no foul was called. This has helped our parents understand the game better and makes them better supporters.
What it comes down to is better-rounded coaches, players and officials. They cannot be so specialized or entrenched in their own area that they know only one aspect of the game. Coaches can’t just coach the game. Players can’t just play. Officials can’t just enforce the Laws. They need to be educated in the whole aspect of the game. But we aren’t doing this.
I could go on and on about the things that we aren’t doing to improve the relationship between coaches and officials, but until we begin to take steps on a national level to cross-train – no, cross educate – coaches and officials, we will continue to see this relationship erode.
Chris Burkett, Cortez, Colo.
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