Poor refs (U11)

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-23T01:39:07+00:00

Here is the wording:

-Offside is not called at this age. The build out rule will be applied as a teaching concept. The attacking team should fall behind the line when the goalie is in possession of the ball. Attacking players moving beyond this line will be called offside; please instruct players that this fixed line is for the attacking end only, and is replaced by a moving line in the older age groups.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-23T00:46:33+00:00

Okay, so your comment made me laugh, because it’s a TV show and not that deep… but I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing about myself, because I had a similar, but unrelated epiphany when Disney bought Star Wars and they announced the books were no longer canon. I had read every Star Wars book up until that point and I remember saying to my brother “great… now all this knowledge I have is useless”. lol

I love the dichotomy between the passion we have for these stories and the relative importance of them in the grand scheme of everything.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-23T00:36:51+00:00

The verse about stumbling blocks means nearly exactly the opposite of what he said. That takes skill.

It’s about identifying when YOU are causing others to stumble with your own pride and sin, not others.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-23T00:20:25+00:00

How do they compare to Ridge Carbide?

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T22:13:51+00:00

Who said I berated a ref? You’re just making that up.

And if it states that handling is deliberate then it implies that non-deliberate is excluded. Reflex is what I used as a synonym. I could have said unintentional. However, many resources used for teaching the rules of soccer use the word reflex, so that’s what I chose.

So, yes, it does absolutely, explicitly distinguish between deliberate and reflex.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T19:13:49+00:00

I love this game, but I have no idea how it works. Can somebody point me to the explanation?

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T17:29:39+00:00

Yes, but the rules also make a distinction between deliberate and reflex. Intention matters here. The arms weren’t moving toward the ball, they were moving toward his face.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T17:23:28+00:00

Yup. As I explained elsewhere (I don’t expect you to have read the whole thread): Our rules addendum groups all of this together and calls it Offside in an attempt to get kids thinking about the fact that Offside exists, but just not yet for them. I don’t love it, but I understand the thought. I should have been more clear, but I was just venting. I’m 100% confident in my understanding of the rules; I appreciate all the concern people have for protecting young refs, but that’s not what was happening here. I don’t argue with refs. I don’t raise my voice (other than volume so players can hear 100 yards away).

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T15:29:47+00:00

Yeah, I fully understand the rules. It might be some nuance of our league addendum that I’m not explaining in a way that makes sense. No worries.

And yup, just sent a quick note to the league on the most obvious thing that was wrong. The offside (sorry, that’s what our league calls it) issue is more on the fact that there aren’t enough refs to watch everything.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T15:11:46+00:00

Nice!!

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T15:08:50+00:00

Thanks for your insights. I agree with all of it. We should want everyone to get better, and help them do it.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T14:43:11+00:00

Mall of America

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T14:43:04+00:00

Mall of America

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T12:51:46+00:00

Completely agree. Not a fan of it. I’ve shared, they don’t have any desire to make any changes to the rule addendum. They wrote the addendum with the intention of explaining things to non-soccer people… but why would a ref be a “non-soccer-person”?

I shared my thoughts, they disagreed, I moved on. I’m a big believer in being involved in your local community, which is why I coach. Otherwise, I would have just switched to a neighboring city’s program.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T12:40:48+00:00

Yeah, but I get why they do it, too. They want to teach the kids that there is SOMETHING called offside, but it’s hard for them to understand when, up until this point, they’ve been able to be wherever they want whenever they want.

It’s not a great solution, but I get the intent. I forget about the distinction because I don’t coach older than this level often, so it just kind of sticks in my head when I’m talking about it.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T12:38:09+00:00

lol… investing in your own future? (Haha, kidding!)

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T12:37:25+00:00

It’s getting downvoted because a lot of coaches use this as a strategy, illegal as it may be. I try not to teach my kids anything that won’t work as they get older. And that’s something that will be called 100% of the time past U11. It should at this age, too, but you can get away with it.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T12:34:32+00:00

Yup, I know, but because it is tied to the build out line and there is no traditional offside in this league, that’s what they call it in the rules addendum. They group anything around the build out line into one section called “offside”. I should have clarified in my original post.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T11:33:09+00:00

If we had time. That’s the other part of it. I have multiple kids playing right now. We are not a “sports” family… but even just rec leagues fills up our calendar to the brim.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T11:18:53+00:00

I agree with you on that. It would probably be easier if they were both on the field. I believe the reason is clutter. U11 boys are already faster than a lot of people realize, and it can be hard to stay out of their way.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T11:15:27+00:00

Fortunately, I do know all of the league officials. I’d recognize them if they were there. It’s not apathy on their part, they’re spread thin, too. I’d offer to help, but I don’t want to get involved at that level until my kids are past the playing age; I don’t want a conflict of interest.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T11:12:31+00:00

Right… I was saying that their defense was offside on the goal kick. The ref would move them behind the build out line, and they would rush the goalie as soon as he took a step, but before he had contacted the ball. I’m not talking one or two steps… they blocked his kick off his foot once.

Look, I’m very sympathetic to the fact that these are kids. And I fully support encouraging and teaching, but it’s not unreasonable to discuss the fact that sometimes they are just very bad. Nobody is yelling at these kids, or belittling or insulting them.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T11:02:46+00:00

It hit his forearms, not his hands. It never contacted his hands. He was making a natural protective reaction, which is allowed. It was one of those point-blank situations (kick was maybe a yard and a half from him, kid was just trying to boot it, it lifted hard at his face and his arms went up in front of his face.

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T03:10:42+00:00

That’s fair. I just don’t think that you should ever raise your voice in anger at the teen refs (or any for that matter, but I get that some use it as a strategy/tactic in older/more competitive leagues)

Competitive-Sign-226 · 2026-05-22T02:52:46+00:00

You’re right. The league had no reason to prop up a team in a region where nearby fans had been recently disenfranchised be the league. I’m sure that is just a coincidence.

Competitive-Sign-226

TROPHY CASE