2nd Grade Soccer Playing Time

[Anonymous]

How about scores? What should happenwhen one team is blowing out the other? My son also refs and here's what he saw last weekend:

5th graders, also rec. Score is 5-0. Coach is rotating positions, players keep scoring. 8-0.

...

So far, so good? Should there be a change? Have the coach pull players and have them play short-handed? Make the best players sit out?

Keep scoring and finish 13-0 ...?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about scores? What should happenwhen one team is blowing out the other? My son also refs and here's what he saw last weekend:

5th graders, also rec. Score is 5-0. Coach is rotating positions, players keep scoring. 8-0.

...

So far, so good? Should there be a change? Have the coach pull players and have them play short-handed? Make the best players sit out?

Keep scoring and finish 13-0 ...?



I believe they would want the coach to challenge their own players if it's an obvious mismatched game. The coach can pull offense and put them in defense, make them kick with left foot, pass certain # of times before attempting shooting etc. Also, the opposing team generally is allowed to add extra players in the runaway game. But sometimes it is what it is.

[Anonymous]

And the refs job is to report it to DCUM and not the leagues governing body?

Is there a form for this particular league to report the issue? Did the kid ask the coach if there were extenuating circumstances regarding the kids playing time if it was in fact a rule? Is 50% playing time truly a rule or a guideline? Is the ref so certain that the kid did not in fact play in the first half? If it is a league rule is there a mechanism for the ref to track substitutions and minutes?

In short, let the parents worry about THEIR kids playing and let your kid just worry about what is happening on the field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And the refs job is to report it to DCUM and not the leagues governing body?

Is there a form for this particular league to report the issue? Did the kid ask the coach if there were extenuating circumstances regarding the kids playing time if it was in fact a rule? Is 50% playing time truly a rule or a guideline? Is the ref so certain that the kid did not in fact play in the first half? If it is a league rule is there a mechanism for the ref to track substitutions and minutes?

In short, let the parents worry about THEIR kids playing and let your kid just worry about what is happening on the field.

OP was just starting a topic for feedback based on a simple observation from his/her kid, there is seriously something wrong with your mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the refs job is to report it to DCUM and not the leagues governing body?

Is there a form for this particular league to report the issue? Did the kid ask the coach if there were extenuating circumstances regarding the kids playing time if it was in fact a rule? Is 50% playing time truly a rule or a guideline? Is the ref so certain that the kid did not in fact play in the first half? If it is a league rule is there a mechanism for the ref to track substitutions and minutes?

In short, let the parents worry about THEIR kids playing and let your kid just worry about what is happening on the field.

OP was just starting a topic for feedback based on a simple observation from his/her kid, there is seriously something wrong with your mind.

And that topic is being discussed as well as other topics that can come out of talking about things. This is kinda the nature of a forum.

You brought up an observation about playing time. So what, there are dozens of threads that talk about playing time. What makes this different is that you are bringing it up as it pertains to what your son observed while reffing a game. And there are a few problems with that:

1. His observation is in a vacuum of one game with one team.
2. His observation was not made as an actual part of his assigned duties, other than as a part of managing sub moments. He wasn't required to note the time that players entered the game.

You claimed:

i arrived early to check out how he's doing, and got to watch about ten minutes of an exciting and competitive soccer game.

You then point out the following:

There's one strong player who's probably coach's daughter, really stood out from the rest of the field, and was exciting to watch. She also played the entire time I was there while other players were being subbed.

Ok, big deal, you saw TEN minutes of the game and this kid played all of whole ten minutes that you saw the game. That doesn't mean she played the entire game.

So now we get into the meat of what your kid claimed to have observed.:

on the drive home DS commented how one player on this team never got much playing time until the very end of game, and wondered why playing time wasn't more evenly distributed. He understood the player might've been a late arrival but he was still bothered by how late she finally entered the game.

So he makes no claim of actual minutes that this player played only that she seemed to come in "late". What's "late"? 2 minutes left, ten?? He then adds a little context that the player may have been late arriving to the game. Did she show up just as he was checking the kids in, just before, after the game started? But he also implied that she did in fact play in the game before she got in near the end. Perhaps her shifts were shorter but still totaled half or near half a game? Perhaps she was late and was simply not subbed in for her normal rotation as a result of being late. Perhaps she has a history of being late?

In short, discussing playing time distribution at these ages is a perfectly fine discussion and is valuable. Your observations simply have a few holes in them and you seem a bit to defensive at the suggestion that the playing time distribution is out of your son's concern as a ref. It is fine to discuss it, but I think parents here are giving some valuable advice in regards for your son to not worry about it unless it is his responsibility to manage sub moments and handle player cards in accordance to specific league mandates. And your observing only ten minutes of the game doesn't provide any credibility or context to his claim or observation. You only saw ten minutes.

It is nice that he felt bad for the kid. It is also not his place to worry about it either. If he is going to be a good game official he actually needs to learn to be impartial. And frankly, his primary concern and discussion on the ride home I hope would be about how well he officiated. Did he have control of the game? Were there any calls he would like back? etc.

His job is to officiate and let the parents worry about their kids playing time.

And just as he is free to express his observations and for you to share them, there is nothing wrong with my mind to point out my observations on the matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the refs job is to report it to DCUM and not the leagues governing body?

Is there a form for this particular league to report the issue? Did the kid ask the coach if there were extenuating circumstances regarding the kids playing time if it was in fact a rule? Is 50% playing time truly a rule or a guideline? Is the ref so certain that the kid did not in fact play in the first half? If it is a league rule is there a mechanism for the ref to track substitutions and minutes?

In short, let the parents worry about THEIR kids playing and let your kid just worry about what is happening on the field.

OP was just starting a topic for feedback based on a simple observation from his/her kid, there is seriously something wrong with your mind.

And that topic is being discussed as well as other topics that can come out of talking about things. This is kinda the nature of a forum.

You brought up an observation about playing time. So what, there are dozens of threads that talk about playing time. What makes this different is that you are bringing it up as it pertains to what your son observed while reffing a game. And there are a few problems with that:

1. His observation is in a vacuum of one game with one team.
2. His observation was not made as an actual part of his assigned duties, other than as a part of managing sub moments. He wasn't required to note the time that players entered the game.

You claimed:

i arrived early to check out how he's doing, and got to watch about ten minutes of an exciting and competitive soccer game.

You then point out the following:

There's one strong player who's probably coach's daughter, really stood out from the rest of the field, and was exciting to watch. She also played the entire time I was there while other players were being subbed.

Ok, big deal, you saw TEN minutes of the game and this kid played all of whole ten minutes that you saw the game. That doesn't mean she played the entire game.

So now we get into the meat of what your kid claimed to have observed.:

on the drive home DS commented how one player on this team never got much playing time until the very end of game, and wondered why playing time wasn't more evenly distributed. He understood the player might've been a late arrival but he was still bothered by how late she finally entered the game.

So he makes no claim of actual minutes that this player played only that she seemed to come in "late". What's "late"? 2 minutes left, ten?? He then adds a little context that the player may have been late arriving to the game. Did she show up just as he was checking the kids in, just before, after the game started? But he also implied that she did in fact play in the game before she got in near the end. Perhaps her shifts were shorter but still totaled half or near half a game? Perhaps she was late and was simply not subbed in for her normal rotation as a result of being late. Perhaps she has a history of being late?

In short, discussing playing time distribution at these ages is a perfectly fine discussion and is valuable. Your observations simply have a few holes in them and you seem a bit to defensive at the suggestion that the playing time distribution is out of your son's concern as a ref. It is fine to discuss it, but I think parents here are giving some valuable advice in regards for your son to not worry about it unless it is his responsibility to manage sub moments and handle player cards in accordance to specific league mandates. And your observing only ten minutes of the game doesn't provide any credibility or context to his claim or observation. You only saw ten minutes.

It is nice that he felt bad for the kid. It is also not his place to worry about it either. If he is going to be a good game official he actually needs to learn to be impartial. And frankly, his primary concern and discussion on the ride home I hope would be about how well he officiated. Did he have control of the game? Were there any calls he would like back? etc.

His job is to officiate and let the parents worry about their kids playing time.

And just as he is free to express his observations and for you to share them, there is nothing wrong with my mind to point out my observations on the matter.

Agree with the above.

As a former ref, it is none of the ref's business to monitor playing time, nor to try to equalize play/scores. That is a dangerous path to travel as a ref. The day will come in a game when as a ref your impartiality is tested as you know you should make a call but don't want to. Make the call the same way every time. Jettison the emotions and concern for somethin g other than doing your job as a ref.

As a coach, no one but parents should question playing time. So often kids literally refuse to go in the game, have untied shoelaces, are hurt, feel 'sick to my tummy', etc.

[Anonymous]

Longtime ref and rec program volunteer here.

It all depends on how the program is organized. In our program, there are three types of rules:
1. The Laws of the Game, as modified for youth players.
2. Administrative rules, such as player eligibility, roster sizes, coach requirements, etc.
3. Sportsmanship rules -- playing time requirements, how to handle blowouts, code of conduct.

The ref is only expected to enforce #1, the Laws of the Game. If a team appears to be in violation of an administrative rule or a sportsmanship rule I might report it back to the commissioner, or I might remind the coach of the rule. But I have no authority to take action on the field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes this is rec. didn't specify because I wasn't aware of any non rec soccer for 2nd graders. In our club it's rec only until 3rd Gr.

In our rec league, everyone had to play at least 2 quarters.