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Michigan dealing with a referee shortage as high school sports begin

https://www.fox17online.com/sports/michi...orts-begin

I've got one kiddo still playing AYSO and our local organization struggles to find refs every year for their games too. Very common to hear complaints and criticisms directed at the officials from all of the "experts" sitting on the sidelines. Sad that everyone knows what the problem is causing this ref shortage but no one changes their behaviors to make the problem go away.

(08-24-2023 09:49 AM)BroncoEngineer05 Wrote:  I've got one kiddo still playing AYSO and our local organization struggles to find refs every year for their games too. Very common to hear complaints and criticisms directed at the officials from all of the "experts" sitting on the sidelines. Sad that everyone knows what the problem is causing this ref shortage but no one changes their behaviors to make the problem go away.

It’s also coaches who criticize refs/umps. It’s little league fall ball time for me now and other coaches are arguing many calls. And the games don’t even officially count

(08-24-2023 09:49 AM)BroncoEngineer05 Wrote:  I've got one kiddo still playing AYSO and our local organization struggles to find refs every year for their games too. Very common to hear complaints and criticisms directed at the officials from all of the "experts" sitting on the sidelines. Sad that everyone knows what the problem is causing this ref shortage but no one changes their behaviors to make the problem go away.

100%

Exactly the same in Hockey.

I don't think it has anything to do with bad parents or coaches. Can't find anyone to work restaurants, movie theatres, or grocery stores either. The baby boomers are getting too old to work, they used to make up the majority of refs.

Our little league was paying $50/game to 12-14 yr olds by the end of the season they were so desperate.

(08-24-2023 11:06 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  I don't think it has anything to do with bad parents or coaches.

You need to be paying better attention if you think that's true.

(08-24-2023 11:28 AM)moe24 Wrote:  

(08-24-2023 11:06 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  I don't think it has anything to do with bad parents or coaches.

You need to be paying better attention if you think that's true.

I go to 60 youth hockey, and 50 travel baseball/little league games/year. The fan/coach behavior pales in comparison to the 90s. In the 90's when I was playing it wasn't uncommon to have physical altercations several times per season. Just my opinion of course..

(08-24-2023 11:40 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  I go to 60 youth hockey, and 50 travel baseball/little league games/year. The fan/coach behavior pales in comparison to the 90s. In the 90's when I was playing it wasn't uncommon to have physical altercations several times per season. Just my opinion of course..

I have been attending a youth tennis tournament outside DC this week. The best 16 and 18 year old boys and girls in the world. There are only three other tournaments in North America on this level.

I am relatively new to tennis, I started playing a few years ago. I was stunned to learn that major junior tennis is largely officiated on the honor system. Until the semis of this tournament, there are no chair umpires, the players call all their own ins/outs. I couldn't believe that.

There are roving USTA officials to mediate disputes, but for the most part, even at the end of the tightest of matches, the players call their own "fouls."

Can you imagine any other N American sport doing that? Wild. I think that will start happening in other sports. Kids are going to have to start calling their own fouls. Especially games with nothing on the line.

It's like restaurant jobs. There has been a huge exodus of experienced people and a dearth of new applicants because people are choosing to do other work. The pay isn't keeping up with inflation and people are tired of being treated terribly for a few bucks.

(08-24-2023 09:49 AM)BroncoEngineer05 Wrote:  I've got one kiddo still playing AYSO and our local organization struggles to find refs every year for their games too. Very common to hear complaints and criticisms directed at the officials from all of the "experts" sitting on the sidelines. Sad that everyone knows what the problem is causing this ref shortage but no one changes their behaviors to make the problem go away.

Officials are the last class of people who can be treated like garbage by ordinary people who generally would be considered good and contributing members of society. They act in ways that would never be accepted in any other type of social environment or activity. Work, church, you name it. Until this changes, fewer people will choose to officiate at current pay levels. It's that simple.

(08-24-2023 11:40 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(08-24-2023 11:28 AM)moe24 Wrote:  

(08-24-2023 11:06 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  I don't think it has anything to do with bad parents or coaches.

You need to be paying better attention if you think that's true.

I go to 60 youth hockey, and 50 travel baseball/little league games/year. The fan/coach behavior pales in comparison to the 90s. In the 90's when I was playing it wasn't uncommon to have physical altercations several times per season. Just my opinion of course..

I'm glad you go to a lot of games and notice the poor behavior from parents and coaches. I happen to know, and interact, with a lot of current and former refs in hockey and can assure you the #1 cause of the refs leaving and the ref shortage is that poor behavior and the toxic attitudes towards refs that has steadily escalated over the past 2 decades (or more depending on your perspective). Those same refs will also tell you they hear the same from their colleagues in other sports.

(08-25-2023 09:29 AM)moe24 Wrote:  

(08-24-2023 11:40 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  

(08-24-2023 11:28 AM)moe24 Wrote:  

(08-24-2023 11:06 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  I don't think it has anything to do with bad parents or coaches.

You need to be paying better attention if you think that's true.

I go to 60 youth hockey, and 50 travel baseball/little league games/year. The fan/coach behavior pales in comparison to the 90s. In the 90's when I was playing it wasn't uncommon to have physical altercations several times per season. Just my opinion of course..

I'm glad you go to a lot of games and notice the poor behavior from parents and coaches. I happen to know, and interact, with a lot of current and former refs in hockey and can assure you the #1 cause of the refs leaving and the ref shortage is that poor behavior and the toxic attitudes towards refs that has steadily escalated over the past 2 decades (or more depending on your perspective). Those same refs will also tell you they hear the same from their colleagues in other sports.

I have explicitly stayed out of officiating post-college for exactly these reasons. I have friend that umpire HS baseball and football and everything they do just sounds like pure stress because of the parents.


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I can say people take middle school sports WAY too seriously...

(08-30-2023 10:15 AM)RunningGame Wrote:  I can say people take middle school sports WAY too seriously...

Why not get some recent immigrants. After all they play football in their home country.

(08-30-2023 10:15 AM)RunningGame Wrote:  I can say people take middle school sports WAY too seriously...

Yeah, refereeing and coaching -- it's all the same when it comes to parents. I coached my daughters U11 travel soccer team. I decided to play the girls on a two platoon basis -- 5 girls on and 5 girls off while consistently switching goalies. Win, lose, or tie -- it didn't matter. No girl was sitting the bench under my watch. I turned the team around during the first season nearly winning our league. But the next season we were average at best. One parents made the mistake of including my wife on a text as to why I was playing certain girls on certain lines. My daughter ended up leaving for gymnastics after the season and I was done with my youth travel coaching.

Last spring, I attended one of the high school girls soccer game to watch some of my girls from that very U11 team. Our star player from that same U11 team was sitting the bench -- it was her mother who sent that text back in the day complaining. Our weakest player from that very same U11 team, not only was starting but the team captain of the varsity high school team.

Needless to say, I walked away from that high school game, a playoff game to boot, feeling pretty good about my decision to play everyone. You just never know who might be a star even if they are the weakest link on a U11 team.

(09-01-2023 10:06 PM)BroncoMD Wrote:  I decided to play the girls on a two platoon basis -- 5 girls on and 5 girls off while consistently switching goalies. Win, lose, or tie -- it didn't matter. No girl was sitting the bench under my watch.

I don't know if they preach this in soccer but in USA Hockey for the young teams (peewee and younger) this is exactly what they teach coaches to do at all levels... AAA, House, everything in between. You play all your players equally, you rotate positions, you don't have defined powerplay and penalty kill units, you don't shorten your bench, etc.

And then the parents react like...