Updated rules and assignments
When refereeing matches, please follow the age-group-specific (local) LAYSL adaptations to the US Youth Soccer League rules found in the Rules and Guidelines section of the LAYSL website. For info on referee assignments, please contact Chad Olinger, 665-8564 (w)
Referee reference materials
We plan to collect and post a number of reference documents in this location to assist our referees (and coaches).
Info and suggestions for this section: Chad Olinger, 665-8564 (w)
Clarification of the DCSL referee request
The following information is provided by Kim Thomas, our District 5 referee administrator, as clarification of a number of issues which have been raised in response to the DCSL insistence on participating teams providing the name(s) of their certified ref(s) in order to register an (advanced) team.
The Grade 9 clinic is 9 hrs long; upon completion and registration with USSF ($20/yr fee), the person will be certified to center referee youth recreational games up to U14 (no older youths and no adults); Duke City U10 and younger are considered recreational level—above that they are considered youth competitive. Grade 9's may also be assigned as ARs for lower level-Duke City games.
Grade 8 referees are certified to do both adult and youth competitive games as CR and as Assistants. These referees should already have had experience as Recreational Referees both in the center and as ARs.
Based upon referee grade and experience level, Duke City will assign the "team referees" to appropriate positions (CR or AR) and appropriate age-level games either just before or just after their own team plays in order to minimize the inconvenience for out-of-towners. I cannot guarantee anything, but my guess would be that absolute beginners—i.e., freshly trained Grade 9 refs, would be given younger age AR assignments to start with.
Regarding uniforms: Official Sports International (official uniform agent of USSF—access on-line or via US Soccer web) offers a new grade 9 referee "ensemble" which is a bargain-priced ref starter uniform package. However, dark shorts, a solid yellow, black, or red T-shirt; dark soccer socks, running shoes, a whistle, a water bottle, a pen, and something to write on are about all a "parent-ref" would need to get started.
Other Expenses/commitments: The new refs must pay a USSF yearly registration fee ($20 for grade 9; $25 for grade 8). In order to maintain their certification from year to year once they've completed their initial training, they must attend a minimum of 5 hours of recertification training each year, must pass the written exam each year, and must pay the registration fee each year. They do not have to work a minimum number of games.
Team referees: LAYSL doesn't have any referees. All referees who work LAYSL games are independent contractors. Therefore, LAYSL cannot provide any team with a permanent referee. However, I don't see why a team couldn't solicit ("adopt") a referee who would be willing to fulfill your team's DCSL commitment for you. By this I mean you could recruit someone who is a certified ref who would allow you to list their name as your "referee" and then that referee would agree to cover the games assigned by DCSL as part of your team's responsibility. A particularly fit referee could cover your team's 4-game commitment in one day with back-to-back games.
As to why parents might have to step up to referee in order for a team to play in Duke City's league—it's really quite simple...there are not enough referees to cover all the games for all the teams who want to play in their league. Duke City is trying NOT to be forced to limit league participation because of a referee shortage; however, if teams don't provide the necessary resources, the league may have to cut down on the number of teams allowed to play in their organization.
Please contact me for additional information (Kim Thomas, 667-4557). [PageTop]
High School soccer rules page
For those of you who are involved in several levels of soccer, you may have noticed that the "official" immutable Laws of the Game (links elsewhere on this page and on the soccer links page) have some variability based on the venue. If you are involved with the U-8 and younger programs, there are League-specific supplemental rules (small-sided matches) and simultaneous 4v4 format) for the younger players. If you have an older player who is now involved with High School soccer, you may find yourself wondering if the referees have "forgotten" some of the things you "learned" about the game — no, there are slightly different rules applied to the High School version of the sport. We offer the National Federation of State High School Associations' soccer web page as a way to become familiar with some of the rules differences in that area. If you are a referee working in the recreational, High School, and State tournament arenas, you may find that you need to know several different subsets of the "Rules" to cover different matches. [PageTop]
National referee grade system
To provide uniform standards for soccer referees in the United States, the National Referee Committee has adopted ten referee grades. These grades supersede all grades which have previously been adopted by state associations and leagues, so that uniform and comparative grading exists throughout the United States. A very good presentation of the referee grade system is presented on the VYSA website. [PageTop]
USSF "Advice" on Laws of the Game
In early 1997, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) issued a general rewrite of the Laws of the Game which took effect worldwide on July 1, 1997. This new text was the first complete revision of the Laws since the modern version was first issued about sixty years ago. Over that period, the seventeen Laws of the Game were augmented by IFAB decisions, interpretations, guidelines, instructions, and items of advice from both the IFAB and the Fédération Internationale de Football Associations (FIFA). Further, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) has issued additional instructions and guidance to clarify the IFAB's decisions and indicate how they were to be applied in the USA. Advice to Referees is specifically intended to give USSF referees, assistant referees, and fourth officials a reliable compilation of those international and national guidelines remaining in force, as modified or updated. It is not a replacement for the Laws of the Game, nor is it a "how to" book on refereeing. It is one of a number of sources of information. There is a detailed presentation of Advice to Referees on the USSF web site. [PageTop]
Make-up game referees
In the event that a scheduled match is postponed for any reason, it is the responsibility of the involved coaches to contact the originally assigned referee (posted on this page on the web) as soon as possible to negotiate the rescheduling for any make-up game. ONLY in the event that a mutually acceptable time cannot be reached with the original referee should ONE of the involved coaches contact the referee coordinator and request a replacement referee. Please identify the teams involved, the age group, suggested place and time, and a point of contact. Be sure to coordinate field and time selection with either the Hill or White Rock field schedulers prior to rescheduling a referee, to ensure that another team is not using that time slot. Further keep in mind, the LAYSL Board has decided that regular recreational league games should NOT be rescheduled to take place on Sundays. [PageTop]
Referee scheduling
The Referee Coordinator compiles a list of all referee volunteers from the current season's registration materials as well as from the list of available certified referees in the area. After the Hill and White Rock Coordinators prepare team schedules for the upcoming season, the Referee Coordinator attempts to cover each match from the available referee pool. Priority is given to those teams having trained assistant referees. Teams without trained personnel will be assigned referees only on an "as available" basis.
The schedule of referee assignments is distributed to the Hill and White Rock Coordinators, to referees (their assignments), and is posted on this web page. All matches are kept to common time slots to enable referees to cover more than one match a day. Therefore, it is extremely important that coaches have their teams warmed-up and ready to play at the scheduled time. Games that start late due to teams not being ready will have the playing time shortened accordingly.
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