Respect The Ref

Eastside Youth Soccer Association has a zero tolerance policy for referee abuse. Referee abuse is punishable by suspension for some or all of your team's games whether you are a coach or parent. Each year 67% of young referees quit within their first year, mostly due to abuse from the sidelines. As with players, referees become better by calling more games, making mistakes, learning, and trying again. Please give our referees a chance to improve.

On the flip side, think about it from the referees' perspective. Over time, referees get to know the teams in their area just as coaches, players, and parents get to know the referees. When a team or coach gets a reputation for yelling, fewer referees are willing to take those games. In extreme cases, this can lead to a team not having a referee.

Referees live in your community. The youth referees probably play for the same club as your children, and are sons and daughters of people you know. Ask yourself how you would like your neighbors treating your kids.

Coaches Should Model and Reinforce Respectful Behavior

The parents and players will take cues from the coach on what is acceptable behavior toward the referee. That's why it's essential coaches talk to their parents and players before the season to explain how they should behave on the sidelines with respect to referees, the other team's players and their own players. Coaches should model the behavior they want to see from their parents and players.

Coaches should especially talk to their parents and players when they don't behave properly.If the coach is on the opposite side of the field from the parents and has a parent who is not behaving, the coach needs to walk around the end of the field and talk to the parent(s). Experience indicates this will only need to be done once at the start of the season. This one walk can be good for many years.