U12 DA Landscape

Is it just me, or is anyone else surprised by the approach to officiating for the U12s?  The single referee model is a curious one.  Also, several of the referees I’ve seen seem like they are experienced and professional, but then when the games start they are below average Classic League quality.  Would have thought that the officiating quality would be higher.  Thankfully the age and player quality has helped avoid any matches I’ve seen from getting out of control.

Longview wrote:Is it just me, or is anyone else surprised by the approach to officiating for the U12s?  The single referee model is a curious one.  Also, several of the referees I’ve seen seem like they are experienced and professional, but then when the games start they are below average Classic League quality.  Would have thought that the officiating quality would be higher.  Thankfully the age and player quality has helped avoid any matches I’ve seen from getting out of control.

You have to take it within the context of the league/age group.  It is about "Development" meaning the results are irrelevant (hence, they don't post the scores).  Since the results are irrelevant the importance placed on the refereeing of the match is minimal.  Yes, the ref may miss some out of bounds and offside calls.  Yes, those may result in a goal (or taking a goal away depending on which way he/she calls it), but in the grand scheme of things it shouldn't matter.  One thing I've noticed is that the refs tend to let them play more and be a little more physical.  Not dirty, just physical.  I think that is a good thing and the boys seem to be adjusting well to it because like you said, there hasn't been any issues that I'm aware of.  The boys are developing and learning just like they are supposed to.  When my son moved to U13, when they keep scores, it is a 3 ref system.

Ant_Knee wrote:After posting this from the DA website I know that the Solar W vs. FCD scores are not correct.  I believe they are switched.  I was there at the 12pm Solar West vs. FCD game and I believe the score was the 2 to 7 score.  Not 100% sure.  I didn't stay for the second game so not sure of the score of the second game.

5424941 Solar Soccer Club West U-12 0 FC Dallas U-12 0 9/29/2018 12:00 PM
5421172 Solar Soccer Club West U-12 2 FC Dallas U-12 7 9/29/2018 2:00 Pm

The 1st game was FC Dallas 5 Solar West 0 (bb told me the score so not 100% certain this is correct)
The 2nd game was FC Dallas 7 Solar West 2 (watched this one on tape, so certain of the score)

Longview wrote:Is it just me, or is anyone else surprised by the approach to officiating for the U12s?  The single referee model is a curious one.  Also, several of the referees I’ve seen seem like they are experienced and professional, but then when the games start they are below average Classic League quality.  Would have thought that the officiating quality would be higher.  Thankfully the age and player quality has helped avoid any matches I’ve seen from getting out of control.

No way one referee is going to call a game correctly. Three very seldom get it correct. So the fact that they are using one referee, lets you know DA doesn't care about the scores with the U-12s. The ref in the 2nd FCD v Solar West game was correct on about 20% of the offside calls, the rest of it, he was decent, but he was continuously out of position to call offside.

In case anyone is interested, here is the table so far for the U12 DA teams.  For what it's worth, this is only the first game for each game day, haven't done the Game 2 table yet.

Longview wrote:In case anyone is interested, here is the table so far for the U12 DA teams.  For what it's worth, this is only the first game for each game day, haven't done the Game 2 table yet.

Thanks for sharing this Longview, however I'm noticing some inconsistencies within the table. After some thought, here are some reasons the chart is misleading:

1. Group Consistency - It's important to understand that some clubs are not playing their 1st group consistently during the first game. My son's team and a few other DA groups have opted at times to play their 2nd groups during the first games. Texans South, FCD U12, Solar West, and quite a few of the South TX teams have done this several times. Because these are reflective of both top and bottom groups, the statistics are a bit misleading for some. Unfortunately, it's a decision that's made by the coaches (gentlemen's agreement) and isn't recorded to USSDA. It's tough to know what group played a game, unless you have a firsthand account or source.

2. DRAWS - Many, if not all, of the 0-0 draws that you're likely recording here are actually rainouts, that will be rescheduled and played throughout December.

Again, I do appreciate the "at-a-glance" view, so thanks for sharing. My only suggestion might be to remove the 0-0 draws, and combine the record of both games for each day. Then the chart would be more accurate and we'd compare the progress of each club....

Good points.  I fixed the SOLW-FCD one since I knew about that one, but wondered if some of the others were wrong as well.  Also, the first game/second game thing crossed my mind as well, as I know it hasn’t been an A Team/B Team approach by all teams at all times.

I’ll update with the changes suggested.

Interesting to see how the added U12 teams have performed and impacted the U12 DA landscape. Thanks for sharing the current standings.

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