Well. . .the Ohio South State Cup 2008 is now in the books.
Apparently, Ohio South does State Cup differently than the other states in Region 2. In OH South, we have preliminary matches throughout April and then have the Round Of 16/8 the first weekend in May and then Semis & Finals happen the second weekend in May. I’m discovering that most other states in Region 2 have their State Cup as essentially a big single tournament. I think I’d prefer that way. As a single big tournament, you’re inconveniencing the top teams for only one weekend.
This is the first year I’ve done advanced State Cup matches. All in all, the games were quite good. The play was of good quality. From what I could tell, the best officials in OH South did the games. But. . .if there was one theme that ran throughout my State Cup experience it’s that the bench personnel - coaches & substitutes - were nearly always too close to the field. As an AR, I almost always had to avoid running into someone. I got very tired of trying to use “friendly reminders” to back the hell up. When I go to Regionals next month, I’ll be sure to keep this in mind for the times where I’m a fourth official.
I also found something that I feel to be truly outstanding. In tooling around on the internet, I stumbled across Indiana’s State Cup web site (http://www.indianastatecup.com/about.html). In particular, I read their rules section about send-offs. The pieces that caught my eye -
Rule 209 Section 3c-1 and Rule 209 Section 3d-5 & 6
Basically these secions cover three things - first, if a player is sent off he basically has to attach himself to the coach and the coach is responsible for the sent-off player’s actions after that. Also. . .Any team official sent off pays a fine of $150 – payable immediately. And for a club coach, not only is he fined $250 if he’s sent off – he’s not permitted to participate with any team in any way for the rest of the competition. So if he coaches more than one team, he screws all of the teams he coaches. I’m not sure of the distinction of “Club Coach”, but I don’t think $150 or $250 is an insignificant amount of money. If there are any officials from Indiana out there, I’d love to hear from you!!! How well do these rules help keep down the level of dissent from the benches?
May 20th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
That is really interesting about the fines for coaches. I know in our larger clubs here in town if a club coach was sent off at State Cup he or she is probably also losing their job or at least close to it. The idea of a player being attached to the coach after send off is something I have seen for sometime in basketball. Any situation on the bench handled as if the coach was the issue.
I am shocked to hear the field set up is so tight that teams are on top of the sideline. Did you have room to have the benches move back.
Great post keep it up.
May 20th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Alex> Thanks for checking back in! A couple of points. . .
- In the “Lessons Learned” that MLS conducts each week for its referees (week 7 is at http://www.ussoccer-data.com/docfile/LessonsLearnedWeek_7_2008.htm) they have been hammering referees about irresponsible behavior in the technical area by team personnel (coaches, assistants, and substitutes). For several weeks, they’ve been saying that the on-field referee teams have been far too lenient on bad bench decorum.
- I think the rule about a sent off player being attached to the coach makes a ton of sense. First, in youth soccer we simply can’t risk sending a youth from the field to his own devices. I have a very young son and I know if I were to send off a player who was then abducted during the match I couldn’t live with myself. Second, while we can’t realistically send a player from the field area, the last thing I want is for him to cause further problems - a real possibility since he did something to get himself sent off in the first place. Making the coach responsible for his behavior is one way to try to ensure the sent off player behaves himself.
- I’m not sure I was clear on the problem with the benches being so close to the field. The fields had plenty of space between them, yet the coaches instinctively place their bench way too close to the field. Coaches also seem to think it’s their right to go right up to the touch line (and occasionally over) and a liberal distance left and right. They have little concept of the proper size of the technical area. The mechanics of an AR dictate that the AR NOT be on the touch line (for various reasons), rather a yard or so back. As a result, an AR really needs about 2 yards back from the touch line - all the way down. Many coaches are good about this and honestly try. Other coaches seem to think they have a right to be right on the touch line and/or that an AR is trying to show them up (or something) by asking them to move back. But virtually all are ignorant of the fact that the AR NEEDS this amount of space as an absolute minimum. When I’m an AR, I’m trying to stay square to the field as much as possible. So if I’m side-stepping or running, I’m looking at the field - not in the direction I’m running. Especially as the games get older and faster, the last thing I should have to worry about is dodging a coach or substitute. I believe it was during a semifinal, but this year we did have one instance of an AR being assaulted by a coach.
If I had to change one aspect of OH South State Cup it would focus on the benches/coaches. I think for the round-of-16 onward. . .
1) Make a defined technical area.
2) Use a 4th official.
3) Crack down on irresponsible behavior in the technical area.
I mean they’re playing for a berth to Regionals - where they can expect all three of those things.