By SUE PASCOE Palisadian-Post Contributor Unlike many sports in the Palisades, AYSO Soccer is an all-volunteer organization, including the referees. Some parents have protested saying that position is one that should be a paid one. There are problems with that idea including cost and availability. Three refs are needed for every U-8 match and above, and with games running simultaneously, and the price for a soccer ref costing $50 and up, the cost of supplying refs would run in the hundreds of thousand dollars for the season. It was suggested that we hire college students to work as referees. For just the U-8 boys’ division, which runs five games at the same time, you’d need 48 refs each and every Saturday. The challenge becomes getting everyone to realize that volunteering is the spirit and soul of the organization. Many people are hesitant to become referees for several reasons. They don’t know the game or they never played it as children. They’re afraid they’ll make a mistake. They’re afraid someone will yell at them. If you examine those reasons, doesn’t it sound like what we’re asking our children to do? They’re nervous because they’ve never played this sport or position before; they’re worried because they might make a mistake; they’re afraid someone might yell at them. We expect them to try anyway, so it seems like we should hold ourselves to the same standard. To help parents learn more about the laws of soccer, AYSO volunteers will be holding Referee clinics this Sunday, August 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and again at the same time the following Sunday, September 12 at the Pacific Palisades Public Library. If you just want a field refresher, you can come just for the afternoon. The people teaching the courses attended these same courses several years ago, and feel this is one way they can give back to the community by training new referees. All refs will be given free uniforms, whistles and badges on the completion of the course. Youth referees are also welcome to attend. If you absolutely cannot attend one of these two clinics, you may also attend a clinic offered by another region, which you can find at the Area P website: www.ayso1p.org. If your child will be playing in the U-8 division or older, you must attend the full day; if your child is playing only in the U-6 division, you may attend from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m., although we encourage you to attend the full day. Again, you cannot referee without having been trained by AYSO. The mandatory AYSO referee meetings will be on Wednesday, September 8 and on Wednesday, September 15, both at 7:30 p.m. at Mort’s Deli. The AYSO season starts for U-10 and above on Saturday, September 11, and for U-6 and U-8 on Saturday, September 18.
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