Refereeing, Coaching and Injuries in Women's Soccer

[hamlet7478]

Following up on a comment made by jmlefty08 in the "Rankings Week 5" thread.

 

There are way too many injuries, particularly serious lower leg injuries, in youth women's soccer.

 

I know about the physiological issues with women and ACL's, etc, etc, but coaches and referees in our State must do things to mitigate the problem.

 

Referees can help by instructing players before and during games not to make dangerous plays from behind or the side and to absolutely not play the man but the ball. Referees must follow through with harsh penalties if players do not follow these instructions. I believe this must be a priority for youth women's soccer specifically, much more so than other technical issues such as interpretation of off side rules.

 

Coaches can help by physically conditioning their players to help correct to the greatest extent possible the well known physiological issues, by insisting on clean play, by insisting that retaliation is forbidden, and by instructing players on the proper and improper ways to make contact with their opponents.

 

Coaches, school athletic directors, and referees have governing bodies who need to get this issue on their agendas.

 

I have, and I expect many of the readers of this forum have, many examples of parents who have directed their kids to not play soccer because of the perceived "Wild West" nature of the sport, and the resulting danger to their children.

 

I would welcome replies and comments.

[hogdan53]

Following up on a comment made by jmlefty08 in the "Rankings Week 5" thread.

 

There are way too many injuries, particularly serious lower leg injuries, in youth women's soccer.

 

I know about the physiological issues with women and ACL's, etc, etc, but coaches and referees in our State must do things to mitigate the problem.

 

Referees can help by instructing players before and during games not to make dangerous plays from behind or the side and to absolutely not play the man but the ball. Referees must follow through with harsh penalties if players do not follow these instructions. I believe this must be a priority for youth women's soccer specifically, much more so than other technical issues such as interpretation of off side rules.

 

Coaches can help by physically conditioning their players to help correct to the greatest extent possible the well known physiological issues, by insisting on clean play, by insisting that retaliation is forbidden, and by instructing players on the proper and improper ways to make contact with their opponents.

 

Coaches, school athletic directors, and referees have governing bodies who need to get this issue on their agendas.

 

I have, and I expect many of the readers of this forum have, many examples of parents who have directed their kids to not play soccer because of the perceived "Wild West" nature of the sport, and the resulting danger to their children.

 

I would welcome replies and comments.

 

 

as a ref with 18 years of exp. one of the places injuries occur is shinguards, not long enough, high school rules state the guards must not be no higher than two inches above the ankles, you would not belive the flack we get if we ask a player to lower them ,or get some age apprpate guards. Most of your better coached teams, to not play out of control, when players play out of control someone will get hurt.

[BigG]

as a ref with 18 years of exp. one of the places injuries occur is shinguards, not long enough, high school rules state the guards must not be no higher than two inches above the ankles, you would not belive the flack we get if we ask a player to lower them ,or get some age apprpate guards. Most of your better coached teams, to not play out of control, when players play out of control someone will get hurt.

That will change in the near future... the new shinguards will be "stamped" with a age and height appropriate limit.

[kickgrass]

I agree wit much of what has been said and would like to add some things. I have said before and repeat: Headgear should be required equipment for all youth and High School soccer. We place so much emphasis on shinguards, but as bad as they are at the time, broken bones heal. Sometimes head injuries are forever. Shinguards also do not protect knees or ankle sprains, etc.

 

Also, I believe that more injuries occur in High School socccer than club because; There is a significant disparity in the body development between a Freshman and a Senior and between the skill levels of players. A team that is getting beaten 10-0 and the other team is playing keepaway or pilling it on gets very frustrated and in many cases the level of hits and severity of hits increases.

 

Bottom line is that soccer is a physical game. Players must be taught how to play physically properly (not dirty there is a big difference), both to protect themselves and to be successful. referees must control the game from the outset and set the tempo for what they will allow and what they will not. After a game is out-of-control it is all but impossible to regain control. When I hear of a game that is full of yellow and red cards, my guess is that most are from a ref that is trying to regain control of a game that they allowed to get out of control.

[Ilovethisgame]

I agree with the head gear issue - it should be mandatory. My son sustained a skull and facial fracture when he went head to head with another player when both tried to head a ball. I purchased a head guard but he refused to wear it since no other players wear them. Most other players would feel the same way. If it were mandatory that would eliminate that excuse and save a few brains from injury.

 

The girl's ACL problem is a little different. My daughter just finished rehab for knee reconstruction due to an ACL tear. Her injury and the majority of female ACL injuries are from non-contact while men's injuries are from contact. It it more due to physiological/physical difference between men and women. Research is being done as to why but an aggressive upper leg strengthing program should be considered by the coach for their female players.

Edited September 20, 2006 by Ilovethisgame

[KeeperFan15]

All good and valid points. I agree with Ilovethisgame about the ACL injuries. Leg strengthing will help alot. While the most debilitating of the non-contact injuries, there are still many season shortning injuries that can be prevented. Having seen 10 games over the past 6 days officiated with 2 man crews, this is still the major obstacle that our sport has to overcome. 17 players down for the count, and possibly the season. I would guess that more than 60% were well behind the ball.

 

Yes it cost more money to have three rather than two. A whole $35! I for one would not complain to see admission fees go from 5$ to 7$ if I knew it would mean three rather than two officials. It reminds me of the old motorcycle addage, "If you have a $50 head, buy a $50 helmet."

 

I realize that there is a shortage of officials. Even with three, the issue will not change unless we get better qualified officials. I don't believe that officials make bad calls on purpose. I think it is a matter of training. According to the TSSAA officials handbook, a soccer official only has to attend one state sponsered and three local interpretation meetings a year. Unless you love the game and love officiating, there is no incentive to do more than the bare minimum. It may not be popular with administrators and booster clubs, but we might consider raising a center from $55 per match to something closer to the $80 per game that the head football official makes for a game. But with that would come additional training requirements. Just a thought.

[goltv]

the lack of knowledge of soccer by referees, is what is hurting the game of soccer in high school competition.

[mjuhb]

the lack of knowledge of soccer by referees, is what is hurting the game of soccer in high school competition.

ref's say the same thing about coaches

[BigG]

While I may be in the minority again on this one, if parents are so upset about the refereeing, then they should go through the courses and get certified. How easy is it to complain about how bad something is, then sit back and do nothing about it?

 

It's like people who come to their home fields and complain about the poor conditions of the bleachers or goals, but when asked for a check to the booster club, their wallets remain firmly in their pockets.

 

Again, we wonder why we have so few referees, let alone "good ones", when all we do is blast them on how bad they are. Who would want to do it? Sure, refs make bad calls... game changing calls, but it happens on EVERY level, even the world cup. Make the best of what you have, or go out and do something about it.

 

I do want to add something to this... I think there should be a more stringent referee "evaluation" during games in the season. Just like a teacher is judged on how well they teach, I think a ref should be graded by a knowledgeable TSSAA certified referee.

 

And, if a ref really blows it, or causes one of those injuries, should be held somewhat accountable for those actions. Coaches are. Players are. Even parents are. They do that in the world cup, and while they still make mistakes, they go over the game and what they did afterwards.

Edited September 20, 2006 by BigGExpress

[Bean0007]

'Ilovethisgame' is correct in saying that most female ACL injuries are from non-contact. It is the same thing with girls' basketball. The sudden stopping, cutting, etc. is to blame. Certainly some do come from contact, but not the majority. It is simply a physiologic difference. Unfortunately that difference exists in both knees, and that is why you see so many girls vs. boys knee injuries. A girl is much more likely to reinjure the other knee than to re-tear a previously repaired ACL. Strength and conditioning are very important. Once an athlete gets tired, their rate of injury often increases as well. Strength can help overcome some of the predisposition to injury, but it can also help to limit the extent of the injury. By that I mean that as one tries to control the 'abnormal' movement causing an injury, muscle strength can limit and protect, possibly preventing further damage such as cartilage tears. Also, it is imperative that an injured athlete have access to good side-line evaluations by trainers, and other trained medical personnel that can give direction for further care and activites. I have seen several players return to games only to cause further damage to an already compromised knee.

 

By its nature, soccer is a very tough, physical game. Much more demanding than many realize, especially those unfamiliar with the game. All of the points made in the previous posts can improve and help decrease, to a degree, injuries. But unfortunately they are a part of athletics.

[cakes]

On the issue of officiating a soccer match, I feel that many of the high school matches end up with 2 officials and should have 3 instead. I don't like the 2 man crew for any matches in the high school age, boys or girls.

 

Too many times the two officials call two different games/styles and the match becomes disjointed quickly. I'd rather have one person in charge with 2 extra sets of eyes to assist.

 

With regard to injuries, I think the officials should get to the point where they are carding tackles from behind almost every time regardless of intent. Everyone will get the picture fairly quickly. Shoulder to shoulder or any tackle in front of the hips without the studs up, no problem.

 

As far as acl tear with girls, many of them do happen without any contact. Many of them happen on the landing after some kind of jump. Girls have a physiological problem with priprioception (sp?) which basically means they aren't sure how their body relates positionally with the ground. Kinda of like when you're carrying something in your arms down the stairs, it's dark , and you aren't sure where that last step is even though you see the floor in front of you. Partaking in a thorough plyometrics program has been proving to help somewhat.

 

Also, strength training so the ratio of the quad and hamstring strength levels are comparable will help as well (girls usually have weaker hamstrings ).

 

The one thing you can't fix is the "Q" angle which is the angle of the upper leg from the hip joint to the outside of the knee joint. Like when you're measured for you outseam for dress pants but stop at the knee. Girls with wider hips tend to have a higher q angle and are more predisposed for acl problems. This also is why younger girls don't have many acl problems as their hips get wider when they "go through their change".

 

Plyometrics seem to help as well as strength training , but a girl may just be in a shooting drill , land on her shooting foot and tear her acl. Sometimes it just happens.

[Mr.Midfield]

if you cant handle the heat.. get out the kitchen..