Soccer, Oh What Fun!!

So it was 34 degrees, the wind was blowing like nobody's business and we spent 2 hours at Cape Fear High School for what we hoped to be the first of many play off conference games. Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out like we had hoped. The varsity team played great! They played with integrity and tenacity that they should have been playing with the entire season. I know that for a parent sitting on the bleachers it is easy to see the mistakes and missed penalties of the referees. And yes, as a group of parents, we are very voictrice and loud about those missed penalties and calls toward the referees. It is even fair to say that over the past two years, the paid referees and line judges have steadily become worse at their job; mind you a position that they volunteer to do for a very low pay check. I guess I expect more out of the referees in that sense because they chose to do this in addition to their regular everyday jobs. The fact that the reffing was not great and the loud parents of our Hoke County Bucks did not prove to be that unusual, but last night the reffing and the parents was much worse that I have ever heard. Among other things, the referees failed to make several off side calls against the home team (we beign the visitor team). Don't misunderstand, the line judge did consider it (by slightly raising his flag then immediately dropping it) for 3 of the 5 goals made but he just never managed to put his arm up to call off-sides. Calls that were easily no penalty calls were made against both sides for fair checking of the player were called penalties generally in the wrong direction (for those of you who don't know soccer is a full contact sport and as long as you are in full view of the ball controller, and you don't use your elbows, you are allowed to play rough). Again, this was toward both teams, not simply toward Hoke; however, several yellow and read cards were given to our team members that were neither legal nor warranted. And, as you can imagine, that did not go over very well with the parents nor the coaching staff. And yes this is the first time in 3 years that I have been absolutely discouraged by the referring at a soccer game. At the same time, I was very disappointed in our parents, the majority of whom were being demeaning and abusive, in my opinion, toward the Cape Fear players. Don't be mislead here, I am fully for yelling and dogging on the referees in my opinion they are adults and if the ref can't control the game they should get a good tongue lashing by the spectators; this in the world of sports is nothing new. BUT, it is not kosher nor kind to take out frustrations on the players. This by the parents. Now I don't know what went on on the opposite side of the field (home side) but I could hear a lot of the same type of accusations and insults towards our players as was coming from our side of the field. I wondered on my way home what was going through the parent's minds as they were yelling at the players of the opposite teams? What were they accomplishing except insulting a 18, 17, 16, or 15 year old boy, whom was probably under enough stress and pressure from his teammates and coach already? I guess that's what I will never understand. I know that I take things very seriously and competitively and I do yell and holler at bad calls by the refs but I don't take out the same frustrations towards the young teens who are just playing the game. This is where sportsmanship is footed, by the parents. Coach Butler prided himself on the sportsmanship attitude of the team this year, the fact that the team was noted for being respectful but he did not have the same words for the spectators or parents and now I know why. I hope that I can help make a difference next year, Kaleb's senior year. I'm going to offer my help to Coach Butler and Gary Brigman (athletic director w/Hoke High) because I think all to often that we, as parents, hear from the Coach and Brigman and don't take it to heart. My hope and goal is to relay what I have encountered this year and change the next years encounters.