At what age do Yellow and Red cards start coming out?

I have witnessed several games in the 04' group lately where "aggressive play" turns into "dirty play", and the refs seem to not know how to handle it. IMO, these girls are old enough to know the difference between playing physical, and intentionally fouling a player. They are also old enough to realize that they can pretty much commit any foul, and at the most, they are going to get is a warning from the ref...which pretty much is nothing.

The coaches know this too...and seems like the same teams are the ones where their "aggressive play" turns into "dirty play". I have yet to see a yellow card given out at this age group, and have seen the ref warn the same players several times during a game.

At what age are the refs instructed to start passing out yellow/red cards?

canaryman wrote:I have witnessed several games in the 04' group lately where "aggressive play" turns into "dirty play", and the refs seem to not know how to handle it.  IMO, these girls are old enough to know the difference between playing physical, and intentionally fouling a player.  They are also old enough to realize that they can pretty much commit any foul, and at the most, they are going to get is a warning from the ref...which pretty much is nothing.  

The coaches know this too...and seems like the same teams are the ones where their "aggressive play" turns into "dirty play".  I have yet to see a yellow card given out at this age group, and have seen the ref warn the same players several times during a game.

At what age are the refs instructed to start passing out yellow/red cards?

Never.

Don't ever expect to see reds or yellows in NTX unless the player says one of the 'magic' words or visibly displays a weapon on the pitch.

Don't hold your breath; I have decided refs don't card girls. I have seen 1 yellow in the last 2 years of select soccer despite seeing DD's being shoved from behind on break aways with two hands and slammed to the ground so hard that wrists are broken or concussions caused. Maybe in the older world it's better, but u11/u12 hasn't given me much faith so far ....

Lefty wrote:

canaryman wrote:I have witnessed several games in the 04' group lately where "aggressive play" turns into "dirty play", and the refs seem to not know how to handle it.  IMO, these girls are old enough to know the difference between playing physical, and intentionally fouling a player.  They are also old enough to realize that they can pretty much commit any foul, and at the most, they are going to get is a warning from the ref...which pretty much is nothing.  

The coaches know this too...and seems like the same teams are the ones where their "aggressive play" turns into "dirty play".  I have yet to see a yellow card given out at this age group, and have seen the ref warn the same players several times during a game.

At what age are the refs instructed to start passing out yellow/red cards?

Never.  

Don't ever expect to see reds or yellows in NTX unless the player says one of the 'magic' words or visibly displays a weapon on the pitch.

x1000. the attitude is well there just kids, play on, who needs the hassle etc. CARD THEM! Teach them young that dirty play is costly and will be addressed and some kid in the future won't have to deal with a concussion or broken leg because of lazy refs...

silentparent wrote:

Lefty wrote:

canaryman wrote:I have witnessed several games in the 04' group lately where "aggressive play" turns into "dirty play", and the refs seem to not know how to handle it.  IMO, these girls are old enough to know the difference between playing physical, and intentionally fouling a player.  They are also old enough to realize that they can pretty much commit any foul, and at the most, they are going to get is a warning from the ref...which pretty much is nothing.  

The coaches know this too...and seems like the same teams are the ones where their "aggressive play" turns into "dirty play".  I have yet to see a yellow card given out at this age group, and have seen the ref warn the same players several times during a game.

At what age are the refs instructed to start passing out yellow/red cards?

Never.  

Don't ever expect to see reds or yellows in NTX unless the player says one of the 'magic' words or visibly displays a weapon on the pitch.

x1000. the attitude is well there just kids, play on, who needs the hassle etc. CARD THEM! Teach them young that dirty play is costly and will be addressed and some kid in the future won't have to deal with a concussion or broken leg because of lazy refs...

My DD knows the difference, and I know that our coach is teaching them the difference between physical and dirty play...but seems to me that some coaches are taking advantage of the lack of penalty that will be given. I mean...if a girl has a breakaway...why not just foul if the worst you are going to get is a ref telling them to "keep it clean girls".

Teach your kids to take advantage of it, it will serve them much better than than taking the high road.

This is kind of a tongue-in-cheek response, but it's also kind of not.

canaryman wrote:

silentparent wrote:

Lefty wrote:

canaryman wrote:I have witnessed several games in the 04' group lately where "aggressive play" turns into "dirty play", and the refs seem to not know how to handle it.  IMO, these girls are old enough to know the difference between playing physical, and intentionally fouling a player.  They are also old enough to realize that they can pretty much commit any foul, and at the most, they are going to get is a warning from the ref...which pretty much is nothing.  

The coaches know this too...and seems like the same teams are the ones where their "aggressive play" turns into "dirty play".  I have yet to see a yellow card given out at this age group, and have seen the ref warn the same players several times during a game.

At what age are the refs instructed to start passing out yellow/red cards?

Never.  

Don't ever expect to see reds or yellows in NTX unless the player says one of the 'magic' words or visibly displays a weapon on the pitch.

x1000. the attitude is well there just kids, play on, who needs the hassle etc. CARD THEM! Teach them young that dirty play is costly and will be addressed and some kid in the future won't have to deal with a concussion or broken leg because of lazy refs...

My DD knows the difference, and I know that our coach is teaching them the difference between physical and dirty play...but seems to me that some coaches are taking advantage of the lack of penalty that will be given.  I mean...if a girl has a breakaway...why not just foul if the worst you are going to get is a ref telling them to "keep it clean girls".

Not sure that it will change much as long as a teams league and division placement is based on wins / losses and relegation at the younger ages.

It is easier to win at the younger ages with effort, size and aggression to capitalize on mistakes or physical mismatches rather than with developmental focused or quality soccer. Many of the clubs and coaches take the most direct path, to reach what they are incented to do by the leagues and parents, in order to maintain their cash flow.  

WIN, earn a ranking, get a good seed in qualifying, get a team in LHGCL and maintain your position in the league.  Over time you can develop some of the players or swap them out for more skilled players as technical ability and soccer IQ become more important.

They don't want to give out cards. Puts them in the spotlight of angry parents even more....plus it would upset the whole balance of the FBR if certain teams couldn't put their biggest players in the back with the sole intent to grab and push the skilled players from the other team

I've seen 2 reds given in one game to the same team (U-15).

MoveYourFeet wrote:I've seen 2 reds given in one game to the same team (U-15).

Words or weapons?

I have a U14.  I'm still waiting to see a red card

I have only seen one. Player already had a yellow and later in the game talked back to the ref.

LH is the worst league about referees holding players accountable on the field for their actions. Players are allowed to get away with repeated fouling and extremely dangerous play. Therefore league games played LHGCL do not promote creative and skilled play, but if your looking for a brawl you have come to the right league.

Well I can say that my dd has recieved a yellow card, but it was in a tournament. Good yellow card though. She knows the difference between rough play and dirty play. She's always getting fouled and the refs never call a yellow card. She's been pulled down by her neck before. It's upsetting at times.

This is why the LHGCL refs are so fast to pounce on the parents on the sidelines when they scream about a bad call

They worry to much about the parents and not the play on the field

Give out cards when they should be given, take control of the game play on the field you can have control of the parents on the sideline

Giving out cards to players increases the paperwork that needs to be done after the game. LH referees are not going to do anymore work than they have to.

Talk back to a ref? Card, push kid from behind? Play on. Our refs in a nutshell...

Just Curious wrote:This is why the LHGCL refs are so fast to pounce on the parents on the sidelines when they scream about a bad call

They worry to much about the parents and not the play on the field

Give out cards when they should be given, take control of the game play on the field you can have control of the parents on the sideline

Another interesting dynamic to watch is the number of technical infractions that are called in a game vs player on player infractions across the age groups.  At the younger ages you may see whole games with few if any player on player fouls called.  

Seems like the younger the players the less player on player infractions are called, even though the younger ages are where players are less experienced and prepared to protect themselves against those kind of infractions.

National tournament in Phoenix, referees controlled the game and physical play with the yellow card. Players playing with a card were less likely to continue the fouling due to the next card meant your team would be playing a man down. We saw 2 yellow cards a game.

Lefty wrote:

MoveYourFeet wrote:I've seen 2 reds given in one game to the same team (U-15).

Words or weapons?

Nothing like that. Just dangerous rough play.

But my boy, at U-9 was taken down from behind when he didn't even have the ball.
It was long gone on towards goal when the foul occurred. Only after the ref realized my
son's ankle was broken that he then gave a yellow card to the other player. That kid shrugged
and kept playing in the game, while my son spent last summer on crutches in cast.

My dd (04) was issued a YC this past weekend in SDL. I didn't know it until after the game when she told me, because apparently the ref hadn't brought his cards to the game! So he just informed her that she had been issued a card. At least that is what she told me.

There are some good ref's out there.  I've seen them.  The question is, what would it take to improve the overall quality of the officiating?  I think the answer is, the will to do it, money to pay for it and time. I also think the money is the easy part, will and time are harder to come by.

multy(2-3) yellow cards every HS game. I have seen 2 reds and we just started the second half of district.

LH - never seen one of either color.

Heck, I'd be satisfied if they'd just call a handball.

dreadpirateroberts wrote:My dd (04) was issued a YC this past weekend in SDL.  I didn't know it until after the game when she told me, because apparently the ref hadn't brought his cards to the game!  So he just informed her that she had been issued a card.  At least that is what she told me.

Was it a deserved YC?