Lake Highlands Officiating

ballhead wrote:

ElClassico wrote:Having multiple standards in officiating isn't specific to youth soccer, just watch the English teams in the UCL. They're like bulls in a china shop. Kinda like our girls going out of state. Hard for them to adjust when everything is pretty much allowed in LH.

My dd has played in LHGCL, ECNL, and college.  She's played in tournaments all over the country, and we never really saw much difference in the way games were called anywhere.  The most physical games she's had, where we were actually in fear that someone would be badly hurt before the game was over, were not even close to the Southwest, let alone restricted to North Texas or Lake Highlands.

Refs all over, call the game differently.  Some will allow almost no contact, with whistles blowing constantly, while others seemingly would allow a mugging with a billy club.  

In my experience, most players adjust to however the game is being called.  Would I like to see tighter games called?  Yes I would.  You'd see better soccer and fewer injuries.  What's not to like?

But it's just crazy to read how screwed up the referees (and virtually everything else) are in LHGCL, and how good everything is elsewhere.  There are some awesome referees here, and some really crappy ones.  Same as everywhere else.

The problem is a soccer problem, not restricted to Lake Highlands or North Texas.

Lefty wrote:

RightWingDad wrote:10s, I agree. I'm not sure how the age group changes (Age Pure) helps produced more skilled players. North Texas soccer has a reputation of winning through physicality rather than skill and tactics (soccer IQ). It's what pay-to-play demands.

The pay for play needs to win can be managed if you change the way the games are called.  

It would change what player attributes determine who wins in most cases, and what coaches will focus on to try and win.