Georgia high school soccer

I have four brothers- all went to Catholic Schools for 12 years.  Between us we've played in five State Championships in football and baseball.  I paid for my daughter to attend Catholic School for 12 years- she also played in three State title games.

Never once have I ever heard of a student being offered a scholarship that was not merit based.  In the case of my daughter's team- her group started playing together in middle school- almost all of them coming from the Catholic feeders schools in the area.  The feeder schools start in sixth grade to prep kids to go to the Catholic HS.  No one ever just "Showed up" and was suddenly on the team.  

Not going to say it never happens- BUT the idea the Private schools are throwing out rides left and right is silly.  Our schools gives a modest discount for siblings- maybe 10% if you have two kids in high school at the same time.  We were also hit up routinely for donations to fund a new class, help with tuition assistance etc.  I guarantee if parents found out that money was being used so the basketball/football/soccer teams could make a big run in the State playoff, donations would plummet.  

I can't speak for soccer, but know for a fact their are kids recruited to these schools for basketball, most come over starting their freshman year and reclassing/repeating 8th grade is very common. While on paper it's not an athletic scholarship, they would not be attending if financial assistance is not awarded.

Well it is a sexist world and I doubt they’re giving out many scholarships for female sports. But the male money sports like football & basketball all the time. There’s also plenty of private schools that give massive tuition discounts for the type of students they want. Not everyone can afford that $30K a year but how many can afford $5-$10K a year? How many families would go play ball for a private school if you only had to spend a couple thousand dollars a year. Private school tuition is like a used car, how good are you a negotiating and what can you bring to the table.

By GHSA rules, all financial aid is need based financial aid and is not merit based.

On an unrelated note re: high school soccer in Georgia, having one playing JV right now, I was surprised that apparently the rule/norm in Georgia is for there to only be two refs working each game, even at most varsity games (from what I have been told). Not sure the rationale, maybe it's just tough to get refs for these games and 2 is easier than 3, but it definitely has an effect. In the 3 games I have seen so far, each ref stands almost in a normal AR position, leaving neither in a good position to make calls in the middle of the field. As a result, lots of uncalled fouls and handballs (and yes, I know some seeming handballs don't need to be called) and definitely a rougher game than we typically see in club.

Also, JV plays 35 minute halves and varsity 40. Figured JV would be 40 if not 45 and varsity 45 for sure. However, at our games they have stopped the clock whenever there's a goal, and also for any injuries where a coach or trainer has to come onto the field, so the timing probably ends up being fairly close to a normal club game where those stoppages are generally a little more nebulous.

I could be wrong, but it might be an artifact of the old school scoreboards -- only being able to get down vs up.

Thanks for the input, and I definitely could have been misinformed on the number of refs. I attended one varsity girls game as well and it had 3 refs, but I was told afterwards by someone I thought would know better than me that it's normally 2, but they easily could have been wrong. That varsity girls game was 40 minute halves, so I'm sure you're right about there being a difference between boys & girls.

The countdown clock is going to take some getting used to. During a recent game my older kid asked what would happen if the clock ran out while a player was about to take a shot, and I said I assumed they would wave it off like they would in basketball. I hope I never have to see something like that, would be really tough to take in from a soccer-purity standpoint.

The National Federation of State High School Associations specifically allow 2 referee crews and that is what I have seen in most high school games. The GHSA rules will actually allow just 1 ref to handle the game. See comparison of NFHS, NCAA and FIFA rules www.nfhs.org/media/4860175/2021-soccer-guide-ncaa-nfhs-ifab.pdf

Georgia Rule book for soccer:

B. All soccer matches will be played according to the rules published by the National Federation, and all National Federation
recommendations for “State Adoption” have been adopted by the GHSA. Sub-varsity matches are limited to 35-minute halves.

D. All GHSA varsity soccer matches shall be played with one or more officially-dressed officials who are registered under the GHSA
plan for the registration of officials

www.ghsa.net/sites/default/files/documents/soccer/2021-2022_Soccer_Coaches_and_Officials_Handbook_Final.pdf

All Varsity games are 40 minute halves, regardless of gender. JV are 35 minute halves. Clock stops for goals, injuries, and cautions. Can also stop for subbing by the leading team with less than 5 minutes left in the game to minimize tactical time wasting.

It's pretty much a numbers game for crew size. On heavy nights - Tuesday and Friday - there are over 150 games to cover (in metro area). The first Tuesdays in March will near 200 games.

And yes, the dual system is awful. As a referee, the angles are all wrong, the distance from most play is too far, and the chances of getting offsides correct are diminished (although the football lines on the field are a big help when we're out of position).  Also a lot harder to have a quick word with a player when they are always 20 yards or more away - those communications are important for game management.  If you have a two man crew and pull an offsides trap - that's on you, not the ref.  It's ok for slower JV and some GV games, but faster JV and varsity games are a challenge.

Anyone else think that the HS referees are worse, or much worse, than club?? I have seen some truly awful calls and non-calls in HS varsity soccer! 

What I have seen is that the HS parents are worse, or much worse than club. I have heard some truly idiotic parent calls in HS varsity soccer! It’s like if they were biased to one team. Oh wait, the biased are the home town referees who have to travel from far their home base. Perhaps their friends get the soccer merit scholarships you all mentioned here exists to attend schools in other areas. Or perhaps the HS soccer parents are much more well informed and educated in the nuances of playing consistent high level tempo soccer that it becomes more apparent that the HS referees are worse, or much worse than club.

One consideration is that handling / hand ball is defined differently for high school.  Basically much more lenient - players are allowed to use hands / arms to protect themselves.  So what would be a foul in club is a no call in HS.  Now not every ref calls it consistently  - it's a challenge to switch been weekend club rules and weekday HS rules.  This one difference generates a lot of yelling from fans...

The jury is out on if HS or club referees are better or worse.  Most of the HS refs are club refs...  The two man system and the style of play (fast and direct) results in more 'interesting' decisions.  It's a different game then club.

In my opinion, the HS parents are not as bad as club for one reason- distance from the field.  Club parents are two yards from the field of play and will use that to coach, encourage/berate players, and bad mouth refs within ear shot.  Most high school stadiums have a track (GAC being an exception- loved watching my daughter play there) the distance from the field adds a great buffer for the game.  Also school administrators tend to keep things in line, most of the time just by being a presence at the game and not really needing to do more than that. 

 

Yes for the most part they are the worst. A lot are basketball and football Refs too so they have zero soccer knowledge but unless you’re certified (like me) or forced your kids to be then it’s what we have.

Kids need less school and more Ref’ing! Every digital day should also mean Ref’ing one Academy aged game 👍🏻