I have just a short updated that is really intended to reaffirm that I'm still around and I'm still a referee.
I haven't been posting much because...well...I haven't been getting many games. Is it me or are there less games available this season? I got turned down early in the season for 2 tournaments that I have always worked. Part of the problem was my fault. I had not put in availability right away, so I ended up at the back of the line. However, the assignor made it clear that the participating team count had declined significantly this year. I have had a few league games this season, but I'm only getting 1 or 2 games a weekend (usually the number is 2 or 3) and they have all been small sided. Is the economy hurting tournaments? Have the number of U-14 and under teams declined?
Send me your comments! Tell me if you have noticed a significant decline in teams going to tournaments. What's going on with your league? Are there fewer teams? Make sure you include your state so we know where your are located. Thanks.
Friday, October 1, 2010
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4 comments:
Nice article.
Cal South, the tournaments and I believe the competitive league here are both losing teams; however I haven't done a full analysis on the league stats compared to last year. The economic issues mean a lot of the clubs are cutting back to 4-5 tournaments instead of the 8-10 they have attended in years past.
Personally I think there were too many tournaments around here, some of them weren't that good but there were always more teams being formed that would take the slot... that's not the case now. Even in January this year, TBD two days before tournament always had the slot filled by the time the tournament started; however now it's batting about 50% in the summer tournaments which wasn't the case last year. Granted if any tournaments were to be skipped, it would be summer ones as most are simply tuneups before league play. Always local teams too in the summer tourneys I refereed.
I still work AYSO matches occasionally and I've noticed a substantial number of obvious club players stepping back to full-time recreational play, and the few I've talked to have all lamented the financial burden that club play imposes. I'm certain there are other reasons for this (fewer teams for example) but so far the economic issues have been the largest factor.
In our area (Northern Virginia) there are a lot more referees than there have been in the last few years. Combined with travel teams not traveling as much and yes, there are fewer games.
In our area (Northern Virginia) there has been an increase in the number of referees over the last few years, so yes, there are fewer games available. Keep up the posts, I enjoy reading them!
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