Momstwo:
I've been a volunteer scorer/statistician for CYO games (grades 4-6 and 7-8), so I do kind of have an idea of games on this level.
A lot of the game crew (scorers/timers) on this level are volunteer, and with games on weekends, it's hard to find people who are willing and/or able to serve in that capacity. I've done many home games with a minor as the timer. Yes, they do tend to make "rookie" mistakes, but luckily, I know enough to remind them when the clock should start/stop and stuff like that. Sometimes with two complete novices at the table, its hard for them to help each other out like this. It is frustrating from a fan's standpoint, but try to have some patience. After all, if it was your first time working at the table and you had a rough outing, I'd imagine you wouldn't want people to be overly critical of you. Also keep in mind that on this level, a good number of the officials are rookies and invariably make a few mistakes.
Another thing I can suggest based on my experience is don't get overly worked up over games at this level. Yes, it can be irritating if you think officials miss calls or the table crew is screwing up. But most of the times, the kids at that age don't know or don't care. They are too busy trying to play their hearts out. One year we had a team of mostly 4th graders who was placed into a division of all 6th graders. We didn't win a single game, but the kids played hard each game and never gave up, in spite of what the adults may or may not have done. In fact, we lost one game 46-0, and the kids were still in good spirts afterwards.
Lastly, I'd like to add that part of the reason I'm no longer volunteering as table crew for my school's CYO teams is because of the adults who thought they were the focus and not the kids. I personally think there are too many adults who do things that take the fun out of youth sports. Sometimes they are unaware of their actions, and perhaps some don't care one way or another. But it's sad to see these adults lose sight of the fact that the 4th-6th grade level of our CYO league is supposed to be instructional. I don't put up with unnecessary crap when I am paid, so I'm definitely not going to tolerate it as a volunteer.
I'm not sure what to say in closing, except to try to use close games like this as a learning experience. You can always tell your child to keep working hard and it will eventually lead to good and better things. Or you might ask them what they think they need to work on (such as ball handling, passing, or shooting). As much as losing is not fun, especially in a 6-4 barn-burner (
), try to teach your young athlete that they can learn to be better from a loss and that it should motivate him or her to keep playing hard.
I know this isn't written from a referee's perspective (my informal officiating of 2nd and 3rd graders notwithstanding), but I do hope you can take something meaningful out of this post.
[Edited by Stat-Man on Jan 18th, 2006 at 11:57 PM]