Is it?

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by shavano

Actually, soccer officiating requires better conditioning that just about any of the other sports

Quite possibly.

Originally Posted by shavano

& probably even more snap decision making. ( illegal contact, offside, etc. with 22 players on the field)

Not sure I agree with that. The proximity of basketball makes for a lot more situtations. With soccer, there are at least 7 of those 22 who are not even remotely involved in the play at any given time (1 goalie and, commonly, 4 defenders, and 2 forwards form the other team). Of the remaining 15, only a couple are really at risk of being offsides, and through much of the game many of them are not really near the ball nor near another player. Stuff may happen away from the ball, it is not really that common. Most soccer action happens in the vicinity of the ball.

Originally Posted by shavano

Most soccer officials run an average of 4.7 miles on the pitch during a game. The halves are also 45 minutes with no time outs.

....

Not the one my team had two weeks ago. The guy barely moved. His OOB calls seemed to be determined by a coin flip as he got them wrong about as often as he got them right. Both the opposing coach and I would look at each other and scratch our heads wondering what he was looking at. What it boiled down to was that he stayed pretty much near the center circle and was rarely in the right spot to even have a decent look at the play.

[shavano]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Not sure I agree with that. The proximity of basketball makes for a lot more situtations. With soccer, there are at least 7 of those 22 who are not even remotely involved in the play at any given time (1 goalie and, commonly, 4 defenders, and 2 forwards form the other team). Of the remaining 15, only a couple are really at risk of being offsides, and through much of the game many of them are not really near the ball nor near another player. Stuff may happen away from the ball, it is not really that common. Most soccer action happens in the vicinity of the ball.

I agree with you to an extent about the involvement pf players at any given time. You'd be surprised ( or maybe not) at the amount of crap that goes on "off ball". Unfortunately, it doesn't get called near as much as it should, because all of the official's attention is in the vicinity of the ball. Then, when the person initiallly wronged tries to retaliate, they generally get caught and carded for Unsporting , or worse, Violent Conduct.

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Not the one my team had two weeks ago. The guy barely moved. His OOB calls seemed to be determined by a coin flip as he got them wrong about as often as he got them right. Both the opposing coach and I would look at each other and scratch our heads wondering what he was looking at. What it boiled down to was that he stayed pretty much near the center circle and was rarely in the right spot to even have a decent look at the play.

I've seen a few of those, believe me. That's one of the things I appeciate about the double-dual ( 3 whistle) system used in most states for high school soccer. You may get stuck with a "center-dweller", but as long as your side refs are running, the offside line and most of the fouls still get covered.