Changing the ball?

[La Rikardo]

Originally Posted by Rich1

Not true. The ampunt of air in a soccer ball will affect how far it flies, how fast it flies, and the spin rate on those fancy kicks you see. The reason many balls are used is because the clock does not stop when it goes out of bounds and they pay outdoors so it may take a while to get it back.

I can find no rule specifically prohibiting changing the ball but if I deemed it good to start the game we use it for the whole game. Just because one player or one team thinks it doesn't suit their game is not a valid reason to switch. Both teams will need to adapt to the ball being used.

At the highest levels of soccer, all balls used absolutely must be of identical pressure, weight, and quality. In the amateur and youth competitions that make up 99.9% of the competitive soccer played in the United States, we're not so worried about it. The difference between a basketball with a pressure on the high end of what's legal and a basketball with a pressure on the low end of what's legal is certainly meaningful, but if players generally agree that a ball's pressure is either higher or lower than what they'd prefer (and I'm not talking about games of high enough level where game management specially prepares a ball for game use; I'm talking about games where we're asking a team for a ball to use during the game), I don't see any reason why we can't change one legal ball for another legal ball.

I was reffing a college showcase soccer game a couple months ago and the whole first half the ball sounded flat. I asked the girls during a stoppage for a corner kick how they liked the ball but both teams responded it was ok. I checked it at halftime -- 3 PSI. For comparison, DA and ECNL games use a ball at 13psi and most youth tournament balls are inflated to 9psi.

[BillyMac]

Here, in my little corner of Connecticut, fans are allowed to keep balls that go into the stands as souvenirs. Before every game, the officials rub about six dozen balls with Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud. Wait? I'm being told ... What? Baseball? Never mind.

[La Rikardo]

Originally Posted by AremRed

I was reffing a college showcase soccer game a couple months ago and the whole first half the ball sounded flat. I asked the girls during a stoppage for a corner kick how they liked the ball but both teams responded it was ok. I checked it at halftime -- 3 PSI. For comparison, DA and ECNL games use a ball at 13psi and most youth tournament balls are inflated to 9psi.

3? Yikes. If I had a game where the ball was at 3 we'd almost certainly have players complaining about it within the first minute of the game. I hope you switched it out at halftime.

Originally Posted by La Rikardo

3? Yikes. If I had a game where the ball was at 3 we'd almost certainly have players complaining about it within the first minute of the game. I hope you switched it out at halftime.

Hell yeah I did! Contrast that with the DA goalie who asked me to swap out a ball because he could "compress it with his hands". I checked that one at halftime, it was at 11.