It was interesting to read Giovanni Pacini's letter about the shortcomings of soccer officials in the November 7 NCAA News ("Officials must get on board with offside").

His message echoed the concerns of many of my coaching colleagues at our recent conference meeting. They lamented the poor state of officiating in the college game in our area. Specifically, they mentioned that several referees (not totally without merit) were not capable of handling college-level matches while citing specific instances of ineptitude. The message: We're all OK; they're not.

I have some perspective. In addition to being a college head coach for the past 24 years, I was for many years concurrently an active NISOA (college soccer referee) official. As well, I have been a high school soccer referee in four states for more than 25 years. Here is what I didn't say to my colleagues: the officials are saying the same thing about you. At referee meetings, various coaches are criticized, even ridiculed for their lack of understanding of the games and specific instances are referenced (not totally without merit).

I have been in soccer hotbeds where both coaching and officiating are strong. I also have been in areas where soccer is still emerging and the coaches and referees are not as strong. My observation is that there is a correlation between the quality of officiating and coaching wherever you are. Both groups cling to the idea that they are superior to the other. Arrogance and despair, it seems, are two sides of the same coin.

My conclusion is that there are a full range of abilities within both the coaching and refereeing ranks wherever you are. It seems arrogant for either group to blanketly condemn the other.

Author C.S. Lewis tells us that the keystone to human virtue is humility. We as coaches and officials can both use strong doses.

Along with being a soccer official, Rick Burns is the women's soccer coach at Central College (Iowa)