I read with great interest a recent piece in The NCAA News regarding the offside rule in soccer ("Rule of distinction," September 12 issue). Indeed, it is the one "law" of our game that draws the most attention and criticism.

The article hit close to home as my collegiate team had a situation recently whereby an assistant referee directly affected the outcome of two of our games. The specifics of the offside situation in question were directly related to the age and associated fitness (or lack thereof) of the gentleman on the sideline.

In game one, a ball was passed through to a player well behind my last defender, and with no flag up or whistle, the player marched in unmolested and scored. He was clearly offside, a fact confirmed by another coach who happened to be watching the game. "Coach, the kid was about five yards offside; no question." Thanks, and I know. The assistant referee was clearly five-plus yards behind the play and was still "running" when the play unfolded. Due to his age, he just couldn't keep up. As if the offside gods were lined up against my team, the very next game saw the same assistant referee cause the very same situation resulting in... you guessed it, a goal.

We often criticize referees for not being fit enough to cover the field. Yet I'm more concerned about the assistant referee who does not have the ability to follow the play and call an appropriate offside. Having read the part of the article in the News that questioned if "human beings are physiologically capable of performing the offside function that assistant referees are asked to do," I submit that under the best of conditions with an official who is young and fit, it is inherently difficult. To subject someone in their advancing years to such a situation only heightens the potential of the call not being made or being inappropriately made.

I believe the key to minimizing the controversy with offside calls and continuing the effort and philosophy of allowing attacking soccer has more to do with a mind-set and culture rather than tweaking the rules themselves. Specifically, an assistant referee must be comfortable and confident to let play go on when facing that marginal offside -- particularly in the "even is on" department. One man's "even is on" is another man's "off." When in doubt, let 'em go!

The mind-set now is one of conservatism and maybe even fear; it's just safer to raise the flag. If assistant referees are of the mind-set that marginal situations will be allowed to play on, I believe coaches will encourage their players to make that extra push forward to goal. Take the chance as it might be worth it. In that culture if you will, the tradition rule of offside is preserved while the push for more offense is enhanced.

Giovanni Pacini
Head Men's Soccer Coach
Lasell College