Working with first time ARs

Hi all,

I have been appointed to a youth cup final with NARs. I am fairly sure that they haven't been on the line before and so I was wondering what I should expect of them and how I should tailor the pre-match briefing to reflect this.

I'm not sure if this is relevant but it's also my first time in the middle with NARs.

Any advise is appreciated, thanks.

JoetheRef said:

Hi all,

I have been appointed to a youth cup final with NARs. I am fairly sure that they haven't been on the line before and so I was wondering what I should expect of them and how I should tailor the pre-match briefing to reflect this.

I'm not sure if this is relevant but it's also my first time in the middle with NARs.

Any advise is appreciated, thanks.

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Treat them like your regular ar’s. At the end of the day they are referees themself and roughly know what they want from a assistant. The only thing I would do slightly differently is be more clear with your instructions and maybe use an example so they understand how you want this applied

Try to gauge their level of experience on the line. If they have never run a line in their life you are probably going to have to go quite low level in the instructions, such as telling them to wait until an offside player received the ball before flagging, and where they should and shouldn't get involved for free kicks.

I've regularly appointed referees to run the line on cup finals and then cringed when I've watched them. They may be good as a referee but I had absolutely no idea of their competency as an AR. In one final the referee had to stop the game to go and speak to an AR as he was flagging for offside as soon as a pass was made, regardless of where the ball was going. Another AR was flagging for fouls on the opposite side of the pitch to him. And probably worst of all, an AR called the referee over to talk to him 10 times during the game for a lot of situations where he just shouldn't be getting involved (like players not having shin pads on when they did, the goal posts not being in the right place when they were, he even tried to tell the referee there was a suspended player in the ground, but as he was behind the barrier he was perfectly entitled to be there)

If they have no experience assume they are going to be a disaster and micro manage them.

I would suggest emphasising the importance of working as a team and having each other’s backs. If you approach the game as everyone having a job to do and looking to support one other along the way then things will be easier and better. You probably can’t expect too much of them but asking them to follow your lead and focus on ball out and offside is probably enough for a first game experience.

I can never understand why they appoint first time ARs to cup finals, even if it is just youth. As others have said, assume they are going to be disastrous and be very explicit in what you expect and want from them.

Gabriel said:

I can never understand why they appoint first time ARs to cup finals, even if it is just youth. As others have said, assume they are going to be disastrous and be very explicit in what you expect and want from them.

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The AO won't always know whether the officials have ran the line before. Especially if it's a County Cup final rather than a league one.

Then you've got the element that those games more than likely don't have NAR's during the normal season, so people aren't getting the chance to run the line. Not everyone will do multiple leagues. So if they're on a league that doesn't have NAR, then they aren't going to have much practice. A cup final is meant to be a bit of a reward, so they want to get as many officials a turn as possible. You've also got to factor in that the referee themselves may never have had NAR's.

A lot of counties have started to run crash-course AR workshops around cup final time. Normally during the appointments meeting. This at least gives the officials some basics, as well as gauge each other experience.

3 things:
Goal-no goal - it’s the most important thing in football, the GK might spill any shot, anything could hit the bar and the line - concentrate.

Wait and see - at offsides, no rush, unless there is a potential GK collision.

Numbers - anything crazy, don’t panic, observe, look for player numbers.

… overall, take your time, I will always try to “tip” you, no rush, we signal together, lots of eye contact, eyes always on the field.

(With beginners, 3 things is enough, and you don’t want a big goal/RC clanger in a final)

Gabriel said:

I can never understand why they appoint first time ARs to cup finals, even if it is just youth. As others have said, assume they are going to be disastrous and be very explicit in what you expect and want from them.

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The unfortunate thing is that when operating at the lower levels (junior leagues, local open age leagues) the only time a referee will act as an AR is on a cup final or semi-final, as those are the only fixtures that require them.

We all have to start somewhere.

I panicked last year. First line was in the cups.

Now I realise it isn't a massive deal. Having neutrals that are well performing middle referees on the line is infinitely better Club Assistants.

Clubs and the leagues can't afford to stick linos on during the year. The finals 100% deserve as many refs getting involved as possible.

So what is the solution. Just let the lads ref and AR, and own any mistakes made.