Not great first game imo

[DJIC]

It’s also the only occupation/hobby where you can be castigated for being wrong when there’s a good probability you were actually right!

On the corner starting position, for me with club assistants, always front post on corner of the D, looking in. I want to see potential hand balls as the ball is crossed in. No right answer try them all.

 

[PinnerPaul]

Absolutely, and I'm always open to the view that what currently works for me might not be the best way. I did a Sunday League cup game on the line not long ago and the referee went on the goal line for all corners and attacking free kicks. We had a good chat about it afterwards. He was a very good level 5 referee but he's almost 60 and it seemed an awful long way to run if there's a break. But he's been a very good ref for a very long time so its obviously served him well

Some of us with a 60 in their age CAN still run the length of a football pitch!

I did a Girls U14s County Rep game last night on a HUGE pitch - I certainly managed plenty of running!

 

[santa sangria]

It served me well for many years.
I understand why other people take the position they do, and yes, I was always able to rely on my fitness, but I can only share my experiences and what worked for me.

I think it’s good for beginners to think about more sophisticated positioning. But, as a beginner in your first 10-20 matches, I think stick to the basics in the book

Things like being alone (no ARs) and advanced corner positions or getting super-wide… these involve risk-taking, additional movement and confidence. I believe in the benefits but I think they come later.

 

[Ben448844]

Some of us with a 60 in their age CAN still run the length of a football pitch!

I did a Girls U14s County Rep game last night on a HUGE pitch - I certainly managed plenty of running!

Please don't misunderstand me, I am in no way saying that people in their 60s cant run! I'm almost 40 and I've seen people between my age and yours who are far fitter than many younger refs.

However, running from the goal line to catch a break (probably from a 50 yard long ball) is almost impossible for a fit 21 year old never mind someone 3 times that age who is inevitably slower. Hence my view that I take traditional positions at corners and set pieces + more central positions from goal kicks. Covers all bases. Obviously when you do something you reduce your capacity to do something else and in this instance, being on the goal line might benefit you once or twice in your career and therefore not worth it. But as I always say, I'm here to be educated and debated with, that's the point

 

[PinnerPaul]

Please don't misunderstand me, I am in no way saying that people in their 60s cant run! I'm almost 40 and I've seen people between my age and yours who are far fitter than many younger refs.

However, running from the goal line to catch a break (probably from a 50 yard long ball) is almost impossible for a fit 21 year old never mind someone 3 times that age who is inevitably slower. Hence my view that I take traditional positions at corners and set pieces + more central positions from goal kicks. Covers all bases. Obviously when you do something you reduce your capacity to do something else and in this instance, being on the goal line might benefit you once or twice in your career and therefore not worth it. But as I always say, I'm here to be educated and debated with, that's the point

I wasn't really offended hence the

Obviously depends on the age/ability of the teams involved.

O/A and male u16s upwards I agree impossible to 'catch up' with a break or 'transition' as the youngsters now call it

 

[socal lurker]

I have worked with a couple of elderly and less mobile refs as R that I worried weren’t going to be able to keep up with the U19 game we were doing. What I was impressed by was that they had e ligh experience to read the game that they could often be where they needed to be without running as much. And they were adept at moving in as they made calls, so that to a casual observer they appeared closer to the play than they actually were when they made a call. That experience thing can do a lot. (I’m not quite old enough to have to rely on that, but I aspire to being able to pull it off when I can’t run as well as I want to be able to for those games.)