The Ref Stop

Courses are starting to restart and I'm still not sure...

WhoIsThis

New Member
Hey everyone,

I posted 6 months back that I was looking to start refereeing and I'm in my final year of uni [I'm 21]. Back then I wasn't 100% sure on refereeing and now courses are starting to reopen again I'm still lacking the motivation to take the next step although I've done the online safeguarding workshop and online section of the course already. I'm sure I'd be fine when I started and although I'm shy I'm not particularly worried about my shyness *during* the games.

I've heard that most doing courses are under 16 which I think would make me feel pretty awkward during the course days. I also think it's probably considered a "weird" hobby [sorry ;)] so not sure what friends/family would think about it, not that that's particularly important.

I'm not really sure what the point of this post was to be honest, more to just put my thoughts out there. Any thoughts / advice would be appreciated!
 
The Ref Stop
There will be a mix of age ranges, I was 24/25 and wa in the mid range. There were kids on the course and adults upto somethings.
Sometimes you just have to lick the frog and jump in at the deep end.
 
There will be a mix of age ranges, I was 24/25 and wa in the mid range. There were kids on the course and adults upto somethings.
Sometimes you just have to lick the frog and jump in at the deep end.
oh wow from most people I'd heard from they said it was 3/4 kids. Did you have people look at you funny when you said you were refereeing/doing a refs course?
 
Just try it. Do a few games. It is highly unlikely to be "easy". But you will quickly get an idea if it's right for you.

And yes, I don't think it's a secret that being a referee is a bit weird! Footy mates might be like "whaaat" and some will never get it. But, if you get into it, you will get it.

If you are thinking about it a lot, consider this: there are some strong reasons you are considering trying refereeing, right? Probably... you love the game, you really love the game, you love the game so much you are considering refereeing! You are not alone. You can keep that to yourself. Try it and you will find more confidence n yourself.
 
I wouldn’t say people find it weird. If anything, people are generally really interested and ask lots of questions. Most annoying thing is being asked about every questionable or controversial decision your mates see on TV!

Just try it and see how you feel. I’m a very shy person, but that disappears on the pitch and I’m only thinking about the game, rather than anything else
 
I was the oldest by about 15 years on my course, did it matter? not at all. We played 5 a side mini games as a warm up and it was great.
People didn't think it was strange or weird me doing it, but as alexv above says you will get asked lots of questions from friends and family.
 
Hey everyone,

I posted 6 months back that I was looking to start refereeing and I'm in my final year of uni [I'm 21]. Back then I wasn't 100% sure on refereeing and now courses are starting to reopen again I'm still lacking the motivation to take the next step although I've done the online safeguarding workshop and online section of the course already. I'm sure I'd be fine when I started and although I'm shy I'm not particularly worried about my shyness *during* the games.

I've heard that most doing courses are under 16 which I think would make me feel pretty awkward during the course days. I also think it's probably considered a "weird" hobby [sorry ;)] so not sure what friends/family would think about it, not that that's particularly important.

I'm not really sure what the point of this post was to be honest, more to just put my thoughts out there. Any thoughts / advice would be appreciated!
Ask yourself the simple question: "Why do/would I want to be a football referee?". If you don't know the answer yourself, then you have your answer. ...
 
Ask yourself the simple question: "Why do/would I want to be a football referee?". If you don't know the answer yourself, then you have your answer. ...
I couldn't quite put my finger on why I want to to be honest. Maybe just through love of the game?
I was the oldest by about 15 years on my course, did it matter? not at all. We played 5 a side mini games as a warm up and it was great.
People didn't think it was strange or weird me doing it, but as alexv above says you will get asked lots of questions from friends and family.
I don't mind questions much to be honest, I just wasn't sure if there was a stigma against it in general that only "power freaks" want to referee
 
I couldn't quite put my finger on why I want to to be honest. Maybe just through love of the game?

I don't mind questions much to be honest, I just wasn't sure if there was a stigma against it in general that only "power freaks" want to referee
Out of the hundreds of referees I've met I think I have only come across a couple that I think were arrogant or control freaks. I think that's terrace banter - the chant that the ref wants to be the centre of attention - "it's all about me". That chant always seemed harsh to me - I guess before I started maybe I thought it was close to home... but... having worked with loads of referees, it turns out it is an easy one to process because 99.9% of referees seem selfless to a fault. Yes, to get to the top, you have that personality and self confidence. But you have to have self control and that fairness to be able to get through matches - and get higher.

Anyway, you've come to the right place. So hope you come back here one day and tell us about your first games!
 
Out of the hundreds of referees I've met I think I have only come across a couple that I think were arrogant or control freaks. I think that's terrace banter - the chant that the ref wants to be the centre of attention - "it's all about me". That chant always seemed harsh to me - I guess before I started maybe I thought it was close to home... but... having worked with loads of referees, it turns out it is an easy one to process because 99.9% of referees seem selfless to a fault. Yes, to get to the top, you have that personality and self confidence. But you have to have self control and that fairness to be able to get through matches - and get higher.

Anyway, you've come to the right place. So hope you come back here one day and tell us about your first games!
I agree I don't think they are, it's not a particularly easy job compared to playing! To be honest I hope I do too, it's just about making the first step!
 
Eeek, I have just booked my course and hadn't thought about age at all. I'm a young 44 and most learning things I have done so far I've been younger than most.

Don't worry, it will be a wide range of age groups, you won't even necessarily be the oldest.
 
About age - it was pretty ranged for me. Some kids (probably about 12-14) who weren’t taking it very seriously, a few between 15-20, and quite a few adults ranging from 30s-50s. The kids were there from their team, a couple of the adults were previously refs and the rest were just taking up the whistle for whatever reason
 
About age - it was pretty ranged for me. Some kids (probably about 12-14) who weren’t taking it very seriously, a few between 15-20, and quite a few adults ranging from 30s-50s. The kids were there from their team, a couple of the adults were previously refs and the rest were just taking up the whistle for whatever reason
But absolutely none between 20-30 🤔?? 😜😜
 
Out of the hundreds of referees I've met I think I have only come across a couple that I think were arrogant or control freaks. I think that's terrace banter - the chant that the ref wants to be the centre of attention - "it's all about me". That chant always seemed harsh to me - I guess before I started maybe I thought it was close to home... but... having worked with loads of referees, it turns out it is an easy one to process because 99.9% of referees seem selfless to a fault. Yes, to get to the top, you have that personality and self confidence. But you have to have self control and that fairness to be able to get through matches - and get higher.

Anyway, you've come to the right place. So hope you come back here one day and tell us about your first games!

I've met well over 100 refs at a guess. Almost all of them are just normal people doing a hobby. Some more driven, some more relaxed, but almost all OK. One or two were a little strange and one guy was a genuine danger to himself and the teams he referees but thats another story.

To summarise, its no different to anything else. Just normal people doing their best at their chosen pastime.

There were only 3 of us older than 18 on my course but it really didn't matter. The course is just a means to learn the laws and get your stripes.
 
There were 3 types of people on my course

1) The young ones mostly doing it as part of their DoE award scheme
2) The slightly older ones, most of whom saw it as an 'easier way' to earn money than doing a traditional Saturday job
3) The more mature ones of us who wanted to give something back to the game.

As far as I can recall, most of the ones in the first two categories have disappeared without trace. There were 5 of us in the 3rd group, 1 has given up, 1 only ever wanted to do it as he was a kids coach and wanted to be able to referee them properly when they didn't get refs appointed, 1 is a L5 (who can't pass the fitness test to get to 4) and 2 of us are L4's.

Don't fret about your age, it's really only a massive problem if you are aspiring to get to the FIFA list and haven't started in your early 20's at the very latest, otherwise it's not an issue at all.
 
Back
Top