A&H

Moving from youth to adult football

M

Matt Cole

New Member
Level 7 Referee
Not exactly a new ref - been reffing youth leagues for just over 2 years but want to make the transition over to open age football. Hoping to referee an adult game in the next few weeks before the season ends, any advice on dealing with adult football? How different will it be to youth games?
Many thanks :)
 
The Referee Store
Depending how far up the youth age groups you've gone, I suspect you'll find more dissent occurring on the pitch and less abuse from the sidelines than you're used to. If you've only refereed younger ages (<U14), I suspect you'll find that you're more reluctant to give cards than a normal open age referee might, which could cause you problems.
 
Quite different, mostly in physicality but also in aggression, dissent, etc. but not always so before you get into it, the advice from me would be to go and watch a local OA game so you get an idea of what to expect.

its a game of football in the end, but you will need to transition from being a friendly guy who may be a little lenient (!) to being a bit more firm.
 
I made the jump after two years of youth football myself (a few years ago now!) and for me it all comes down to confidence.

Depends how old you are really but I made the jump aged 16 and found being firm, but polite, was the best way to deal with the stronger challenges and dissent, plus the inevitable comments about being too young. On the plus side, no more moaning parents!

Chat to the league's ref sec and they'll help you out too.
 
I prefer OA football, you know what you're going to get, you're all grown lads also so you can be a little bit more to the point with the players

also, as said above I think, cards are used more often so don't be afraid to whip it out ... a card I mean ! :p

good luck!
 
I referee youth (13s to 19s) and adult amateur football. Honestly, I can't tell you whether one is easier/better of harder/worse than the other. That's one of the challenges of refereeing - you never know what to expect. As Refollie has said, it comes down to confidence. If you feel up for it give it a go and see how it works out. If you're not sure perhaps you could build up to open age by concentrating on older age youth games for a while.
 
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