A&H

Protocol- Junior football & some other questions!

E

Eddie

Well-Known Member
Level 7 Referee
Afternoon all,

Newly qualified ref. Completed my safeguarding Thursday & CRC is boxed off so I’m good to go!

First off, got in touch with my local appointments officer to get some games. From the forms he’s sent it appears as though he’s only looking to give me youth matches. I’m prepared to referee open-age too & asked him if that’s an option...is it?

As well as contacting the RAO, should I contact each league to see if they need anyone? That’s the vague direction I got off my RDO (frankly he seemed in a rush to get me off the phone) but do you stick with the first league that say they need you or contact all of them to get your name in the hat?

Onto the protocol question...

I went to a 9v9 u11 game this morning to watch the ref to see if I could get any pointers etc. On a side note he didn’t seem interested, didnt break into a sweat, leave the centre circle or have any intention of keeping up with play. Not a good one to learn from!

I noticed goal kicks are taken from the edge of the PA...I wouldn’t have known that! I also got thinking if the required distance was also different on smaller dimensioned pitches? Nothing in the laws.

Cheers!
 
The Referee Store
it depends on the county, but generally you should contact the OA leagues you are interested in refereeing. Chances are the ref sec's number or email will be on a league website somewhere. Keep in mind that this time of the year the matches are thinning out and they may have more referees than games but they will very likely be starting to send out reg forms for next season so the'll put you on the list.
 
WilliamD said:
it depends on the county, but generally you should contact the OA leagues you are interested in refereeing. Chances are the ref sec's number or email will be on a league website somewhere. Keep in mind that this time of the year the matches are thinning out and they may have more referees than games but they will very likely be starting to send out reg forms for next season so the'll put you on the list.
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Cheers William. Yeah I’ve got a list of leagues & contact numbers but there’s roughly 20 of them...I didn’t know where to start!

My RAO said games are thinning out, which is fair enough...are referees for summer leagues/friendlies appointed in the same method as the proper season or do you sort it out yourself?
 
Eddie said:
Cheers William. Yeah I’ve got a list of leagues & contact numbers but there’s roughly 20 of them...I didn’t know where to start!

My RAO said games are thinning out, which is fair enough...are referees for summer leagues/friendlies appointed in the same method as the proper season or do you sort it out yourself?
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Email the league's, sort yourself out. Don't rely on others as they're all really busy and all they will do is what you can do yourself anyway.
 
I also qualified late in the season. Not the best timing as the games will be thinning out after a good winter. No surprise your RDO was short with you or that you stumbled across one of the countless unsuitable referees.
I'd suggest googling the leagues because a prominent web presence can indicate whether the leagues have full referee coverage. OA leagues are harder to get games in than Youth (which are always short)
 
Eddie said:
On a side note he didn’t seem interested, didnt break into a sweat, leave the centre circle or have any intention of keeping up with play. Not a good one to learn from!
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Yeah, be very careful which referees you watch to learn from. A lot of them, especially at grassroots who aren't going for promotion are usually good examples of what *not* to do as they don't follow procedure, or misapply laws etc.

You're usually (but not always) going to get a good referee to learn from when you're put on line duty with a higher graded referee.

If you're keen for advice, ask if the county FA are doing any practical sessions you can attend. Also, apply for promotion next season if you're permitted (you have to do a minimum of one season in Wales before you can apply) - doesn't really matter if you succeed or not, it will get you assessments from observers who will give you tailor made advice on what you're doing right/wrong and how to correct them.

Also, welcome to the madhouse. :p
 
TBH I won’t pay much attention to a ref who is going through the motions, so no danger of picking anything up from one like today. This site has been great for reading up on advice/tips, so I’ve got a fairly good idea on what type of ref I want to be....my fitness regime starts tomorrow! Although it’ll be followed by an over-indulgence of lager at the Everton game.

I asked for names/locations/KO times of refs I can watch if they couldn’t get me a game & they weren’t interested.

Good advice there. Will send an email next week to see if they’ve got anything on. I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I’d definitely be keen in getting a promotion/bettering myself as soon as I can anyway....based on the assumption it’s all going swimmingly of course!

Have to admit I’ve been rather disappointed with the admin side so far. My safeguarding was delayed for over a month, the course itself is clearly designed just to get people through ASAP, I was under the impression I’d be pointed in the direction of some sort of mentor- I haven’t, the RDO couldn’t get me off the phone quick enough- just kept repeating that I’m all sorted & can ref. I’m fairly certain I could go off and ref the next ten games they offer me, without anyone turning up to see if I’m in the slightest bit competent.

It’s going to be a rollercoaster this :)
 
As a newly qualified ref, you're very much under the control of your county FA and RDO - as with most people, they vary wildly. I've never particularly gone in for Referee Associations, but if you're not getting on well with the support offered by county, then they might be worth getting in touch with?
 
GraemeS said:
As a newly qualified ref, you're very much under the control of your county FA and RDO - as with most people, they vary wildly. I've never particularly gone in for Referee Associations, but if you're not getting on well with the support offered by county, then they might be worth getting in touch with?
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Yeah was going to anyway, Graeme. More support the better...but again, there appears to be several in my area so need to decide which to go with.

I’m going to call the RDO back Monday to see if I can get more conversation out of him...it was Friday afternoon afterall!
 
As others have said, be pro-active.

Use the “Full Time” website http://fulltime-league.thefa.com/ to do a bit of research on leagues in your area - when on a league, click on the refs tab, it will show you if there are games without a ref assigned, you might want to target those leagues to see if you can get some games. (Although not all leagues assign refs through this site)
 
spuddy1878 said:
Nice to have a fellow blue on here.

Welcome Eddie, where are you based ?
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Cheers spuddy, haha absolutely. I’ve noticed there’s a fit bit of dislike for them lot on here so I’m happy!

I live in Kirkby, mate. How about you?
 
Im only in Fazak mate.

If you want to do the kids league il put you in touch with them either Saturday or Sunday.

Theyre always looking for refs up at Buckley Hill on a Saturday.
 
spuddy1878 said:
Im only in Fazak mate.

If you want to do the kids league il put you in touch with them either Saturday or Sunday.

Theyre always looking for refs up at Buckley Hill on a Saturday.
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Cheers Spuddy,

Which league is that mate?
 
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