Hi I am looking to upgrade to grade 7 in the near future, but I'm not sure how detailed the game log has to be? At grade 8, all I've ever done was games up to U-16 level, a lot of games between U-11 and U-15 so nothing really formal. My association is EPYSA, btw (Eastern Pennsylvania). Anyone can shed more light on how this long is kept and if it's verified etc.?
I actually upgraded from 8 to 7 in EPYSA maybe 20 years ago! My main assigner was John Paine, and he handled my upgrade paperwork. So the verification was pretty easy. LOL In today's day and age where you can work for a number of different assignors, and with the volume of people upgrading, I think it would be very difficult for the SRA or LAC to verify all the games. If you haven't done the required amount of games, there is a good chance it will show during your assessment. I think the prevailing philosophy is we want to encourage people to upgrade to 7. Unless you really don't have the laws down, have good mechanics, and possess good foul recognition, I think they will not make it too difficult to upgrade to 7. Going further is where they pay attention more to requirements.
I see. I am not really sure what I want to do with my reffing career as of yet, but I think I would really want to go as high as I possibly can. Seeing as I am 19 years old now and have a year under my belt, I'm learning a lot and I just feel like maybe I'll get somewhere with that.So I guess upgrading when I can is just something that I should do.Also, was told my by assignor that I "need to be doing U-17-U-19 on consitent basis, not just doing games" in order to upgrade to 7. Is that true? Do games below u-17 not count?
In order to upgrade to a grade 7, you need to have 100 games at any age under your belt. 75 of these need to be centers, 25 need to be lines. You must pass a fitness test, score above 80 (or is it 85?) on the recert test and pass an assessment. The assessment must be on a U17 game or higher using the DSC. What your assignor might mean is that you should not be doing your first U17-19 game for your assessment. It will show if you are not comfortable in the game and the assessor will pick up on it. Now, as to game record. I have started going over the top with mine since I am working towards a 6. For the 8 to 7 transition, you probably should include this information: -Date of Game - Home Team - Away Team - League where you worked the game - Position (C or AR) As to how hard it is scrutinized, that depends. Mine (Illinois) was glanced at and they checked a sample of games or asked questions about a couple of games I had but I doubt they went and verified game to game. Not sure about how PA does it.
It's good to think about upgrading and your game log but there's something more important you need to do first. If you've never done anything above U16 you are not ready to upgrade. You need to start doing U17 and above matches so that you have the experience at the older age group. As JimEWrld said, you don't want to go out and try to do your first match at this level during an assessment. Good Luck!
As everyone here has said, it is very important to be comfortable with the 17s and 19s (and maybe some men's league). What should hopefully happen is your assignor will put you on a crew with at least one more experienced referee who can give you feedback during those games (also, don't forget to watch and learn when they have the whistle). Feedback from someone familiar with that level of game (and with the upgrade process) should help you determine if/when you should upgrade. Also see if there is a referee mentoring program in your area. If not, at least try to get a developmental assessment on a higher level game first, then go for the real thing.
to the extent that most assignments these days are done electronically through arbiter, gameofficials or other systems or just through email, it should be pretty easy to keep records. Make sure you download a report atleast once every season from Arbiter - some assignors archive games prior to the start of the new season and then it becomes really difficult to get access to those records. You should be able to assemble a pretty decent record of your games from those sources - either cutting and pasting or just re-entering data. If you want to go higher - then start building a good spreadsheet or database for your game records now. Key information for upgrade: - Date - Position - League / Age Group / Division (division is important as you move higher) - Duration (ie, 60 minute games, 90 minute games, etc.) - important for going to 6 and higher - Youth / Adult - Home team - Away team - Assignor In addition, I have columns indicating whether a game counts for grade 7, grade 6, and grade 5+ as well as whether I have been assessed on the match and if the match is not affiliated (so I don't use it for game count). I also keep columns for game fees and milage to help with managing my taxes.
I do most of this too. I suggest keeping it all in an online doc like googledocs or something where you have easy access to update. That last bolded part is very nice. I also put score and any cards/discipline in there in case I get a call about the game later and I need a refresher. Hasn't happened yet, but better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it as old Augustus McCrae would say..
I don't keep that data in my spreadsheet - it becomes way too tedious and based on how I generally have to report games - arbiter and/or league online system, I generally have online access to any reports filed for atleast a season. Plus, I keep all my written records - roster/game sheets generally stapled to the sheet from my book - after I file my report, I just throw them into a file box. That's not to say that I wouldn't mind being able to easily look back at some of the records and stats (such as cautions / send offs) but I just don't have the time to build the database and even if I did, that would entail entering in game results into one additional system.
A lot of good advice here, but, of course, I've got some additional comments. As far as what your state wants to see in the way of a game log, your mileage will vary. I get all kinds of game logs from referees. Based on their experience, the things I would emphasize are that you really should have your own data. Assignors stop assigning or change software or their software doesn't archive data back to when you started, etc. Don't assume that the data will always be there for you. I use paper and pencil, mostly because I started out before electronic spreadsheets were common. Just never converted. Don't do what I do. I track the date of the game, who sanctioned it (FIFA, college, high school), my assignment (R, AR, 4th) the level of the game (e.g. men's open 2nd division), the names of the teams and the score, noting any over time or kicks results, how many ARs I had if I'm the referee, or the name of the referee if I'm not in the center (or dual partner in high school), the number of cards of each color, noting how many of them went to coaches and who the assessor was if I'm assessed. One of my friends uses drop down boxes in Excel to record the reason for each card, so he can go back at the end of the year to see how many cards he gave for each reason. I also will go back at year end to see the ratio between yellows and reds. I also keep track of total career games. As others have said, the assessment has to be U-17 or above. We have adopted the policy that we do not assess women's games. There is a huge likelihood that a women's game will not be ratable. Our philosophy is that a grade 7 should be capable of handling any youth game, so you have to demonstrate that skill on a boys' game, at least. We also have the rule that your 75 centers must include at least five games at U-17 or older, which, of course, includes adult games. We've had too many spectacular flameouts by referees whose assessment for upgrade was on their first ever U-17 boys game. My upgrade assessment, years ago, was a televised U-17 boys ODP game. Okay, it was local cable, but I still heard from people for a couple of weeks about how they had seen me on TV. My daughter's was O-40 1st division men. She was 17, but she already had three years of experience doing men's games.
Is that a national rule? Because from what I read everywhere, it's any level (much like you are saying) for the games recorded. I guess my assignor was just wrong then.
Different states have different "qualifications". What I wrote down is the qualifications for Illinois. It is not required you have X games at U17 or higher, but it is highly recommended.
States have a bit of leeway in how they comply with the USSF guidelines. I think the main goal for states is not setting overly onerous barriers, but in making sure that the referee has a reasonable chance at success and that it uses its assessor resources wisely. It doesn't do the referee any good to put him on a game he isn't ready to work, unfairly label him a failure, and waste the assessor's time. Some states are much more strict that others as well.
I believe the "rule" (for what it's worth) is 75 centers using the DSC, which mean solo's on U-little's don't count, HS doesn't count. Aside from Law5's rule about 5+ at U17 (which I think is a GREAT idea) I don't think there is a rule from USSF that says that. You have 75 centers, go for it. any decent assessor, on a U17+ game that is ratalbe will know within 15 minutes that you are new to that level. You want to have done enough of them to have some things go wrong, have some hard cards given, had to manage things etc. You need things in the game to happen to show you can actually ref! If you are seeing these things for the first time, you probably won't respond well. If you are running with 17+ year olds for the first time, you will be suprised by speed and distance of ball movement. These are things you learn by being there.
No, it is not a national rule. I should have said that when I say "we" I mean our state referee committee. Unfortunately, we sometimes get referees who have the game count, but it's all U-14 and below. Then they have problems getting a U-17 boys center, which just creates frustration for them and their assignors and, when they do get one, they screw it up, because they don't know how to handle teenage boys (yet.) One such game went so far in the toilet that the coaches pulled their teams off the field. And the referee stopped refereeing after that. Not an outcome we want for the teams or the referee.
There is no national rule as far as I understand; each state will adopt and implement some modification to the minimum requirements for the number of whistles and flags. Your state's referee administrator (SRA) is your best resource gateway. S/he will guide you appropriately, including approving your games-log. If I were you, I would start with the SRA, and request advice and suggestions about your current "what will it take for me to upgrade," and "how could I go about requesting higher level matches." Remember, the assignor is the one who will help you with this latter aspect. I would refrain from stating outright that the assignor is wrong. A better plan of action would be to take several flag assignments at the higher level matches, observe how the match is controlled by the whistler, then take a few whistling assignments. Your state may have a mentoring programme, if not, take a few assignments with a few other officials and make "your own team," that is, work with the same officials for a few matches. Almost anyone will help you become better, especially if you tell them your upgrade wishes, and what you are learning from them - pre-match preliminaries, whistle tone/pitch variations, restarts (including throw-ins), substitution management, injury management, off-the-ball situations, their games-log, .... This is also where the assignor takes the role of your godfather/godmother.
Keep it simple. Ask your DRA. If they don't help ask your State Director of Assessment or your SRA, you asked your DRA and figure he/she is too busy/got hit by a deer/joined a cult/whatever so you're following up. That's what I did, quickly learned what was needed and next month will take my fitness test, etc. having completed my assessment to be a 7 in IN about 5 months ago. My DRA has been my main cheerleader during the process. Your mileage will vary. Good luck.
How many of you work in areas where, if you're not a 7, you don't get U17+ or adult games? In my neck of the woods, I've done plenty of those (and not just rec or O40--I'm talking competitive U17s, Open div. adults and college club) as a grade 8. That plays into the whole upgrade thing.
In my area, for the men's open games you must be a 7. First division is almost exclusively 6 or higher in the center, and 7s on the line. 7s can get centers on 2nd division if they are 7s on the way up. Those are for the competitive leagues, the rec leagues are a little more lax. Our State Cup is fairly strict too. For State Cup, with rare exceptions, you must be a 7 to do the center of a U14 or higher game. 8s can run the lines, but generally not on the 17s and 18s for State Cup. My area does have a good number of State referees and 7s, but getting a State badge is a tough task, and those going for 7 need to have aspirations/ability to move up from there. And in case you're wondering about the "tough task", we don't allow 7 upgrade assessments on youth games, must be an adult game, again with incredibly rare exceptions. YMMV in your area.
I have a related question. I have completed everything but my assessment to complete my upgrade, and i am currently waiting on the district director of assessment to get me an assessor. I have give him all the necessary paper work and money and let him know about 2 upcoming matches that I am on this weekend that could be used for an assessment. I have not heard back from him all week about whether I have an assessor coming to the matches are not. In your opinion is it acceptable to call him to ask about the situation, or should I just wait to hear from him? Our season is over at the end of this month because of High School and I would like to get it done before I turn in my registration for 2013. I have never met him so I have to personal experience with him. Your Thoughts?
You can follow up with him, but keep in mind that he is busy as well. Just reaffirm that you have two matches coming up and wanted to to check and see on the staus of an assessor. Be as nice as possible.
Go ahead and confirm he recieved your request. If your area is like mine you may not be told you are being assessed. YMMV but don't expect to know (theory is they want you to be prepared to be assessed on any game). Be sure to confirm (if you haven't already) that you don't have to complete your 2013 registration before completing your upgrade. Some states require you to complete registration for the current year (which is now 2013 according to USSF) before your upgrade can be processed.