Youth Referee Development

[LoewenBoy]

I continue to hear the complaint from parents/coaches that youth referees need to be better trained. They (coaches/parents) are indignant that a young referee is left to "cut his teeth" on U7/U8 matches. Now, mind you, these are the same parents that cry foul every time Little Johny hits the ground or yells "hand ball" any time the ball touches any part of the arm/hand, so consider the source. All that notwithstanding, there is some truth to their comments. What can be done to better equip our young/new referees? I would like to know what other associations are doing to foster the development of young referees. Below are a few things that my association has tried or which I intend to propose. I would love to hear other ideas.

In 2004, my association began a mentor program. The committee consists of our VP of Referees, a few reps from competitive and recreational divisions, our SRAs and a few "emeritus" referees. All are at least Grade 8 or higher, many with 20+ years in officiating. Their job is to "assess" young/new referees, discuss with them areas on which to work, and to guide them along. I think the program has worked but there are gaps.
Also in 2004, all referees are identified and assessed at least once a year. Recommendations are made at which level they should officiate. Now, whether the assignors USE that information I cannot say. I certainly see some "center circle refs" doing U19 boys games which is a disservice to the players. But at least the program is in place.
In 2002 we instituted referee eval forms for the coaches. These get filled out sporadically; usually in protest of a referee, though the odd job-well-done comment comes through. One of my suggestions for compelling coaches for completing these forms for EVERY game would be a raffle of some kind (iPod for coaches who submit every report). Perhaps a deduction in "penalty points" for accumulated cards?:D
A proposal I have for youth referee development would be to hold summer-time in-service clinics. The idea is simple: Get 8-10 U7 or U8 teams to play a series of controlled scrimmages. During these scrimmages each youth referee will be given a quarter. During the "game" if instructional situations arise play stops and the referee instructor takes a moment to teach (few mins). Then play resumes. When the game is done, all youth referees gather for a coach/parent-handling session. Here, the idea is that some parent volunteers (perhaps the youths' own parents) volunteer to act out real-life situations encountered by referees. Each youth ref takes their turn at handling the situation. When done the "school solution" is given.Those are a few things my association has tried or which I think we should try? Comments? Any other ideas out there?

[DerbyRam54]

I'd like to add a point to your development program, if you don't mind. What I see quite a bit is this progression: young referee spends quite a lot of time being CR in U-little games and may or may not improve at this task. Your ideas would probably help them improve.
But the next step for many of them is to move from CR to AR in older level games. They had some instruction in the mechanics of AR when they did the entry level class but that was a while ago and the knowledge is a bit rusty. So they commit all the sins of the hapless AR, incur the wrath of spectators for missed offside calls or the CR has to wave their inappropriate flag down etc etc.
I'd add in at some point a refresher class in AR work.

[USSF REF]

I would also suggest changing the entry level referee course to also include training on HOW TO REFEREE!

These courses do not teach this, they teach the laws of the game, some basic mechanics, and things like how to find an assignor - lets actually train kids to be refs, not just test takers.

[jacoismyhero]

One thing PAWest has is a summer referee recertification clinic. It costs about a hundred bucks, and anyone who registers spends the weekend at a local college campus.

Friday night has classroom sessions, generally each session covering a different topic (i.e. offside updates, the yearly memorandum, etc.).

Saturday has a "Sportsmanship" tournament. The state gathers up teams of all ages and sizes and they play a tournament. The younger referees get younger games and have the option of having their mentors come out on the field and work with them during the run of the game. The older referees get D&G assessments and work on more particular parts of refereeing.

Sunday usually has some National or FIFA clinician giving a presentation or two, as well as more hands-on activity, and a raffle for all those less-than-cheap OSI goodies.

This is just one of the many things our state offers, I'm not sure if anyone else's do the same, but it's a real success with referees of all ages, and really does a lot especially for our young referees who haven't really gotten their feet wet yet.

[LoewenBoy]

One thing PAWest has is a summer referee recertification clinic. It costs about a hundred bucks, and anyone who registers spends the weekend at a local college campus.
Excellent idea for guys like us. Any ideas for kids? I mean, these are guys who are lucky to have more than one color jersey in their bag.:D Or does PAWest give out scholarships to attend?:D

[refmike]

My understanding of the AYSO training program starts with a one day class to certify U10-U12 lines only. This is followed the next season by a one day class to train and certify U10-12 centers only. Then additional classes as referees progress and want to move up.

Another idea, which I know is illegal, is to use the 2 referee system with the newbe for the first few games. This allows the new ref to build his confidence while the game has the backup of a 'real' ref.

[gosellit]

We started a program a few years ago that has been very successful.

The SRC picked a group of top youth/young adult referees(16-23) to start a club. The charter members then selected the additional members of the group. New members are added each year as older members age out. This club is a mentoring/support group between the SRC and the younger referees. The young guys/gals run the club without any interference from the SRC. They have officers and have meetings.

The primary goal of this group is to support the youth referees in the state. Members show up at tournaments to mentor youth referees, run youth referees academies in conjunction with the SRC, accompany assessors to assessor for a day programs to mentor youth referees. Back in their home town clubs, they mentor the younger kids during league play. Before a tournament last fall, these guys put on an AR clinic before matches started. They will also work the higher level games with the younger ones watching and then have a Q & A after the match. The younger kids tend to listen to these guys a bit more attentively that to us old guys.

As a result of this, these guys/gals, because of their commitment to the game, have become very good referees. These guy/gals travel to tournaments (Disney, GIT, etc). Since this started, 8 of these guys has made the front of the room at regionals, some more than once, 2 have been selected for Nationals, 1 has been selected to come back to nationals next year, 4 have been selected to work OPD Nat'l Championships, 5 have been asked to work at Adult Select.

Good ideas + action = good results.

[falcon.7]

As a young referee currently in a development program, I can say that my state has been very good at identifing talent early on and giving me opportunities to grow and learn. I have a mentor who I work closely with, and I go to many clinics where those who are in positions of importance and recognition see me. We also have camps and programs where promising referees can travel and become involved.

I agree that knowledge of the Laws is only part of refereeing as a whole. The problem is that it takes years to learn how to referee, and unfortunately most young referees do not stick around long enough to learn. I don't think there's any good way to teach new referees how to referee in a short time.

Young referees that show potential and willingness should be immediately taken in and fostered. That way the negativity that is inherent in the game from parents, coaches, and players will be easier to manage. It will be easier for them to work through that. And if they know that there is a large support system, like the one developing and expanding in my state, it will encourage them to stick with it.

And newly-minted referees in my town are now brought out to rec games and travel practices. They are usually paired with a more experienced official (CR and both ARs) who guides them and gives them an overview of the basics, like positioning, whistle mechanics, and strong signals.

[LoewenBoy]

I wish my state had some type of youth clinic. Checking their website I see nothing. Rather disappointing. Can anyone who has a good youth program post a link here? As you can tell, I am a bit frustrated with the politics of the US referee system. If we do not take it upon ourselves to act at the local level, my fear is our 30% annual attrition will grow.

[NHRef]

The problem, as pointed out, is not understanding the LOTG, that is covered by the test, but in taking that book knowledge and applying it to what you see with your eyes.

Mentor programs are great and we have them here, however they only work for referees who want a mentor. Forcing a mentor on won't work.

We need to take the refs out of the classroom and onto a field. Take the in-service training and make some of it mandatory field training. Where a game is actually reffed. This will be hard because you can't run 15 refs through a filed session like this, but 6-9 you can. Have them critique each other etc.

We also hold a "jamboree" in August for the fall teams, this is reffed primarily by new refs and the instructors and some senior refs are asked to come down and watch and mentor and give advice. To the point of going onto the field with the CR and chasing them around telling them about position, etc.

AR on games prior to CR is a good idea. The problem is a 6v6 game is the first one a new ref usually does and he is ALONE out there. Take the 1 year experience refs and put them on 6v6, take the brand new ones, put them as AR with a stronger CR.

The fact is it takes practice to get to be a referee, there's no shortcut, mentor programs, on field training etc are all needed, but fact is once they pass that test (which isn't hard) they ARE a ref and on the field. We need to find ways to push the mentor programs etc. However most who can mentor are also refs and are on fields somewhere else.