I had one where a relatively new AR made a perfect offside call as the ball was crossed forward and in front of the goal. Except that I waived her down because there was no way that she could have seen it was a defender that kicked the ball. I explained it to her when I had the opportunity. Since she was a travel player, she wouldn't have anticipated the rec player kicking the ball that way.
I’ve had to deal with a situation like this both ways-where I called offside as the center (when I had the line during a u-10 game) and where I waved an AR down for active involvement or lack thereof. In all cases, the goal is to get the call right while supporting your AR and (if possible) communicating to the coaches why you did what you did. During the game, I'll do my best to wave the flag down and call out why (admittedly, this isn't always easy). I'll definitely talk with the AR at halftime to explain why I waved the flag down and talk through what the AR saw. If I can get to the coaches without disrupting the game to explain, I'll do so and keep it short and factual ("I was lined up on the offside line and clearly saw the offside." "The defender played the ball deliberately.") What I cannot do is let the incorrect call stand. My primary objective is for the team to get the call right. If, as the center referee, I clearly see that an offside flag is not right, I cannot just call offside (especially when it's a matter of law like the attacker starting the run in the defensive half of the field).
I use a version of this in my pre-game with all of my ARs, regardless of experience. We want to get the call right, and we want to look good doing it. However, getting the call right is most important!
New young referee, we were talking before her very first game this past Saturday... "What's something you think is too silly to ask me?" "Uh, my whistle. This is gonna sound stupid... Mom got me some cheap plastic whistle... and it doesn't really work. I blow it but it doesn't sound like it should." I have my suspicions... "Hmm... Can you show me?" Pulls out her whistle and does a gradually increasing blow... Yep, it's a pea-less. Reviewed using the tongue to make a sharp whistle sound. She's getting there... "Wow, that's really load!" "Yes, that's a Fox 40 Classic; very popular, I have two myself." "What age are you centering today?" "Umm, U8." "Ok, hold on a sec..." [reach into my bag] "If you think you'll scare them with that, wanna try this one?" [new pea whistle] She test blows. "Yeah, this is better! Thanks! I'll wash it and give it back." "Consider it a 'Welcome to the Dark Side' gift (running joke - she's one of my travel team players). We'll work on mastering the loud whistle later."
This is one of the biggest problems in my area. Young refs don’t realize that a pea whistle doesn’t work well on full sized fields.
Um, young'un, we used pea whistles on full size fields for a very long time before the Fox 40 came along. There are pea whistles and pea whistles--and learning how to use them. (But yes, the new pealess whistles are superior--especially because the pea can't disintegrate and blow out the hole....yep, done that....)
That is so mean . . . but I will admit that my first year as a player (I think I was 9), our game balls were leather and had the same panel pattern as a volley ball . . . how many on here have headed a leather ball in the second half on a rainy day? I still have my LOTG from my first year as a ref (which were actually inside of another book, Fair or Foul. I believe it is the 1977 edition. I was the youngest ref the league had ever had when I started, using an analog watch with a rotating bezel and a hand held wind up stop watch to keep time. We made our own yellow and red cards from cardstock . . .
The right pea whistle, blown by the right referee, can absolutely work on a full-sized field. Until I bought a Kakapo whistle, I used an Acme Thunderer pea whistle as my main whistle, including for college games. I never had an issue with not blowing the whistle loud enough. I still use the Thunderer occasionally when I'm working in a multiple-field area, particularly if I'm working indoors. It's a great whistle for being able to "talk" with the whistle.
Not only on full size, but the trusty Acme Thunderer also sounds different when there are adjacent fields. The brass ring is now worn out, however I use it in all weather conditions. You can also make it sing (talk, as per RefIADad). With Fox 40, one can hold it upside down, or place a partial finger (or thumb) on one of the blow-holes; these techniques modulates the output enough for it to work well.
Yes, several colleagues use standard pea whistles on HS games and have no problems whatsoever being heard. I added another Thunderer pea to the mix, this time the 560 with its mid-tone sound, for its ease of control at lower volumes. It's slowly overtaking my Fox 40 Pearl (don't laugh) on 9v9 and under games - used the Pearl to keep from blowing the younger ones' ears out (and mine) and for the adjacent fields issue. Seems like I can only blow the Fox 40 Classic at one level -- LOUD. Ears sometimes ring for a while after doing HSBV... I'll have to try the upside down thing. Also trying to like the Dolfin F as it doesn't seem to resonate in my ears as badly... but still not sure how much I like it's sound.