All right, I've got my first ever match this Thursday (Victory over Portugal Day ), and it's a U-10 match. Now the people who are running it had only 2 meetings, none covering rules (just really vague stuff. "If you're gonna make a call, make it, don't second guess yourself, blah blah blah) or anything, and all I got is my official club Ref shirt and Ref wallet. I obviously know all the rules, but I really don't know how I should go about bossing the game. They said I might co ref it with a more experienced ref, but I'm not sure. I know I should just let the kids play, but I don't want it to get too out of hand. Any advice? What should I do? Help!
You have nothing to worry about with a U10 game. The players certainly won't give you any problems. The parents might though. Just have a thick skin and tone them out. I would even take a bold step and let the coaches know this is your first game -- it could work to your advantage or against you. They would either help you out and help keep the parents at bay...or they would try to take advantage of you. Try to determine what kind of person the coach is before telling them though, if they are just some kid's dad out to have fun then it wouldn't hurt. If the coach seems all business then it'd be best to leave well enough alone. Basically know all your starts and restarts and when to apply them. Do your best to recognize fouls based on how you've been trained, but don't be surprised if you have very little to call. U10s really don't foul all that much. Don't fall for the screams of "HANDBALL!" every time. Most of the time these kids are so awkward they just knock the ball around and it might rebound off somebody's arm. Big deal, no need to stop the game. Just remind them to keep their arms at their sides, maybe calling one or two if it really seemed the player could have avoided the contact. Think: "Did the opponent trip the player, or did the player trip over the opponent?" The first is a foul, the second is just part of the game. Don't fall into the trap of calling fouls when players put their hands on each other. It's perfectly legal until somebody either pushes or holds somebody else. Again, this doesn't happen much at U10 but it might! Ref from your gut for now -- if something looked wrong to you, blow the whistle and point a direction. Chances are something did happen even if you aren't sure exactly what, but you can't really "over-officiate" at this level. Mainly you just have to make sure the players are safe and playing fairly, even if that means you can't identify the stoppage precisely out of the Law book. That will come over time And last but not least, SMILE AND HAVE FUN.
Funny that Brian Hall says that he "refs from the gut" at the highest levels, too. Sometimes at U10 matches you feel like the pin setter at the local bowling alley. Kids scattered on the ground, blow the whistle and get them back on their feet. Point a direction and get the game moving again. Minor point, but one that coaches recognize as a sign of indecision, do not replace a throw-in with a drop ball just because you can't tell who it went off last. The dirty little ref's secret is that we guess a lot. Be sure to have fun.
Well your first devastating revelation as you blow the whistle to start the game is that the ability to star at "soccer laws trivial pursuit" doesn't mean you know the rules (which are called laws, of course). Knowing what they are at the exam table and knowing what they are when bodies (large or small) are flying and shouts of apparent disdain are echoing from the touch lines is WAY different. It is the ability to correctly APPLY the laws during action that denotes the competent ref. There simply is not time to see a situation and then run through your entire mental checklist of possible responses - the more experienced refs save a great deal of time because they can anticipate the play and have the call ready when it happens. As said above, make sure you know cold the things that make you look silly if you screw up - restarts. The calls you make during heavy traffic you can sell with a short sharp tweet and a emphatic signal. The calls you make when everyone is standing around get a lot of attention. Good advice from the other posts - have fun, keep play moving, and the U-10s won't pose too much of a problem. The one common denominator of good refs is experience - take all the games you can get, watch good refs, beg for advice, and keep re-reading the Laws of the Game. Jim (Who still gets excited when he blows the whistle and hopes he does the players justice)
Talk with your whistle. You don't need a loud whistle when the ball is obviously out of play. You do need to get their attention when you see something you don't like - bad foul or misconduct. Otherwise smile and enjoy the game.
understand that at some point in time, even at u10s, something is going to happen that you could never have imagined and that isn't in the book. make a call, and live with it. in my case, it was in only my third or fourth game. some kids on team C were warming up for the next game behind the goal, and they kicked a ball onto our field. sure enough, just as team A started down the field, the central defender for team B heard them calling for their ball. so, he turned around and picked it up, and threw it to his goalie, who carried it over to the guys warming up for the next game. meanwhile, you guessed it - team A is dribbling uncontested into the goal that has been abandoned by team B's kindness and willingness to help team C. i called it one way, then another, and then another again. make a call and stick with it. also, it is correct at this level that more of your problems, if any, will likely come from the parents, not the kids. blowing the whistle authoritatively gives the impression that you know what you're doing, even if you're not 100% sure. related to all of this, be prepared for it to be tougher than you expected in some ways. it's much easier making the calls from the couch or from the sidelines. he bumped him, but not too much. the ball ricocheted off of three guys out of bounds. did he trip over his opponent or his teammate. and so on. it can actually be much harder with the younger groups because they're often even more bunched up, which means more bumping. foul. no foul. make your calls and get on with it, but don't be surprised if you're occasionally starting to bring the whistle up to your mouth, and then changing your mind, especially when you're just getting started.
After 25 years, I still do that a lot. It's easier to whistle late, than take back a whistle. G'luck.
Okay, I'm new myself, only 20 games under my belt. But I have learned more the past twenty games about soccer... Just make the calls you know are right, stick to your guns, and tune out the coaches and parents. And keep accepting games, that's the only way you'll learn and practice. Take as many rec games as you can, and do lines for as high a level as you feel comfortable in a travel league.
Expect the best and prepare for the worst! Football is a great game with many great people involved. If you give effort and are fair, speaking as a coach for a moment I give you my support. Speaking as a player if you are enjoying yourself and you are there showing me you care I give you my support. Your knowledge is something that will increase as time goes on. But it is your wisdom that will grant you the ability to manage a game. Expect to have fun! Darn right, you are not refereeing to be a miserable, ego centric, power mad Hitlerite are you? The phrase smile and the world smiles with you bears fruit. Prepare to referee as if it means something. Taking something seriously does not exclude it being fun. IN fact it doubles the enjoyment because you present a picture that all can enjoy. Expect to be yelled at! Some of it will be painfull, unfair and untrue, however pay some attention as it still could be information that you are missing! Select hearing is better than a deaf ear. Expect that you are not perfect! Do not dwell on an error, admit the mistake and move on or during a match it will cause you to lose focus. Refereeing is a profession where perfection is expected immediately and then you are steadily to improve is a common misconception. ;o) Expect respect! Remember it is a double edged sword that cuts both ways. It needs to be shown as well as earned but should never be given away. Expect the unexpected. Are you prepared? Mentally? Physically? Emotionally? Expect the Difference in theory and practical application of the LAWS. Nothing but matches in the heat of competition can give you the gut check to appreciate the difference. Expect help from your colleagues, mentors and league. As you can tell from this site and hopefully in your own association. Many are there in support. Use the talent for their experiance adds to your wisdom. And as your experiance grows give back in the same manner Lastly expect that you are ready, even if secretly your are in a churning mess inside. Confidence is courage born from doing what needs to be done in spite of the unknown. Concepts of mechanics and position, knowing how to use your whistle can overwhelm at first. Do not be so scared of making a wrong call as not calling what needs to be called. Do not overthink. Young kids playing having fun. Give solid effort, care and stirve to apply the principles of fairplay and the spirit in which the game is enshrined . Have a good one mate let us know how you get on..
All right. I just got back a half hour ago, and needless to say, I loved it! I woke up this morning so nervous(I always get nervous before a game, but never this bad), I had a stomach ache all throughout the day. The odd thing was, as the game approached I became less and less nervous. I got to the park, picked up any litter on the pitch (there wasn't much, the field is part of a big soccer park), checked the nets, and just waited for the teams to get there. I shook hands with both coaches and informed them it was my first game. I started the game, and I'll admit, I was a little jumpy in the first half. I probably miss-called several throws, but the kids were so bunched up, it was hard to make the right calls. As the game wore on, I became more confident, even though the club management of referees was absolutley awful. They didn't tell me how long the half-time intervals would be(5 minutes), overtime implications(there was no regular season overtime), or really anything. I felt really embarassed having to pulling the coaches to the side, and having to ask them. If I wasn't as big of soccer fan as I am, and know all the rules, I'd be pretty much fucked. It was cold and wet, and a bunch of uncordinated 8, 9, and 10 year olds kicking at a ball produced quite a few spills, a vast majority self inflicted, so I let the kids play and didn't call any fouls,(they really wasn't any to begin with). Although, they started sliding around in the second half, I only issued verbal warnings. Although I do regret not calling a penalty, the only one of the game. At first I thought it was just a matter of the kids falling over again, but now that I look back on it, I made the wrong call. There was only one half-hearted "Come on, Ref!" from the parents, but that was the worst of the whole match. I do feel a little bad, because that call probably would've been the winning goal. (The game ended 4-4), but I feel I called a reasonable match for my first ever game, and I really enjoyed it! The thing is, that the club has so many referees, I only got about 10 games over the course of the entire summer, and seniority rules, so I'll have to wait to the 26th for my next game. No worries though, it pays well, you get good exercise, and I plain love it! Thanks for the advice guys!
I hated reffing. I always had tough calls, and parents and coaches would yell at me. Then I had a game were two kids were fighting behind the ball and I missed it. And this is U-9. But I did learn this; Best line: "This is the way I was told how to call it. Talk to the people above me." glad you had fun though.