Course Passed - First Game this Weekend!

[BrettBlade]

Good to hear, and you seem to have enjoyed it as well!

Keep working at it, and don't let the spectators put you off your game - particularly in youth football they tend to get a little over-exuberant at the slightest of things.

 

[JimmyT]

I would have enjoyed the more testing game too; good for you. I must say, I think you've made a fine start; keep enjoying it.

 

[Aled]

I hope I've just missed the sarcasm here?

Sorry, that wasn't the clearest. By not letting off I mean cautioning if it gets silly and not being one of these where a 2 footer is just a FK. Sometimes you have to be the nasty b*****d

 

[LukeD]

Hi all - thought I'd do a quick little update here as I have a few more questions and i'd like some advice. Did my third game yesterday U14's game 1st v 2nd both unbeaten. Both teams of similar ability both going for the win in a good spirited way. However both teams failed to find that killer finish in the final third and it finished 0-0. At the end both managers came over and shook my hand and said I had a great game which was a nice end to the game and felt good. Only blot for me was that I mis-read the play and got hit by the ball in the chest - it had to happen sooner or later right? .

The few questions I am seeking advice around are just general things really.

Equipment check - I am doing this around 10 mins before KO - I try and catch the team when they are sort of huddled together. I am checking for jewellery, any under armour and tape matches kit colour and that studs aren't metal rugby ones or sharpened. If I see any of these things that are wrong I request them to remove/change it before start of KO correct? With inspecting boots and studs I am expected to get every player to show me the studs on their boots? (This is what I have been doing but if it is OTT please do tell me).

Positioning - At the moment in open play I am trying to stay behind the play and to the left keeping a loose diagonal patrol across the pitch but obviously with no AR I keep this loosely and move further towards either touchline to get a better view of the play and ball going out. I sometimes find myself too close though so when doing this roughly how far should I be behind play?

For positioning at corners I currently stand on the edge of the area near the penalty arc on the side the kick is being taking facing in and move either towards the near post or towards the far post depending on how the corner drops into the box.

Offsides - For free kicks I am standing at either the left or right hand side the of players inline with them to accurately be able to judge offside, however I feel this may not be right as I then cannot see any other offences clearly committed if the ball drops in the middle of the players? Is there an alternative position I should be taking up to accurately be able to judge offside and get a better, wider view of play or is that just a consequence of having no AR to do offside?

My U16 fixture got called off early this morning due to one team not being able to make it and I've been allocated to an OA women's fixture for this afternoon which I am looking forward to (if slightly a bit nervous about taking charge of my first OA game).

 

[Dave87]

Hi Luke,

I'm glad your enjoying your games so far, and don't worry about getting hit by the ball it happens sooner or later.

Equipment check - You are correct in asking to remove items that do not conform to the LOTG, if you don't ask players to show you the boots how are you going to check studs?

Positioning - You will find the best spot for you with experience, get a few more games behind you and it will fall into place. Do the clubs not supply an assistant for you? No league requirement?

In regards to the corners you need to vary your position to get a good view of offenses that may happen so that you can give them credibly but the positions wont be the same in every game.

Offsides - I personally take up a position on either side just infront of the line of players so that i can spot any handballs in the wall etc.you can also get the majority of offsides from there too.

How did your OA game go? Any questions from it?

 

[LukeD]

Thanks for your reply Dave. The clubs do have to supply an assistant however, they are only allowed to signal in and out and not offsides.

With regards to varying my position at corners does anyone have any suggests for other positions I could take up that would give me an equally as good view in order to vary my positions at corners?

My OA game went well. One team showed up with only 9 players and so the game ended 8-2 to the other team. No questions from this game as it was pretty uneventful due it being a one sided contest. However, when I arrived there was a mens OA game still going on and I did get a bit of an insight into match control and how quickly you can loose control of a match. There was five minutes left to go and the game is 3-1, losing team score making it 3-2 and so want to get the ball back quickly. Midfielder on losing side slides in recklessly whilst winning the ball - referee calls him over but he walks away screaming and shouting referee should of cautioned him for the challenge but never did and let the player walk off after he tried to call him off. Not 30 seconds later the same player is flying into every challenge trying to win the ball back and again recklessly slides in this time missing the ball completely - deserves a second caution and a subsequent red at this point - referee does nothing again and as a result the winning team are now having a go at him resulting in chaos. Luckily it was so close to the end of the game otherwise I dread to think how it would of ended up!

 

[CA]

Luke, one position that you should try, is standing on the goal line behind the 'back post'. Although you would generally use it if you didn't have CARs, it will still give you a different view point and means you can see if the ball went out, infringements and goal line incidents if they occur.

 

[MattyontheWhistle]

With corners, and no NARs, I will often stand on the goal line, at edge of penalty area, on the side the kick is being taken from, especially if it looks like it's going to be an 'outswinger'.

From here, I can see if the ball goes out of play, I can see the players front-on, and if it's dropping to back post, I can step back and look through the goal to the drop-zone.

If there's a 'dubious' goal, I'm looking along the line to make the call, if it's cleared, chances are it's coming back into the mix so I am in line with 2nd last defender for offsides.

It can on occasion leave you a bit behind play if it's cleared and play carries on up field, but sometimes you just got to put on a sprint to get there.