A&H

How to move into OA?

freddier

freddier

New Member
Level 7 Referee
I'm looking to move forward to gradually doing open age games, but I definitely don't feel ready yet to go straight into them. I turn 16 later in the week so the options widen up as, up to this point I was limited to U14 games.

What do you think is the best way to push on?

I'm already looking at some other leagues (lines on local women's league and floodlit youth) but don't know what will help me out best.
 
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I'm in a vaguely similar position to you (albeit a little bit older), and I'd say the main thing is don't rush it. Keep doing what you're doing at the moment, if you're enjoying it that is.
The step up from U14 to OA is quite big so see if you can move up into doing U15, or U17 (I wouldn't want to do the same age group of me in a local area!) and see how that goes.
You sound like you've got the confidence to take the next step and start doing older age group.

Keep in mind that the older the age group the more likely they are to start pushing things with you. Don't be afraid of that - it's a great opportunity to practise using sin bins and other management strategies in a slightly calmer atmosphere.

I don't know where you're based, but it might be worth seeing if your local FA do any sort of relaxed adult tournaments/leagues. This is how I got into open age, and found the supported from my CFA and other referees to help me confidence and learning wise.

It's important to remember that you're only at the beginning of your career, and you can make the step up anytime - don't be in a rush to get there and risk having your confidence knocked to the point you want to quit - no-one here would want that for you.

Use this forum - it's a treasure mine!

And Happy Birthday for later this week!!! 🎉
 
My son is in a similar position. He's now 16 and this season has been doing U18 and did a Women's County OA last weekend and doing another this weekend. He enjoys the U18 the most as it is more challenging than the Women's. He's also done a number of lines for OA since he turned 16. He's likely to step into men's OA later this month.
 
freddier said:
I'm looking to move forward to gradually doing open age games, but I definitely don't feel ready yet to go straight into them. I turn 16 later in the week so the options widen up as, up to this point I was limited to U14 games.

What do you think is the best way to push on?

I'm already looking at some other leagues (lines on local women's league and floodlit youth) but don't know what will help me out best.
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My route into OA was to run the line for a season on the supply league. It helps get you ready for what to expect, but you’ll also pick up some do’s and don’t from the officials you’re out with.

Ultimately there isn’t a set way to do it, each way will be a tad different for everyone. It’s hard to feel ready until you actually get out there and do it imo.

Good luck!
 
For this season I as a 16 year old moved into adult (often veterans Football) having never refereed anything besides girls football (and not above u15). I think you learn things very quickly, and especially if you can watch other referees or have mentors you'd be surprised how quickly you get used to it
 
I’d strongly encourage you to watch a game from the touchline thinking like a referee before getting out there. There can be a big difference.

in my youth many, many years ago, my dad accepted a U16 game for me without talking to me, which I learned of on the day of the match when it was too late to say no. I still hadn’t played at that level (!) and realized on the field that I really didn’t understand what a foul was at that level. Talk about seen in headlights! Mercifully it was a two whistle game (I know, I know, it’s sacrilege!), so at least the other R could help out, and the coaches were well behaved. But it was the only time in hundreds of games as a ref that I felt completely out of my depth. Had I watched a couple of games first, it would have still been a challenge, but not a hopeless one.
 
socal lurker said:
I’d strongly encourage you to watch a game from the touchline thinking like a referee before getting out there. There can be a big difference.

in my youth many, many years ago, my dad accepted a U16 game for me without talking to me, which I learned of on the day of the match when it was too late to say no. I still hadn’t played at that level (!) and realized on the field that I really didn’t understand what a foul was at that level. Talk about seen in headlights! Mercifully it was a two whistle game (I know, I know, it’s sacrilege!), so at least the other R could help out, and the coaches were well behaved. But it was the only time in hundreds of games as a ref that I felt completely out of my depth. Had I watched a couple of games first, it would have still been a challenge, but not a hopeless one.
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A two whistle game? What's that?
 
SpecsSaver66 said:
A two whistle game? What's that?
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An abomination? In the US,t is not uncommon to see youth and High School games officiated with two referees. Done properly, the lead referee is somewhat akin to an AR in being responsible for OS, and the trail positioning isn’t too far off a traditional R in the diagonal system, with a bit less advancement due to the need to get back in transition. Too often in practice, it becomes, roughly, the equivalent of two ARs with whistles and no R in the middle. (it is not a sanctioned model by USSF, but there are a lot of games that take place outside the mandate of USSF.)
 
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