A&H

Promotion Advice

B

BGreenbank

New Member
Hi all,

As a young ref I guess it's easy to set my sights too high and aim to be a Premier League ref by the time I'm 30. However, I would like to ask people about what to do in my position. I'm 15 and am looking forwards to progressing to open age and U18 football next season. I'm aware that promotions open around January / February 2018 and am wondering what to do.
  • Gain experience at Level 7 and progress the year after;
  • Go for the Level 6 promotion in my first season;
  • Go for the 'double jump' Level 5 promotion in my first season;
Now I know that last option seems a bit far fetched, but if I'm correct it will still be open to me next season.

I spoke to John Brooks (former PL assistant and now EFL ref) recently and asked about how to progress. He stated that he was Level 4 by the time he was 18 (which would suggest he got a double jump in his first season and was promoted thereafter). His advice was to focus on match-by-match goals and not Level 4.

I would love some honest opinions on what is best for my development as a referee - instead of what I find myself dreaming about being in the prem.
 
The Referee Store
Personally, I've found that being on the promotion scheme has been invaluable for my development as a referee. It forces you to push yourself to work at higher levels, it forces you to do things properly and it forces you to assess your performances critically. I'd recommend it to any referee who wants to take their refereeing seriously.

Having said that, OA football is a big leap from U16's. Don't forget that you won't just be refereeing 18 year olds who have just started out at that level - a lot of the people you run into will be 30+, experienced and more than willing to use all the tricks they've picked up to get under your skin and slip things by you.

The good news is that you won't have to decide straight away - assuming you plan to start OA football along with "friendlies" before the new season, you could easily have 10 or more matches under your belt by Christmas. The promotion season starts on March 1st and (in Essex at least) you can pretty much sign up until that date. With that little bit of experience under your belt, you'll have a better idea of how comfortable you are at that level and if you'd be confident of putting in a good performance when getting assessed. Get in touch with your RDO and let him know you're interested in progressing quickly, but you shouldn't need to commit until you've at least had a go at that level.

A thing a lot of people don't realise about the "double-jump" is that you not only have to be refereeing at a very high standard, you also have to complete the appropriate number of matches for both levels - that is to say, 2 lots of 20 middles and 5 lines in a single season. Before even thinking about the double-jump, decide if that's a time commitment you'll be able to make.

There's also a generally-held opinion on this forum that double-jump referees will find themselves stuck at levels 4 or 5 for longer than those that progress more slowly and are able to gather experience at a more natural pace. Unless you're exceptional, the double-jump may well do little more than speed up how hard you slam into a difficulty wall. I'd advise taking it slow - you've started very young and you've got more chance of making it to the top if you get solid experience at all levels rather than rushing through and finding yourself out of your depth.
 
@BGreenbank - see other runnibv thread about requirements for joining promotion system.

Promotion comes to those who deserve it, being promoted too quickly doesn't allow you time to learn how to referee.

Take your time and find out how good you are at OA football.
 
Referee as many games as you can until your feet bleed. If you do this you'll get better. If you get better you'll get promoted.
 
Regardless of age, why would you not go for promotion? You'll get at least three observations from senior referees, and very often they will still be operating at levels 4 and 3. I know of one referee who this season has been observed by a L3, L2B, and a FIFA assistant referee. Doesn't really matter if he gets promoted or not at the end of it, he will have learnt a huge amount from those observers.

And that last point is key, being observed will make you a better referee. If you don't get promoted so what, you will still be the same referee at the same level but armed with more knowledge about how to make you a better referee.
 
I echo what @GraemeS & @RustyRef have said.

Get on the promotion scheme as soon as you can, getting observed is, in my opinion, better for your development than simply getting games in without feed back on areas where you need to improve, and also where your strengths lie.
 
John Brooks got it half right. Focus match by match but make sure you self-assess for trends in your games and seek advice if you find something keeps catching you out or going wrong. Do get on the promotion trail asap but set realistic expectations with goals stretching no further than your next 6 games. Look to make those small incremental steps that improve you every time.
 
I never wanted the promotion but welcomed the feedback from good assessors, brought my game on tremendously. I was no longer ' in the dark' I had a benchmark to judge my performance against. Still a lowly contented level six!
 
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