U12 game today and I had an absolute shocker of a match. Blue number 7 kept constantly questioning my decisions and I just didn't caution him in whole game althought he should probably been sent of twice. That reduced my concentration and my match control and I lost my focus and let a lot of borderline tackles go without even reacting or noticing. In the end neither one of the teams seemed to be happy with me. But at least I learned that I should let my mindset of: "They are so young I can't caution them" go and don't let the players affect my performance. Also a lot of "small" offences, like small kick to the shin guards or stamping (not with force or with intention) to players feet and I didn't know whether or not to call them or not because they were not affecting to play at all. Probably the worst match out of my around hundred matches officiated.
had a shocker
- Thread starter Ref1981
- Start date
I've had similar experiences. If you're slack with discipline, you become slack with borderline tackles and in an instant, the game is beyond recall. With Youth Football, a lot depends on how old you are as a ref. Whilst an adult would find it unusual to show cards to U12s, a younger referee may need to do so more often
Yep, have tolerance but don’t let them take your pants down!
D
Deleted member 3014
Guest
Your human you had a bad day at the office, welcome to the club not a ref on the planet new or experienced that doesn’t have a bad game (& don’t forget you probably feel worse in your head about your performance than what you actually were).
Put the wrongs right in your head for next time & 100% caution a youngster if it’s needed, I don’t ref kids football but if I did I woudnt hesitate to caution youngsters if it’s needed maybe if kids are put in there place at a young age they won’t grow up to be gobshites and give refs grief in adult footy.
Chin up I had my worst game for a few weeks last week, shrug it off it’ll be out your mind in a day or two, get back out there and strut your stuff
Put the wrongs right in your head for next time & 100% caution a youngster if it’s needed, I don’t ref kids football but if I did I woudnt hesitate to caution youngsters if it’s needed maybe if kids are put in there place at a young age they won’t grow up to be gobshites and give refs grief in adult footy.
Chin up I had my worst game for a few weeks last week, shrug it off it’ll be out your mind in a day or two, get back out there and strut your stuff
SurreySuperRef
Active Member
It's the mark of a good referee if you can be self critical without getting disheartened. I'm sure every referee in the world has been in your position one point or another.
As the kids are younger, the games can be more scrappy and you can be unsure of what's going on.
However it helps if you use your voice as well, even if you don't think it's an infringement. Typically if I see one of those challenges, where it is possibly a foul and possibly not, based on the atmosphere of the game and the tempo, I could be inclined to let it go, and simply say "careful there player, just watch the next one" in a friendly and non confrontational tone.
It sends a message to everyone that you've seen what has happened and are aware of it, and makes you look good because you're being proactive and keeping on top of things.
As for that age group, I tend to make a few allowances for tackles and such, it's rare you will see a yellow card offence, let alone a red, at that age. The players often mistime tackles but I find they very rarely actually meet the criteria for a reckless or excessive challenge.
If one player is keeping on with the niggly fouls, have a quiet word, then a public word (blow your whistle and call them over), third time blow the captain over and say that he's on his last chance and make it clear to everyone, point to the places where the other infringements were. On the fourth, give a caution. This applies more to men's football as a twelve year old captain isn't realistically in the best position to assist you (maybe consider having a word with the coach instead on the third one).
As for dissent, we'll that's not within the remits of the game. A mistimed tackle is one thing, but dissent is a conscious and deliberate attempt to undermine your authority. Give one warning, if you feel you can, then get the cards out. If a player is silly enough to get sent off you can say you warned him, so they have no ammo to come back at you with.
Take it on the chin, learn from it and come back a better referee next game.
CapnBloodbeard
RefChat Addict
I had a game very, very much like that. I once referred a club level U/12A team. And suffered a lot of dissent/disrespect from the player. A couple of players in particular....you know how some players just whinge, but some seem to be exploring ways to get under your skin? These players were the latter, and doing the same with the opponents. They struck me as players who were actually being trained in tactical fouls, in aggression, in taunting the opponents and getting under the refs skin. Caught me completely off guard and I struggled to handle the match. I actually sent off the keeper for dragging a player down by their neck!
Thinking 'they're just kids' is the worst thing you can do - and often it takes a game like this to realise that. You start to see when you can give them leniency, and when you can't. I lost control of that U/12 match. It didn't happen twice though! And I had successfully handled quite a number of tough adult games by this point - I think I was even refereeing reserve grade by then. This one just caught me off guard. I mean, I had never been afraid to card young players before, but the manner of these players threw me.
Personally I'm actually stricter on dissent and acts of aggression/squaring up to opponents in juniors than in adults.
One of the worst offenders in that game, in a later match he blatantly kicked the ball away after I penalised him so I booked him. He applauded the decision. Had it been an adult, it'd be a 3-card trick. Should I have done it for him? One of the home club officials said after that knowing me they were surprised I didn't send him. And I'm still not convinced that having a word was the right decision. But I've never been one of those refs that thinks cards are only for match control. And the kid knew exactly what he was doing.
I believe you learn a lot more from these games than the ones where you got everything right.
PinnerPaul
RefChat Addict
React to FIRST show of dissent - however mild. That puts down your marker. Then escalate as others have said. I can't stress the importance of that 1st step though.