Gave my first penalty today

[Dave Mac]

do you do youth football at all Glenn?

 

[Glenn]

I do both

 

[Dave Mac]

Do you think I'll notice a massive difference moving from the younger lads to open age? I'm hoping bigger pitches will make it easier to position myself to keep an eye on everything. But I think there will be alot more blowing of my whistle! I'm really looking forward to it, although nervous at the same time. Got my first game confirmed for next weekend!

 

[Glenn]

Positioning is a lot easier on a smaller pitch.. On a bigger one, means you have to run more Thats no good after a night out! Haha.

You'll enjoy it! Its good fun, just a lot different from the youth football!

 

[Dave Mac]

I notice a huge jump from the proper youngsters like the under 11's to the under 17's so expecting the adult stuff to be a real eye opener.

I'm excited about it now, although on the day I'm bound to be really nervous!

 

[Ross]

Try not to think about it too much. You'll be fine

 

[Dave Mac]

Hi Ross, I'll be fine once i get the first one out the way I'll be fine. I got super nervous before my first kids game and that was under 13, seems funny I was so worried aabout a bunch of 13 year olds.

 

[Richard Melinn]

Hi Ross, I'll be fine once i get the first one out the way I'll be fine. I got super nervous before my first kids game and that was under 13, seems funny I was so worried aabout a bunch of 13 year olds.

I always think being nervous and excited are a good combination.
Setting your tolerance level is your first challenge, will you use the quiet word / admonishment or a sanction as you impose control in the early stages of the game. You can't manage a red card but a caution too early in the game will increase pressure upon you to ensure consistency. A bit of empathy and management will help you profile rather than a technical caution for kicking the ball away.

Good luck

 

[Ian Mitchell]

I stopped doing kids games as soon as I could because of the lack of football. Having said that, some Sunday afternoon games I did weren't much better! It depends what you're in it for: to give the kids a proper game with a proper ref is admirable, but there's only so much smiling you can do! lol

 

[Reffariiii]

I enjoy OA much more, much less hassle with the players, coaches and spectators (thats not to say there isnt any!).

Most of them know that they are not Ronaldo or Fergie, and so get on with the game. What I find is, with you, its constants moaning, where as with OA you can have periods with none, then it all comes at once.

Being young (and short!) its important for me to talk with the player and share a laugh, something that is not easy with U14!

 

[Richard Melinn]

being assertive and smiling is part of the job

 

[Ryan Owens]

Its still a DOGSO offence if it is heading towards the goal, regardless of wether it is deliberate or not. That is my opinion on it.

If it was a deliberate DOGSO offence, then yes I would also sanction them with a Red.

The reason I would give a penalty, even if it wasnt deliberate, is down to match control, especially at park level, because if that ball doesnt enter the goal after hitting the hand of a defender, and you allow play to go on, you're opening yourself up to a world of problems.

That's not correct in law - either by the letter or the spirit. If I were playing in your match, I wouldn't really start shooting at the goal, I'd find myself shooting at defender's arms. Remember: DOGSO is not just denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity or else the GK would be sent off every time he makes a save. It is DOGSO/Handball which means that before DOGSO can be called, you must first call a handball and the LOTG say clearly that a handball must involve the player deliberately handling the ball. If it is then DOGSO, than you send the player off. It is more important to get the call right, in my opinion, than to appease players who would get upset - there are ways to deal with those players later including but not limited to explaining your reasoning for not having given the PK, cautioning the player for USB or sending the player off for OFFINABUS. Don't make the wrong call just because that's the call one team expects.