Girls Youth Football
- Thread starter James P
- Start date
Kes
I'll Decide ...
At the risk of coming across as sexist, I'll tell it like is. 
Females tend to be less concerned with kicking lumps out of their opponents and more intent on just playing football. The pace of the game will (likely) be a tad slower and generally speaking, a lot of the "negatives" experienced in male matches at that level/age group tend not to manifest themselves.
Just go out and enjoy it and, like any other match, referee what is in front of you and as per the LOTG.
Females tend to be less concerned with kicking lumps out of their opponents and more intent on just playing football. The pace of the game will (likely) be a tad slower and generally speaking, a lot of the "negatives" experienced in male matches at that level/age group tend not to manifest themselves.
Just go out and enjoy it and, like any other match, referee what is in front of you and as per the LOTG.
socal lurker
RefChat Addict
One of the side effects of less physical strength can be better passing. The boys at 14/16 are sometimes over enamored with how hard they can just blast the ball. Girls generally less so.
santa sangria
RefChat Addict
Less physical yes, but don’t fall into the trap of penalising every contact. No one wants water polo refereeing.
On a more practical level, you will find you need to adjust your positioning for corners and goal kicks.
Corners: I often set up on the same side of the penalty area as the kicker. It is rare for a corner to be kicked to far post or beyond.
Goal kicks: I usually waiting about halfway between penalty area and centre circle. Again, goal kicks into opposition half are very rare.
Corners: I often set up on the same side of the penalty area as the kicker. It is rare for a corner to be kicked to far post or beyond.
Goal kicks: I usually waiting about halfway between penalty area and centre circle. Again, goal kicks into opposition half are very rare.
RefRyanAus
Member
As a general rule I find there is more holding in these kinds of games but less tripping and high intensity tackling efforts. It can sometimes be a mistake to let the holding go unnoticed as it can lead to other more problematic offending as the game goes on.
RefJef
RefChat Addict
One thing I have found when refereeing girls at this age range is the lack of cues/appeals you get from the players.
Eg, when the ball goes out for a throw, in male football (typically) only a player from the side whose throw it is will go and collect the ball. In girls football often the nearest player will go and pick up the ball - this can be quite confusing at first I(for me as ref) until you tune into it, and you may need to be more visual and vocal in saying whose throw it is. Similarly, they often wont appeal for fouls, so just be aware.
Enjoy!
Eg, when the ball goes out for a throw, in male football (typically) only a player from the side whose throw it is will go and collect the ball. In girls football often the nearest player will go and pick up the ball - this can be quite confusing at first I(for me as ref) until you tune into it, and you may need to be more visual and vocal in saying whose throw it is. Similarly, they often wont appeal for fouls, so just be aware.
Enjoy!
Depends on the level of girls football you're doing vs the level of boys football you're used to!
I find it's a lot more getting the ball down, passing it around. Lots more little nicks, careless fouls etc. If it's U16s, they know how to play and what's expected.
So far I've also found parents/crowds/coaches far more 'passive' in girls football. Every match isn't the champions league final that some seem to think boys youth football is... but equally that could just be the teams I've done!
I find it's a lot more getting the ball down, passing it around. Lots more little nicks, careless fouls etc. If it's U16s, they know how to play and what's expected.
So far I've also found parents/crowds/coaches far more 'passive' in girls football. Every match isn't the champions league final that some seem to think boys youth football is... but equally that could just be the teams I've done!
santa sangria
RefChat Addict
I have been doing some top league u18 girls (not UK) and it can be difficult having long periods where there is no need to be an active ref - i am used to being really in the game in mens and boys football. I got to see myself on video the other week and I noticed my body language dropped off during long passive periods. So I try to fix that
It is really interesting seeing the differences in power, form, technique etc for girls and women's football. There's a pretty wide generational gap, which is making the next few years a pretty exciting time for the Ladies game IMO.
Unusual to find the U18's not being busy though, I thought that would be a good age group at the moment.
Definitely agree with you about maintaining body language - and remaining switched on, very important issues.
socal lurker
RefChat Addict
One other note on something to watch for--with young women, I see more fouls with a player using a swinging hip check to knock the opponent away.
The biggest advice is not to penalize every contact. Use the slower game to think about positioning of yourself and develop your communication and confidence to make the correct decision. Like previously said, girls will tend to leave the ball at the lower levels of play until a decision is made, so make sure you have who you're going to give the ball to if neither you nor the linesman know who it came off (Attack or Defence). This isn't really a change, but with boys you can tell by body language and reaction. From experience, at most levels they will say sorry for any little knocks into each other and I found that handball is a lot more common, but that might depend on the level of play. Dissent is less likely to be received, but still use your stepped approach and the sin bin if available to use. Generally a word would fix the issue, but again the teams might be different.