Goalkeeper picking ball up twice in youth games.
- Thread starter RonnieM
- Start date
Most leagues now have a severe shortage of referees. It would be ridiculous to have qualified refs doing u7s whilst having an u15 or adult match go without one.
Runner Ref
Well-Known Member
Not all referees will feel comfortable doing 11v11 or 9v9 games. At least at the start.
I did 18 months of mini soccer before I started doing older age groups. Appointments officers have to work with what they have.
Yet In hampshire where I am it is very common for adult games to go uncovered while u7s-11s has a surplus of referees
I think that's more down to the fact that there are a ton of 14/15/16 year olds that will do the course to earn a quick buck refereeing easy kids football but have no interest in refereeing older age groups or open age
I've been a level 4 for a few years now and I can honestly say I have no idea how many players are in a team at u7s. It's non competitive football. No league tables or results, it is solely for fun.
9x9 is the starting point for new referees who aren't confident enough to do adult football. It would be absolutely crazy for any appointments officer to be appointing to u7s and leaving themselves short of referees at older age group levels and/or adult football.
Whilst there should and must be environments for less confident referees to work in should they want to, this should not include u7s football.
Runner Ref
Well-Known Member
U7’s hasn’t always been non-competitive.
If referees would rather do mini-soccer, that is entirely up to them. As mentioned above, some newly qualified referees will do mini-soccer as it’s easy money. No offsides to contend with.
FirsFox40
RefChat Addict
Hampshire here too, and yeah, have noticed this. Generalising slightly, but many of those referees have been put through the course by “their” club and just cover those games… or it’s a youngster who can only go to X ground and they’ll do a few back-to-back and walk home with a few quid.
santa sangria
RefChat Addict
You haven’t lived until you’ve run an u7 penalty shoot out - in a foreign language!
it's tournament week in january...hopefully we can avoid that
ooft... looking for a hijacked Thread emoji!
It's not rocket science to see why. Even at U15 the ref will be exposed to some unacceptable abuse and that is why they chuck it and that is where the shortage comes in. Why not get paid to see young players enjoy the game instead? As a new ref myself who wanted to call it after my 3rd match it is an eye-opener.
It's not rocket science to see why. Even at U15 the ref will be exposed to some unacceptable abuse and that is why they chuck it and that is where the shortage comes in. Why not get paid to see young players enjoy the game instead? As a new ref myself who wanted to call it after my 3rd match it is an eye-opener.
Because u7s do not need qualified referees, u15s do. If abuse happens then take the appropriate measures. If abuse (which unfortunately is always a possibility in our game) means you don't want to referee then that's perfectly understandable. But it cannot be used as a way of referees doing it solely to earn money doing a job that doesn't need doing
Let the coaches run that
Runner Ref
Well-Known Member
If clubs and leagues are happy to pay to appoint referees to u7’s games, then that’s their perogative.
Do u7’s generally need qualified referees? For the most part, no. Can u7’s be a great way for newly qualified referees to get comfortable and pick up the basics? Absolutely. Can it be a good way to someone to earn a few extra quid? Absolutely, and good on them.
If there were enough referees to do all the age groups and OA football above then I'd agree with you. But in most cases there aren't so the age groups with the least needs go without. Like u7s which has no need for a qualified official
Runner Ref
Well-Known Member
A referee can’t be forced to do a game. If they’re more confident at doing an u7’s game than they are an u15’s, that’s up to them. An appointments officer can’t force them to do a particular one. They could refuse them future appointments, but all they are then doing is shooting themselves in the foot.
If a referee would rather do 4 mini soccer games in a morning than do 1 u15 game, that is their choice. And a lot of appointments officers would probably prefer this. I did 18 months of mini soccer before moving 11v11, and I did just fine later in my refereeing career.
I've never suggested forcing anyone. Most leagues do not appoint at u7 level. There's minis (9v9) at several age groups up from u7s that are more in need of a referee
Runner Ref
Well-Known Member
You mean most leagues in your area don’t. That doesn’t mean the rest of the country follows suit.
9v9 is a great stepping stones for new referees. But it then adds the complications of judging offsides on your own. Which new referees may not feel confident with, or some referees simply don’t want to do so.
Mini-soccer games can quite literally kick off. Is it rarer than in older age groups? Yup. Does it happen? Yup.
What about the refs that aren't confident with u7s? U5s? There is always going to be the risk of problems at football matches. Offsides are part of football. We will not agree, but in my opinion there is no need for a referee in u7s and it's ridiculous to hav3 u7s covered with older age groups and OA football having no referee. If coverage is very high, then by all means have referees at u7 level. But for the mast majority it isn't and therefore u7s should not have appointed officials.
Runner Ref
Well-Known Member
Well that depends on what the lowest age group is. If U7s are lowest age group and a referee isn’t confident, then there’s not too much that can be done.
Offsides are not part of mini soccer. If a referee would rather cover multiple mini soccer games in their weekend than 1 or 2 u15s, that is up to them.