Multiple 11 asides

[GraemeS]

Whilst I agree with the previous comments regarding being g observed after already doing games that day being madness, I'm not having that 4 games in a day cant be done or done effectively.

Youth football your going to be doing 3 or 4km a game max. Less running, shorter games etc. 12-15km over a whole day. Mentally you'd be a bit bored of it all but it's perfectly possible IF you are at the required fitness levels to take it on. Its not a big physical ask if you're a regular runner for example or just physically fit

I think you're somewhat understating the requirements for upper youth matches. "Youth Football" covers a wide range of ages, pitch sizes, match lengths and player counts - what you're saying may well be accurate for U12's, but not upper age groups. It's been a while since I've done lower-age group football, but my more recent memory of U17s and U18s is that they're pretty much as demanding as I would expect for your average OA match, which I would generally peg at around 8km. 2 of those plus 2 marginally less demanding matches probably puts you in the 25km to 30km bracket - aka 2/3rds of a marathon.

So while not an impossible amount of running for a fit person to manage across a day, it is the kind of running that I would usually expect someone to have been given a few months to specifically train for, rather than being thrust on them as a "Oh, you're doing 2/3rds of a marathon this weekend BTW". And that's completely taking out the mental fatigue required to simultaneously keep your concentration up for nearly 5 1/2 hours of refereeing.

 

[Ben448844]

I think you're somewhat understating the requirements for upper youth matches. "Youth Football" covers a wide range of ages, pitch sizes, match lengths and player counts - what you're saying may well be accurate for U12's, but not upper age groups. It's been a while since I've done lower-age group football, but my more recent memory of U17s and U18s is that they're pretty much as demanding as I would expect for your average OA match, which I would generally peg at around 8km. 2 of those plus 2 marginally less demanding matches probably puts you in the 25km to 30km bracket - aka 2/3rds of a marathon.

So while not an impossible amount of running for a fit person to manage across a day, it is the kind of running that I would usually expect someone to have been given a few months to specifically train for, rather than being thrust on them as a "Oh, you're doing 2/3rds of a marathon this weekend BTW". And that's completely taking out the mental fatigue required to simultaneously keep your concentration up for nearly 5 1/2 hours of refereeing.

I'm certainly not understating it. For 3 years I did OA Sunday League in the morning followed by a afternoon kick off in the u18/u21 leagues in Sheffield. I played County Football for many years and packed in playing at 33, I totally get the physical demands of playing and reffing.youd never get 4 90 min games anyway due to length and ko times.

It goes without saying that it depends on age group but just assuming that the majority of games are u16 and below then 4 games for some people is not out of the question. The amount of games you can physically do is in complete correlation with your fitness. From a physical perspective, saying a specific amount is too many is too rigid. Its not one size fits all.

I alluded to the mental difficulties when I said I'd be bored and no doubt performance would suffer. But let's say I'm 17and I've got 4 youth games at one ground in a day then I'm loving it. £100 quid in my pocket and four games covered for the kids involved. Win win. At 38 and on promotion schemes and more care about my personal performance etc + the pub beckoning for a Sunday Dinner with my Mrs, not a chance I'm even considering 3 games.

Again, it's not one size fits all. The majority of refs are doing this for money and/or to cover kids games so they can play. That's the bigger issue than for most of us on here who take it a little more seriously.

 

[GraemeS]

I'm certainly not understating it. For 3 years I did OA Sunday League in the morning followed by a afternoon kick off in the u18/u21 leagues in Sheffield. I played County Football for many years and packed in playing at 33, I totally get the physical demands of playing and reffing.youd never get 4 90 min games anyway due to length and ko times.

It goes without saying that it depends on age group but just assuming that the majority of games are u16 and below then 4 games for some people is not out of the question. The amount of games you can physically do is in complete correlation with your fitness. From a physical perspective, saying a specific amount is too many is too rigid. Its not one size fits all.

I alluded to the mental difficulties when I said I'd be bored and no doubt performance would suffer. But let's say I'm 17and I've got 4 youth games at one ground in a day then I'm loving it. £100 quid in my pocket and four games covered for the kids involved. Win win. At 38 and on promotion schemes and more care about my personal performance etc + the pub beckoning for a Sunday Dinner with my Mrs, not a chance I'm even considering 3 games.

Again, it's not one size fits all. The majority of refs are doing this for money and/or to cover kids games so they can play. That's the bigger issue than for most of us on here who take it a little more seriously.

OK, but you're ignoring the context of this thread now. We're specifically talking about someone who has been told that they are doing 4 games made up of U14, U15, U17 and U18 in that order and is clearly not loving it.

Making up a bunch of scenarios where we're doing mainly U16s and below, or we're choosing to do a game in the morning and another a few hours later in the afternoon are irrelevant - and as I said, come across as you understating the difficulty of this specific scenario we're talking about here.

 

[es1]

Whilst I agree with the previous comments regarding being g observed after already doing games that day being madness, I'm not having that 4 games in a day cant be done or done effectively.

Youth football your going to be doing 3 or 4km a game max. Less running, shorter games etc. 12-15km over a whole day. Mentally you'd be a bit bored of it all but it's perfectly possible IF you are at the required fitness levels to take it on. Its not a big physical ask if you're a regular runner for example or just physically fit

depends on the individual of course. i'll never put myself in a position to do so much refereeing in one day.

i suppose the questions isnt can you do 4 games in a day, you're right of course you can. the question is can you do 4 games in a day to the best of your ability and with a performance level up to your own and the leagues standards / expectations? to me the answer to that has to be no

 

[refeire]

depends on the individual of course. i'll never put myself in a position to do so much refereeing in one day.

i suppose the questions isnt can you do 4 games in a day, you're right of course you can. the question is can you do 4 games in a day to the best of your ability and with a performance level up to your own and the leagues standards / expectations? to me the answer to that has to be no

I shall report back Sunday evening with the result!

 

[es1]

If I have understood the league properly, they dont want me giving my all. They have a tonne of fixtures for which they have no referees and this particular club have 4 home fixtures that day so I was given them all, they say they are stuck.

"Cruise through the first 2, stay out the penalty areas, follow the diagonal and referee as if you had assistants" was the advice and to read the play, if one team is clearly better then stay mostly in that team's half and dont chase etc .. this isn't what I do when I'm alone. I am as close as can be to play (without running aimlessly of course) and making sure I am in credible positions as much as possible.

I shall report back Sunday evening with the result!

i just dont understand...! best of luck in any case, hope all goes well!

 

[lincs22]

I shall report back Sunday evening with the result!

If you are not on a life support machine

 

[RefIADad]

depends on the individual of course. i'll never put myself in a position to do so much refereeing in one day.

i suppose the questions isnt can you do 4 games in a day, you're right of course you can. the question is can you do 4 games in a day to the best of your ability and with a performance level up to your own and the leagues standards / expectations? to me the answer to that has to be no

I think this is a good lesson for all of us to make sure that we are doing what we feel comfortable doing - honestly, probably doing LESS than we think we can do because we don't always know when we've hit our limits.

Once upon a time, I did up to five games in a day. I learned my lesson the hard way when my last game of a day where I did five games was a U19 boys game when I was running a reverse diagonal. It was one of the two worst games I've ever had. From that point on, I decided that I would do a lot less.

Today in my mid-40s (and with a family and doing a lot of matches around the games my son plays), I max out at 3. The only way I'll do two centers is if the two centers are U14 boys or younger and/or U16 girls or younger. Otherwise, I'll do a center and two lines. Even in that scenario, I usually try to limit myself to no more than two total U16 or older matches. I know I'll be mentally tired by the end of that third game.

 

[es1]

I think this is a good lesson for all of us to make sure that we are doing what we feel comfortable doing - honestly, probably doing LESS than we think we can do because we don't always know when we've hit our limits.

Once upon a time, I did up to five games in a day. I learned my lesson the hard way when my last game of a day where I did five games was a U19 boys game when I was running a reverse diagonal. It was one of the two worst games I've ever had. From that point on, I decided that I would do a lot less.

Today in my mid-40s (and with a family and doing a lot of matches around the games my son plays), I max out at 3. The only way I'll do two centers is if the two centers are U14 boys or younger and/or U16 girls or younger. Otherwise, I'll do a center and two lines. Even in that scenario, I usually try to limit myself to no more than two total U16 or older matches. I know I'll be mentally tired by the end of that third game.

You're absolutely right, know your limits, how many a day and whats your recovery. I know I need a day off minimum after a game so must manage my moas calendar accordingly

 

[refeire]

I guess on the plus side these 4 games will amount to just shy of 200EU

 

[Trip]

If I have understood the league properly, they dont want me giving my all. They have a tonne of fixtures for which they have no referees and this particular club have 4 home fixtures that day so I was given them all, they say they are stuck.

It's not your job to unstick them. I'm not remotely surprised that league is short on referees. If the allocator really stops appointing referees to U17/18 games if you refuse to FOUR games in a row and be assessed on the last one he or she needs to be taught a lesson.

Go and find another league. Assuming you can still walk.

 

[RustyRef]

They are probably short of referees because they are all at home injured or mentally exhausted

 

[Redster]

.

Had a guy show up to whistle U20 second tier as his third match of the day at the weekend. Waste of space. Nowhere near play. The couple of drop balls to the GK saw him 70 yards behind play. Not fair on the teams in the end. Even with ARs.

Great thing about the new drop ball to the GK is that you can do it from a distance now