Mate it was really good, you have to pass the first part of the course which is the on line before you can do the practical part. All the people who attended the practical session were involved in grassroots football in some capacity so we all had a basic knowledge of the game anyway.
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- Thread starter Tino Best
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Mate it was really good, you have to pass the first part of the course which is the on line before you can do the practical part. All the people who attended the practical session were involved in grassroots football in some capacity so we all had a basic knowledge of the game anyway.
To have mentors for 5 games is a great idea. I was meant to have 2 out of 5 of them mentored and only got 1 
It cuts out the need for teaching, classroom hire, finding a date people can attend and so on.
Moving online opens it up accessibility-wise, plus it ties in with the modernisation programme that is happening in Wales at the moment, what with all the fixtures even at grassroots going online with COMET next season.
I watched my grandsons today, U7, young teenage female referee getting the simple ones right but getting most of the closer stuff wrong. At that level it hardly matters but I fear that when they move up they haven’t learned much and continue to not understand challenges / deflections and call incorrect throw ins the harder stuff won’t come easy either or it will end in tears by the ref or the teams!
Was there anyone there to give her support or advice? A few tips at the end of a game, phrased in the right way so that they are taken on board, can really make a difference.
What I fear most is that County FAs adopt a sink or swim tactic and don't consider that throwing a few lifejackets out could boost retention rates. I'm specifically thinking about mentoring and training past the initial stages and not necessarily centred around promotion but simply helping those at level 7 stay on top of things. This could make everyone's life easier as the grassroots level gets better making it more attractive to new entrants and increasing the quantity of refs.
Yes, and she's hopefully learning just like the kids are. I was hopeless in my first game, but still went on to make L3 and without trying to sound ****y I'm confident I would have gone higher had it not been for bad injuries. Referees need to learn on the job, and if they can't learn at U7 games where can they learn?
one
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Sounds good in theory but in practice it has a lot of challenges. It needs resources most organisations don't have and even the few you do have you need some one good (and dedicated and available) to organise them in an efficient way to get the most out of them. A lot of things need to go right and given much of it is volunteering we have what we have. It need investment from top to flow down. I don't know about UK but it doesn't happen in Australia.
Did you offer her any advice? Perhaps you could mentor her, at least while she's doing the game for your grandsons' team. As several people have said there aren't the mentors to go round so offering advice to her instead of just saying that she was hopeless may be the difference for her. This may have been the game where she decided if this was for her or not, and a friendly face instead of all the snarling ones may have helped keep her in the game.
As Rusty said, I was shocking in my first game. I called for an offside before remembering I was the one making the decision! I also made L3. We all have to start somewhere, and as Referees we all know how hard it is when the teams are baying for blood. At whatever level we are at the hardest thing to deal with is the abuse we get. There's another page on the site today about two managers fighting at U7. Just because it's youth doesn't mean there's no grief. It's working it's way down the levels.
We all have games where the teams and spectators think we've got everything wrong - I had one yesterday. I know I got most of it right, just like always, but the teams feel that if it's against them / they don't understand it / don't think the game needs it then it's wrong. As Referees we should be supportive of people who have the guts to stand up and make the decisions, not slag them off when we think they're wrong. If we helped them then maybe they wouldn't get so much wrong because they wouldn't be so worried about everyone moaning all the time.
My elder son did the course many years ago. He was actually a good referee, but he hated it because he is too nervous and didn't enjoy being moaned at when he made decisions people disagreed with. He could have got to a pretty high level on ability, but he felt all on his own, even though he knew I was there for every one of his games. He stopped doing it and I don't think he'd ever go back to it, not because he didn't enjoy it, and he was certainly good enough, but he didn't like the fact that people got on his back so much when they disagreed with his decisions.
I never even got oneTo have mentors for 5 games is a great idea. I was meant to have 2 out of 5 of them mentored and only got 1
My County FA has now made it compulsory for promotion candidates to mentor at least one new referee. This entails going to watch them in at least two of their first five matches and provide feedback etc. You can claim £10 in expenses for each time you watch them (a maximum of £20 can be claimed though). I think this is a great idea, I'm currently mentoring three new young referees and it's great to give something back and have an input on the future referees. Sometimes it's hard work to not fixture-clash with them though..
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RefJef
RefChat Addict
A fellow Somerset referee I believe.
I haven’t started mentoring yet, but I am lined up to mentor two refs who are doing the course later this month. Am looking forward to it.
Are you both Somerset refs too? I've just qualified (literally tonight as I've just got back from passing the exam). That's great that they're doing that - but I wonder why I've not heard of that earlier :-S
Yep, I believe I have done two fitness tests with you! Probably don't recognise me as I'm always behind you... I've got two from that course too due to a shortage of mentors.
Yep, South Somerset. Were you not appointed a mentor?
However I accidentally said 'Gurt' today, so maybe I've transitioned...
Yeah, I just think I misinterpreted what to expect. Ultimately everyone is busy and Saturdays are maxed out. I certainly DON'T mean that as a criticism because there were 30-40 on the course. The instructors were excellent and I'm sure that if I needed them then they would have made the time for me.
If you are mentoring then, as someone who's just done it, my advice is don't assume that If you've not heard from someone then they're fine - drop them a call or an email after the match and find out how they are. It gives an impression of caring even if you couldn't get to the game.
Kes
I'll Decide ...
Don't let the door hit you on the way out
I knew my post would draw one of you out ..
