A&H

The future is bright

I don't know if it is mandatory that they wear them, but having an obvious reminder like that might make people think twice before abusing a child.
 
The Referee Store
Thats a great idea, L plates for referees.... I like the sound of that.... My white stick was often my little helper!!
 
It's not about them being new referees, it's about them being under 18, and therefore still legally being children.
 
It may have been his first game, or he may not have completed his first 6 games and therefore not fully qualified.

The course is much better now, it isn't all based in a classroom and rather you go out onto the green stuff to actually practice practical things. But it is still daunting doing your first games and not everyone will hit the ground running. I was atrocious in my first few games but I still went onto to make it to L3, just as a young footballer shouldn't be on the scrapheap after a few games nor should a young referee.
 
I’m not surprised. The course is a ‘tick in the box’ exercise with little guidance on how to referee a game of football. Following the course, I called my RDO who basically said “yeah you’re good to go now, good luck”!

Besides the officials I’ve worked with either as an AR or in the middle with AR’s I’ve been offered no guidance, mentoring or anything from my county FA which might make me a better ref.

I personally don’t think I’ve done badly I believe there’s room for improvement for everyone...there just doesn’t seem to be anyone who’s prepared to offer development in an official capacity. Which makes it seem as though the FA’s are just out to fill appointments with little regard for quality.
The sad fact is that there are not enough referees to go round, nor do the County FA's have enough resources.

The issue that this causes is that newly qualified refs don't get mentored and supported effectively, because the moment that people who are qualified to do it are free to do so, they are appointed to games to cover the open games.

Appointment secretaries are always clamouring to fill fixtures and if they don't, then teams complain because they pay their league fees and don't get qualified referees.

The sad reality is that for a newly qualified referee, until you build up your own network of fellow referees, you join your local RA or you go on the promotion scheme, it can be a really lonely place. Also the longer you go without support the more likely you are to develop bad habits or get disillusioned and give up.
 
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