I'm trying to ask this as diplomatically as possible because it’s a genuine question.
I received an email from a local club asking for referees to officiate their under-8s non-competitive games.
My question is: What’s the point?
I struggle to see how refereeing a game like this—especially one that’s non-competitive—would be beneficial for a referee’s development. The pitch is only a third of the size of a full pitch, so it wouldn't really help with practicing positioning or mastering the "lazy S" movement. In fact, it may have a detrimental impact as you spend most the game trying to get out the way. I know others have expressed previously that mini soccer can be helpful for newly qualified referees, particularly youth referees looking for experience, I’m still not convinced that officiating under-8s games would provide meaningful development.
Another concern I have is why clubs are trying to pull referees away from competitive matches that could genuinely benefit from officiating (sure, in an ideal world every game has a referee, but we know that isn't the case). I find this even more frustrating as the club in question happens to be a club I refereed for as part of my qualifying matches and was told it was the first time they’d (U14s) had a referee all season!
Clubs should consider implementing a refereeing initiative. For example, they could sponsor their U15, U16, and U18 players to take the refereeing course, covering the cost of the fees. In return, these newly qualified referees would officiate the younger age groups as part of their development in the first year.
I received an email from a local club asking for referees to officiate their under-8s non-competitive games.
My question is: What’s the point?
I struggle to see how refereeing a game like this—especially one that’s non-competitive—would be beneficial for a referee’s development. The pitch is only a third of the size of a full pitch, so it wouldn't really help with practicing positioning or mastering the "lazy S" movement. In fact, it may have a detrimental impact as you spend most the game trying to get out the way. I know others have expressed previously that mini soccer can be helpful for newly qualified referees, particularly youth referees looking for experience, I’m still not convinced that officiating under-8s games would provide meaningful development.
Another concern I have is why clubs are trying to pull referees away from competitive matches that could genuinely benefit from officiating (sure, in an ideal world every game has a referee, but we know that isn't the case). I find this even more frustrating as the club in question happens to be a club I refereed for as part of my qualifying matches and was told it was the first time they’d (U14s) had a referee all season!
Clubs should consider implementing a refereeing initiative. For example, they could sponsor their U15, U16, and U18 players to take the refereeing course, covering the cost of the fees. In return, these newly qualified referees would officiate the younger age groups as part of their development in the first year.
