Junior/Youth "You must've taken a big bribe, ref"

[Matthew]

I will say that in my limited experience of academy fixtures, coaches have always been very supportive. If you pull a player aside to give him a public bollocking, you'll almost immediately see the coach send a sub to warm up and that player will have been pulled off to calm down within 5 minutes, even if it would only have been a yellow card-level offence.

I've been fortunate enough that I've only seen one red card offence in an academy match, and that was DOGSO when I was on the line of a competitive U18's match where cards are to be applied as usual. But if I'd been in the middle of a lower age level match and seen a player throw a punch, I'm not continuing the game with him on the pitch - the only concession to it being an academy match is that I will give the coach a brief opportunity to sub him off. If he doesn't want to play the game and refuses to enact the sub, I won't play along any more either and will just send the player off - however again I want to emphasise, nothing in my experience of academy matches so far has suggested this would be at all necessary.

I'd definitely echo this. Coaches are generally supportive and are particularly keen to clamp down on dissent; if I speak to a player re dissent they are generally subbed pretty quickly or, as happened at the weekend, will be taken to one side by the coach at the next break in play.

I've been fortunate that until this incident I've never had a red card offence committed in an academy game but to use your example @GraemeS, if a player threw a punch there is no way I would restart the game with that player on the pitch. If that meant showing a red card because a coach refused to take action and no longer getting fixtures, then so be it. I also think it's important to make the distinction between sanctioning by asking for the player to be subbed v. taking no action at all. Having a player removed from the game has exactly the same effect so I can accept it as being part and parcel of younger age academy football (even though I don't like it), but doing nothing is not, and should never be, an option.

 

[one]

And by the sound of it "I've been fortunate" not to have had any academy games

 

[Big Cat]

And by the sound of it "I've been fortunate" not to have had any academy games

Yes, some folk on here who are ordinarily hung up on Laws now revealing they selectively ignore them (presumably to continue getting appointments?)
Not for me. No chance I'm ever coercing for a player to be subbed

 

[Kes]

Yes, some folk on here who are ordinarily hung up on Laws now revealing they selectively ignore them (presumably to continue getting appointments?)
Not for me. No chance I'm ever coercing for a player to be subbed

Agreed.

I don't ever do "Academy" matches but if I ever did, they'd be refereed according to the LOTG . End of.

 

[Big Cat]

Agreed.

I don't ever do "Academy" matches but if I ever did, they'd be refereed according to the LOTG . End of.

I sometimes do games for the Eastern Junior Alliance and Junior Premier League (Academy wannabies). Whilst sanctions are not overtly discouraged by anyone, the coaching is a bit odd. They play tippy tappy stuff with reduced levels of contact and expect FKs for trivial physicality.
Why instil this nonsense into players if the kids want to make something of themselves in the game? When they ultimately graduate into the 'big lads game', they'll need several more years of development to have any chance of competing. None of it makes much sense to me. The games are like a stroll in the park in my experience

 

[Kes]

They play tippy tappy stuff with reduced levels of contact and expect FKs for trivial physicality.
Why instil this nonsense into players if the kids want to make something of themselves in the game? When they ultimately graduate into the 'big lads game', they'll need several more years of development to have any chance of competing. None of it makes much sense to me.

Google "The Feminisation Of Education" and it all becomes clear ...

 

[GraemeS]

I sometimes do games for the Eastern Junior Alliance and Junior Premier League (Academy wannabies). Whilst sanctions are not overtly discouraged by anyone, the coaching is a bit odd. They play tippy tappy stuff with reduced levels of contact and expect FKs for trivial physicality.
Why instil this nonsense into players if the kids want to make something of themselves in the game? When they ultimately graduate into the 'big lads game', they'll need several more years of development to have any chance of competing. None of it makes much sense to me. The games are like a stroll in the park in my experience

Eugh, you're telling me you'd rather do EJA over academy? I did 5 matches for the EJA before giving it up, and I did so because even outside of the atrocious admin, it's full of kids who have been told they're future stars without actually having any of the skill or discipline that they would have learnt if they were in an academy. EJA matches make up over half of my "worst experiences as a referee" and I barely did any!

Tell an academy player that he's pushing his luck on dissent and he'll have been taken off before you even have time to think about showing a card. Tell an EJA player he's pushing his luck and you'll likely be told to "f*** off" by him, followed immediately by the coach marching on the pitch to make the same point but louder. Give me Academy matches any day!

 

[Big Cat]

Eugh, you're telling me you'd rather do EJA over academy? I did 5 matches for the EJA before giving it up, and I did so because even outside of the atrocious admin, it's full of kids who have been told they're future stars without actually having any of the skill or discipline that they would have learnt if they were in an academy. EJA matches make up over half of my "worst experiences as a referee" and I barely did any!

Tell an academy player that he's pushing his luck on dissent and he'll have been taken off before you even have time to think about showing a card. Tell an EJA player he's pushing his luck and you'll likely be told to "f*** off" by him, followed immediately by the coach marching on the pitch to make the same point but louder. Give me Academy matches any day!

I haven't done many EJA games, but those that I Refereed were a breeze. Not my cup of chai anyway
I do the odd JPL game because two Clubs that are very local to me have my number and sometimes it suits me to have a run out. In terms of Youth Football, I'd rather Referee a County League Div 1 game. Sometimes the standard is on a par or better and the games are likely feisty

 

[RustyRef]

My experience of professional academies, especially at the younger age groups, is that you will struggle to see or hear anything that even comes close to a caution. At the older age groups I don't think they have any problems with cautions or even sendings off, after all U16 players could get called into the U18 team where level 4s are in charge and certainly will be using cards so there is an argument to say they need to get used to it.

 

[bester]

My experience of professional academies, especially at the younger age groups, is that you will struggle to see or hear anything that even comes close to a caution. At the older age groups I don't think they have any problems with cautions or even sendings off, after all U16 players could get called into the U18 team where level 4s are in charge and certainly will be using cards so there is an argument to say they need to get used to it.

Level 3s with Level 4s on the line at U18s Premier League and Professional Development level now. L4s for football league level academies.

 

[PinnerPaul]

I sometimes do games for the Eastern Junior Alliance and Junior Premier League (Academy wannabies). Whilst sanctions are not overtly discouraged by anyone, the coaching is a bit odd. They play tippy tappy stuff with reduced levels of contact and expect FKs for trivial physicality.
Why instil this nonsense into players if the kids want to make something of themselves in the game? When they ultimately graduate into the 'big lads game', they'll need several more years of development to have any chance of competing. None of it makes much sense to me. The games are like a stroll in the park in my experience

Which is why the very best have to continue their education, when they DO get to a PL or Championship contract, by playing in League 1, 2 or even the National League on loan. For many of these 16,17, 18 year olds, its the first 'proper' football they have played since the age of 8!

QPR have decided that whilst, 'for the moment' keeping their U18, 19 and U23 teams, they are going to have a 'B' team, or 'reserves' as us old timers would call them, games for these young lads, in the the hope that they will get a better education of what first team football will be like.

The idea being, I think, that there will be a fair scattering of 1st team squad members playing in these 'B' games.

 

[Darren83]

I once referred an academy u14s game many a moon ago. I thought I had a decent game but I never got asked again to do any more. Fine by me like cos refereeing fake football matches isnt worth the hassle and it certainly wasnt and isn't a privilege