Question Number: 25223

Character, Attitude and Control 7/17/2011

RE: Youth Competitive Under 16

Erik of Waukesha, WI United States asks...

two questions:

I'm a 15 year old grade 8 and I'm doing U-14 and below right now (I stopped doing anything U-10 and below last year) and I'm trying to make state cup in spring and upgrade to grade 7 by 19 years old, and if all goes well to get into the World Cup, first, are my goals realistic to achieve, and second should I continue to take lower level games (U11&12 and rec) to get more games and more experience or should I only take higher level games to get experience at a higher level (all games below U15 are self assign and anything above U10 has AR's)

Thanks in advance for your help

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Erik
Every goal that a person sets is achieveable certainly where the requirements are not time restricted such as age. In your case at age 15 you have many years to achieve your goal.
As regards some general advice I believe that a young referee cannot referee enough games or indeed watch enough good referees in action. Most good judgment comes from experience and most experience comes from bad judgment. All the lessons I have learned has come from the field of play finding out what works and what is likely to happen based on scenarios.
I would also pick a mentor in the local referee association. That mentor should be someone who has loads of experience both off and on the field of play. That person can point a young referee in the right direction both from a refereeing perspective and also in managing his career through advice, counselling, introductions etc.
Finally assessor play a big part in the referee ladder. If aspiring referees do not meet the requirments of assessments and the assessors see little progression then perhaps their progress up the ladder can be slowed.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Ah the dreams and lofty goals of youth.

Shoot for the stars my young friend but be aware that almost no one gets to do a World Cup game.

My feelings are to take a mixture of high level U12 and lower level U14 then move up. Watch as many games as you can and ask the referee at the end of a match if he/she will answer a few questions after the match.You will need 75 11 v 11 games of 90 minute duration and 25 as an AR with same criteria.

And get assessed as often as possible even if just by one of the local League referees

Good Luck!!

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If you work with your assignor and do a good job on lower-level games, the assignor will not forget you when it comes to doing upper-level games. But if you continually turn down U10's and U12's, the assignor will not be pleased and may not work as closely with you to help you meet your goals. And should you whine that you're not getting enough good games, you might as well hang it up now. The assignor has to balance your needs, desires and goals against those of all the other referees and the good of the league.

I would seek advice from some referees who do upper-level games and see what you need to do to advance to those levels. The Referee Administrative Handbook gives the minimum requirements needed to advance, but often times there simply aren't enough resources to devote to up and comers as yourself to help them along. You may need to do more than the minimum before you can advance.

If you haven't yet contacted your State Referee Administrator, do so and explain your ambitions. You should also seek advice from any local referee association administrators, who may go by a variety of titles - regional administrator, 'chief referee', etc.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Be good friends with your assignor(s) - hopefully you can work with more than one to give you a variety of different types of games. Always honor your assignments, which means you don't decline one after accepted if something 'better' comes along. Ask your assignor(s) to put you with more experienced and advanced level referees so you can observe and learn.

Find something you can work on in EVERY game. Positioning (this is a good thing to work on in slow games - you can try lots of positions to see what gives you the best view - this way in tougher games, you'll have some real experience in finding positions which will help you manage the game and see the offenses); signals - make them so crisp they cut the air; pregames - practice and take notes when you are the AR for an advanced level referee - and ask LOTS of post game questions - why did you go there, how did you decide to call/not call an incident; learn to critique your games yourself - did I pay attention to the players, was I respectful, did I have a moment of truth and did I handle it well - why or why not, what do I need to research to find out if I did it correctly - these are a few ideas to help you get where you want to go. It takes focus, determination, and practice. At 15, your fitness shouldn't be an issue, but don't ever get complacent. Find out what the 07 fitness test is, and aim to do state level times (this is guaranteed to get you noticed).

Always reach higher than the lowest expectation. Embody professionalism.

Only the few, the proud, the best make it into the World Cup - and then with some luck (opportunity meets preparation). Do you have what it takes? Aim high, sweetheart.