[Junior] Appointment

Lee Lifeson-Peart


Referees in England
Joined
Mar 12, 2008
Messages
7,798
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999
Current Referee grade:
Level 6
U16s can be a pain in the arse.

I abandoned one of the first ones I did but that was a mixture of the clubs involved, the players and the coaches.

I agree with Becket and keep top side of "sledging" as that can degenerate into comments about "yer mum" and the next thing you're writing reports into the night.

If you've a good captain that'll be a boon but in my experience a gob shite coach can offset that as these tossers tend to have a bad influence on the behaviour of their charges (see above - abandoned match).

DON'T play advantage from foul play eg High Tackles as that can be a potential flash point at this age.

DON'T be their mate.

DON'T be too school teacherish.

DO use BIIIIGGG primary and secondary signals and call it as you do it. This is hard when you first start as there's a tendency to do signals too quickly and too close to your body.

DO enjoy it.

DO keep up with them.

DO apologise if you've had a brain fart.

DO be confident in what you give and keep them focussed on game values eg sledging, appealing, flapping their arms etc etc

DO keep your pre-match brief as brief as you can. Speak to the whole team at this age but don't go through every phase and what you expect. Do the mandatory stuff and tell them you'll keep talking to them.

Enjoy it.
 
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