Anyone like to comment on this? I am not a soccer ref, but I have been a basketball ref for 6 years. I was taught how to ref using a very formalized clinic where we had to go through a rigorous evaluation. As a soccer coach (USSF Certified) I have noticed that the officials seem to be getting younger and younger. My question is: What is the control mechanism on young referees? I do not feel that referees should work games where the players are the same age group or (worse yet) older. It makes for intimidation on the ref's part. I'm not saying the players or coaches will intentionally intimidate the young ref (some might). What I'm saying is that the ref will be intimidated because the players are older, and most of the time faster. I don't feel that, for example, a 13 or 14 year old ref can keep up with the pace of play of a group of Premier U-18s. I see this trend in soccer more and more, but never in any other sport. My personal opinion is that until referees reach 18 years old they should be restricted to U-10. Thoughts or comments?
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