young players

[Greyhound]

My first games were as a non-registered official as an iron-man(single official) referee. I then spent about three months doing AR only duty in a mens division one amatuer league in DC until I could get my badge(about 5 years ago)Directly after getting certified I took assignments as a center in mens amatuer matches at various levels.......So I never really did much youth. It was a great was to learn the game fast. Im not saying I didnt make dumb mistakes the first year or so(or yesterday for that matter) but I dont think you gain much from staying at the U10 and under level for long. It helped that I had played at a reletively high level before becoming a reff. Take as high level games as you feel comfortable with as soon as you can. Good luck.