As well as being a calm, safe environment for children to play and learn, our League is a calm, safe environment for young referees to learn and develop.
We are a training League: We give young referees their first experience of managing games. All are building up their experience, working towards full qualification.
That means they're inexperienced, sometimes a little hesitant (not giving decisions) and that they'll make loads of mistakes (giving the wrong decisions). They'll make lots of good decisions, too!
Some of our young referees are just 14 or 15 years old (children themselves) and some a few years older. All are being mentored by our Centre Directors. That means that some of their games will be observed and assessed and feedback given to help them develop.
We want them to grow in confidence so that they actively manage the games. That means talking to the children during the game and supporting the children's development with advice and encouragement rather than just blowing a whistle.
We ask for your patience and support while they learn the difficult skill of refereeing and game management. After all, without young referees, there would be no game.