Just 30 of the nearly 200 “active” Santa Monica volunteer referees that help keep the games SAFE, FAIR, and FUN every year. Some newly minted, some experienced veterans, lots of youth referees–all in it for the same reason: The KIDS !!! Fifty referees did 10 or more games, sixty did between 5-9 games, and seventy did 1-4 games. Amazing participation you fantastic parents, siblings, and community volunteers !!! For the Area 1P Regional Champion Playoffs, SM AYSO provided nearly 30% of all of the referees and assistant referees!!! That’s commitment to the KIDS.
It’s all about the VOLUNTEERS!!!
Region 20 is making it easier than ever to be a volunteer referee or assistant referee–parents can now officiate (CR–if appropriately certified, and/or AR) their OWN kids games in 8U, 10U and 12U!!! (New for last season (2023) and it was a huge success!) Sorry but 14U, EXTRAs and Playoffs require “neutral” match officials (no parents of…).
AYSO is built upon the concept of VOLUNTEERING, and one of the most important roles to be filled is that of the Referee and Assistant Referees. (Without CRs and ARs, we cant have games!) Most of you probably have little to no experience with soccer, but don’t let that stop you! Learning to manage a game is easy and fun, plus you end up with the best seat in the house! The vast majority of new parent volunteer referees have never played soccer before (and certainly not officiated), but all you need is the desire to help provide our young players with a great outing, and experience the fun, excitement, and camaraderie of a fantastic team sport! Being a Referee or Assistant referee is just about keeping the kids safe, playing fair, and having fun!
FYI: we need MOMs to come out and do this, too. Let’s not leave it just for the dads.
5U/6U/7U—All that is needed to manage a game/scrimmage at these tender years is a friendly parent volunteer on the field with the kids to help them start the game (it’s only 20-30 minutes long depending on the age group), keep the action moving (help restart the game when the ball goes out of play), and keep them safe and having fun. (We will provide you with a spiffy yellow referee t-shirt and a whistle–to make you look oh, so official!) To get you ready for this volunteer role we will hold a short 45-minute ZOOM Orientation on how to officiate/supervise these games–Don’t worry, it’s easy (like a big play-date). Let me know if you’re interested and I will send you a link to the available Zoom Orientations (rra@ayso20.org). Plus, these are GREAT ages to “get the hang of being a match official” in a super low-key environment, and to prepare you for the “real” officiating that starts to happen at 8U and older divisions.
8U/10U/12U/14U–Teams in these older age divisions need volunteer match officials (Referees and Assistant Referees) with a bit more training and an official ‘Regional Referee certification.‘ The training/certification consists of an online component and an in-person/classroom session (which will be held locally–classes to start early August at the Colorado Center Community Room across the street from Helen’s Cycles on Broadway). You can take a class elsewhere, in a neighboring Region, if our class offerings don’t fit your schedule.
This “Regional Referee” training will prepare you for both of the match official roles (AR and CR):
- Assistant Referee (AR): takes care of the touchlines (sidelines) and uses simple flag signals to indicate when the ball goes out of play (out of bounds) and which direction the restart will be taken (for throw-ins, goal kicks, and corner kicks, etc.)
- Referee (CR): has a slightly more comprehensive role, is sort of “in-charge” of the day, using his/her whistle and hand signals to manage the game, keeping it Safe, Fair, and Fun. It just requires a little more “organizational” effort, so the day goes smoothly.
10U/12U/14U games need three officials (1 CR and 2 AR’s) per game.
8U games can be managed by a single referee, but it’s nice if we can have a ‘full crew’ which gives the kids a feeling of a real match!
5U/6U/7U games just need one parent (or youth) volunteer in the middle of a very small field managing the hilarious play-date that is AYSO soccer at these ages.
If you have any questions about registration, training, or becoming a referee, feel free to reach out to me, Gray O’Brien, Regional Referee Administrator: rra@ayso20.org
Every team should try to recruit as many volunteer referees/assistant referees as they can! STRIVE FOR FIVE — share the workload! Don’t wait till teams are formed to decide whether to volunteer or not. Believe me, your team is going to need them.
Coaches and Team Managers will enthusiastically recruit parent volunteer referees! But don’t wait for them to ask you! The more officials that teams can recruit, the better, because it guarantees match official coverage every weekend (there are 10 weekends of Fall games leading up to the end of season Playoffs), plus it helps spread out the workload so the same people aren’t refereeing games every other weekend!
ASSESSMENTS and OBSERVATIONS–Upgrading
For those of you planning on upgrading to the next certification level, please contact us at: rra@ayso20.org or arra@ayso20.org
For the requirements necessary to upgrade (age requirements, game counts, courses, etc) please refer to the following link: AYSO Referee Certification Requirements
If you are planning on upgrading to Intermediate, once you take and pass the course we will first set up an “Informal Observation” with one of our Mentors/Assessors at a 12U game to discuss your strengths and see if there are any areas that need improvement. Then we’ll set up the official “Intermediate Observation.” The Intermediate Observation is meant to be a positive experience, a learning experience, and almost everybody successfully makes the upgrade to Intermediate certification on their first try!
If you are planning on upgrading to Advanced, once you take the course we will help facilitate the “Advanced Assessments” (one as Assistant Referee, and one as Referee) with one of Area 1/P’s certified Assessors. These Assessors are assigned to you from a different Region by the Area Director of Referee Assessments, Derek Fabian, at: derekfabian@gmail.com.
Mentoring
We have a great Mentor Program consisting of very experienced referees from Region 20 that want to offer their time and feedback if you are interested in growing as a referee and getting more comfortable with the nuances of managing the players (and the sidelines). If you are interested please reach out to the referee administrative department, at: rra@ayso20.org or arra@ayso20.org We will pair you with an experienced referee that will come out and watch your game(s) and give you helpful pointers that will make you a better referee!
We will also have experienced referees walking the fields during the opening weeks of the Fall season who will be available to answer questions and provide guidance and support. Look for these knowledgeable and helpful Referees (in their distinctive red jerseys) and take advantage of their expertise and experience–feel free to ask questions about things you are unsure of (or confused about).
Thank you everyone for all your support in becoming Volunteer Referees. We are looking forward to a great Fall season.
Play On!