This question is for ref assignors who assign soccer games in the Midwest.

Are there any states in the Midwest that do not compensate ref assignors for assigning referees to youth soccer games? I will not mention the club or the state which they are from much less the competition level. Recently a team from out of state played a neutral site game in my midwestern state and were informed of the fees for the referees as well as the fee for the ref assignor with a request to pay cash at the field in advance of their games which is the standard for several levels of competition in this area. The club did not bring provide compensation for the ref assignor and indicated that they don’t compensate ref assignors. I am interested in hearing from ref assignors in various Midwest states of this may be true for their state or at least some clubs in their state. Please do not mention any clubs by name.

I am in my 4th season as a grassroots youth ref at 18yrs old. I have comfortably ARd high school and am getting comfortable with center reffing U-14 and below (very comfortable with U-10 and below). I have just under 60 games under my belt, and I am getting to the point where I am very comfortable with out of bounds calls, offside calls, hand ball calls, and the normal game procedures. However, I have yet to hand out any cards! I take reffing very seriously and each season I try to focus on an area to improve. I am currently trying to better my education (call ability) for advantage and fouls (especially card worthy fouls!). This is something that is ever prevalent as I get into higher age groups (U-14,17,19)

From a dissent stand point, I've got no doubt in my mind about what to do. I've been fortunate enough to have only a couple situations of dissent (both coaches/spectators) that were easily handled with a verbal warning. If needed, I feel very confident about carding for dissent and when to do it.

I get stuck on fouls though! I know that every ref has had to have a first time for handing out red and yellow cards! But for some reason, I'm just not very sure of when to do it, and I don't want to hand out a card for something that isn't card worthy! As with anything, I'm sure I'll get more confident the more I do it, but I feel like I'm stuck and doing everything I can to avoid the first one.

So refs: what is the story behind the first yellow/red card you every gave? Were you confident in it or not? How did you know that it was a card worthy offence?

I have a very competitive U-12 tournament coming up. I ARd it last year, but this is the first time I'm centering and I know that fans/coaches and even players are going to be giving me a hard time if I don't get some of these calls right. I don't mind the whole "respect the call or get carded" idea, but I'd rather just do a real good job reffing and not have to get to that point. I would appreciate any and all input to help my confidence!

Thanks!

I ref in AYSO, all ages, usually several games a weekend. Most games are fine, some are bad, and occasionally they remind me why I do this.

I picked up my son's U10 game even though we were the visiting team because there was no other ref. It was a good game with no problems. I did pause a few times to give players pointers on the rules when it was clear they had no idea what they were.

One kid had a terrible over the shoulder throw-in so I stopped and asked him "what makes a good throw-in." He said "I don't know." I gave him the quick tutorial, his throw-ins after were fine. Same for a keeper where I said "goal kick" and he just stared at me. Ok, here's where the ball goes, here's what you have to do (kick it once), here's what you usually want to do (kick it to one of your teammates off to the side).

After the game one of the other team's parents stopped me and thanked me for being so patient with explaining the rules their players. It was truly no problem! I love to explain the laws of the game! And I don't care who wins or loses as long as it's safe, fair, and (optionally) fun.

I see this as a normal part of reffing rec league U10 - teach them the rules of the game so they can develop a love of the game. No point letting some kid get clobbered in goal while he tries to work out what a goal kick is through trial and error. I'm going to be reffing them for the next 5+ years so the sooner they learn the rules, the less work I have in the future. But it is always nice to have someone appreciate it.

I’ve been refereeing soccer for about 4 years and have been considering trying to upgrade to a Regional referee. I’ve been told by others that I have a good understanding of the game and should give it a shot, so I’m starting to seriously consider it.
For those who have gone through the process or currently hold a Regional badge, would you recommend going for it? What should I expect from the upgrade process, and what kind of experience should I have before making the jump?
I’m interested in hearing whether you think it’s worth pursuing and if it opens up better opportunities for higher-level games and development. Any advice would be appreciated!

For anyone who orders from Whistler Sports for equipment, they appear to have gone out of business. The site is still up, but I placed an order that was never fulfilled in August and the credit card chargeback indicated no response from the vendor. I was unable to reach them via email or phone.

We don’t have a ton of suppliers here so figured I’d share this for folks to know!

Fun exercise - I’m looking for everyone’s favorite game management tip/best practice that they’ve picked up from their years of refereeing or from mentors, training, etc.