I have had the good fortune to referee a few matches at the highest professional level in the United States including working as a fourth official on Major League Soccer matches and as a linesman or referee on MLS exhibitions, A-League matches, and USL games. In addition, I have been honored by officiating at both youth and amateur national championships as well as tournaments including the U.S. National youth teams. Hopefully some of you out there have the goal of one day reaching the point where you can officiate these top level games. I would like to take a moment to give you a few pointers about what you need to do to achieve the goal of being a professional soccer referee.

Fitness:

Proper fitness is an absolute key to maintaining control of matches at the highest level. You should be keeping in shape so that you can referee not refereeing so you can keep in shape. Page 15 of the USSF Referee Administrative Handbook lists the minimum fitness requirements of International and National referees. If you cannot even pass the National Referee fitness test you are certainly not fit enough to referee top level games where match fitness goes well beyond these minimum requirements.

Patience:

You cannot become a professional referee over night. Too many referees out there think that they should be State Referees right out of the gates, but it takes many years and hundreds of games before a referee has enough experience to do an adequate job at the professional level. For example, I spent five years and refereed over 400 games before I even upgraded for the first time, and I had over 100 centers at the adult level before I took a crack at a professional game. If you are dedicated and have the talent, you will make it there eventually. However, you can only hurt yourself and do a disservice to the players by officiating games that are too far above your head.

Look, listen, and learn:

There are hundreds of people out there from whom you can learn if you will only listen. Observe your fellow referees to see how they act in different situations. Seek out assessors and instructors to observe your officiating and give you feedback. Finally, and this may come as a surprise to many of you, listen to the players and coaches. If they are yelling at you there is probably a reason for it, and you need to have a good feel for the emotions of the participants in a game. Too many referees dismiss all dissent as a problem of the players rather than taking some of the responsibility themselves. Sure, players and fans are often biased and hot-headed, but if you are getting abuse game after game, most likely you are doing something wrong, and you need to take it upon yourself to find out what it is and correct it.

Be respectful of assignors:

Your local assignor is probably the single most important person in your quest to become a National referee, and you need to do everything possible to maintain a good relationship with this person. First and foremost, you need to honor your commitments. The best referee in the world is worthless if they do not show up for games (or consistently show up late.) Next, you must referee where you are needed. You're not always going to get the center on the U-19 boys. However, there is no referee in the country who is too good to do a U-12 girls game or run a line instead of the center. By showing your commitment to all levels of soccer, you will show your assignor that you are a true professional, and they will give you better and better games.

It is not an easy road to the top. It takes character, commitment, and lots of hard work, but it is an end that I hope many of you strive for. You will not all make it, but just in the effort you will improve yourself and the referee community. Good luck!

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