Our referee program had a very successful fall season. Every regularly scheduled SFL and ODSL game had a center referee and after the first weekend almost every house game (age groups U9 to U10/11) was covered.
We added several new youth referees this fall and they did an excellent job. However, our pool of referees has declined in the last few years and we still have a major need for new referees. In the spring season, the U8's adopt goalkeepers on a large goal and get referees for the first time. Our referee needs for house games increases by almost 50 percent based on covering the U8's alone. Probably, our biggest shortage in the fall was for assistant referees to cover the touchline for SFL and ODSL games. That will only increase in the spring as well. Finally, I fear we're burning out the few adult referees we have due to overuse. We're always looking for adult referees.
If you have any interest in becoming a referee please contact me, Jon Fleuchaus (ASA Referee Assignor,) at jfleuchaus@comcast.net.
We had hoped to sponsor USSF referee certification training and new USSF referee training in Alexandria over the winter. So far we have not been successful in getting that scheduled because the trainers doubt our ability to fill a class. We will continue to work on that but it may be another year before we can get these training courses back in Alexandria. In the meantime, information on courses in the area can be found at the Metro DC-Virginia Referee website: http://www.vadcsoccerref.com
We will have training for ASA youth referees (to cover U8-U11 games) in March 2008 at the Lee Center. More information will be on the website later in the winter.
Again, if you have any questions about the ASA referee program please send me an e-mail. Refereeing is a great way for teenagers to better learn the game and make good money. We pay referees as well as, if not better than any club in the area.
