Becoming a Referee

Certified, volunteer referees manage games for U8 and older divisions. No previous soccer experience is required to become a referee.

If you have little or no experience as a referee, you take the Basic Referee class (also called "Beginning Referee" or "Regional Referee" class). You get a Regional referee badge, and you referee at the U10 division. In U10 games, you are part of a team that includes a more experienced referee that can continue to teach you on the field.

If you have a USSF referee certification, you can cross-certify with AYSO. Contact the Regional Referee Administrator. Your game assignments depend on your experience.

If you are 12-18 yrs of age, you become a "PRO" referee. The PRO (Player Referee Organization) program offers a regional coordinator and classes tailored to youths. The PRO program can offer the following benefits:

Develop player skill by developing knowledge of the laws of the game.
Improve self-confidence and decision making skills.
Earn volunteer hours for NJHS and high school service requirements.

To become a certified volunteer referee, complete these steps:

Go to www.eayso.com to register as a volunteer for this season.

Register as a volunteer for section 2, area J, region 64.
Do not register your children as players in eAYSO--Region 64 uses WebYouthSoccer to register players.

Sign up for a referee class.

Check the Coach and Referee Training Calendar for upcoming classes.
Adults attend a "Regional Referee" class (also called "Beginning Referee" class).
Youths attend a PRO class.
You can attend a class in a nearby region, if the date/time is more convenient for you.
Enroll for the course in eAYSO.

Log in to eAYSO. Your eAYSO ID number is required.
Click "Enroll to take a class".
In the search panel, choose criteria to search for a class.

If you know the course roster number, use the course roster number.
To find local classes, use Section = 2 and Area = J.
Note: Classes that have no online component are called "Basic Referee Course". Classes that contain an online component are called "Basic Referee Online Companion Course".

Click Search to display a list of classes.
Choose a class and click "Course signup".
Choose a volunteer (yourself) and click "Add attendee to program roster". If your enrollment is successful, green text "Added Successfully" displays near the top of the panel.

Food is provided during the class--typically pizza, sandwiches, samosas. Contact the instructor if you have any diet restrictions.
If your class requires online instruction, complete the Basic Referee Online Companion course. Allow several hours to complete the online course. Follow these steps to start the course:

Go to the AYSO online training site: www.aysotraining.org/.
Log in by using your eAYSO ID.
In the REFEREE TRAINING panel, choose START NOW.

Get AYSO's Safe Haven certification.

AYSO's Safe Haven certification is required for ALL referees--Adult and PRO (updated March 2014). Sometimes the AYSO's Safe Haven certification is offered with the referee class. Contact the Basic Referee class instructor to find out if Safe Haven is taught in the classroom.
To take AYSO's Safe Haven online, go to www.aysotraining.org/. Your eAYSO ID number is required. Print the certificate and bring to the referee class.

Optional: Take concussion awareness training. See Concussions.
Attend all sessions of the referee class.

Some classes meet twice. You must attend both class meetings.
All Region 64 referee classes (unless otherwise noted) are held at the following location:
Queensborough Swim Club
1138 Miller Avenue
San Jose, CA 95129
Bring a copy of your eAYSO registration to the class.
Bring a copy of your AYSO's Safe Haven certificate, if you took the online course.
Your instructor makes all attempts to help you pass the class.
After you pass the class, you receive uniform, basic equipment, and a Regional referee badge.

After you become certified:

Sign up to referee by using the Arbiter self-assignment tool. Plan an average of 1 game per week during the season.

Arbiter -- Referee game scheduling system and Arbiter Instructions
If you can log into Arbiter but do not see any games to self-assign, check your Arbiter settings.

New referees are encouraged to self-assign as assistant referees for U10 games. The referee is more experienced and can give you feedback. A mentor is not necessary, but you can look for a game that has a mentor in the referee slot. To see who is assigned to the referee slot, follow these instructions after you log in to the Arbiter tool:

Click SCHEDULE > MASTER SCHEDULE
Optional: Enter filter criteri in the Filter Games fields and click Go. Games that match the filter criteria are displayed.
Click View Slots. The people that are assigned to the REF (referee) and AR (assistant referee) slots are displayed for each game.

Consider the following mentors:

Charles Roxlo
David Bassett
Eric Schaefer
Gnan Gnanasivam
Kartik Lakshminarayanan
Kristina Festa
Luis Benjamin Curet
Randall Ristau
Rosemary Go
Scott Reighelhaupt-Herzig
Tapas Majumdar
Tim Stuart
Umesh Kukreja
Uttam Saha

After doing several games as U10 AR, contact the Regional Referee Administrator if you want to self-assign as U8 referee or U12 AR.
Continue developing your referee skills, get more education, and increase your certification level.

Photos from a previous class: