Youth Referee Program

AYSO 143 YOUTH REFEREE PROGRAM

The AYSO Youth Referee Program in Region 143 has more than doubled in size since last season. And we want it to keep growing!

As a Youth Referee you will gain a whole new understanding and appreciation of the game of soccer, while ensuring players enjoy have a Safe, Fair, and Fun playing experience. You'll learn the laws of the game, and receive training and support from experienced mentors.

Youth ages 12 - 17 are trained as Regional Referees and can referee games up to 12U, depending on your age. Referees must be two (2) years older than the players in the games they are refereeing. If you're not quite 12 years old yet, you can still take the training and serve as an 8U Official for the 8U division. Once you turn 12, you will be upgraded to a full Regional Referee.

You'll get a lot out of volunteering as a Youth Referee:

Gain a better understanding of the game
Great resume builder
Earn service hours
Support your own team by earning Ref points
Support your siblings/friends' teams

Becoming a Youth Referee is as easy as 1-2-3

REGISTER AS A VOLUNTEER - Youths will need their own volunteer account set up at ayso143.org using their own email. See below/to the right for step-by-step instructions on creating an account and singing up as a volunteer.
TRAINING - Youth will take three trainings from the Safe Haven Category in AYSOU:
- Safe Haven
- CDC Concussion Awareness
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest
CERTIFICATION - Youths will take the Regional Referee Certification courses; in AYSOU:
- Go to the "Training Library" and take the "Regional Referee Online Companion" course found in the "Refereeing" category.
- Enroll in the in-person companion class from the "Training Event" menu; attend the class, pass the test, and you're ready to go!

NOTE - youths under the age of 18 do not complete the background screening, Live Scan fingerprinting, or SafeSport.

VOLUNTEER NOW!

STEP-BY-STEP ACCOUNT SET UP

CREATING AN ACCOUNT - DO THIS FIRST

Parents - log into your account and click on the gear icon (settings) near the shopping cart, scroll down and click "+Additional Account Holder"; fill out the youth's information (including his/her own email address), then click "Invite Account Holder & Continue".
Check the youth's email account and "Accept Invite"; you'll have to verify the email before creating a password and continuing to enter the account info.
At the end of this process, you will have created a username (youth's email address) and a password.

REGISTERING AS A VOLUNTEER

Be sure you are logged in under the YOUTH'S new account. Go to "Volunteer" on the main account page and click "Find Volunteer Roles".
Look for the "REFEREE VOLUNTEERS (FALL 2023-SPRING 2024)" program (if you don't see it, scroll down and click "View/Show all Opportunities").
Select the role of "Youth Referee (volunteers who are aged 12-17)" and complete the volunteer form.

IMPORTANT NEXT STEP

LOG OUT of the browser session completely; log back in (still under the YOUTH'S account) and go back to the "Volunteer" page where you should now see the "AYSOU" button next to the youth's volunteer role.
The AYSOU button will take you to the training portal where the Youth will take the online training and sign up for the in-person class.

For detailed instructions on accessing and completing courses in AYSOU, please visit our main VOLUNTEER page.

NEED HELP?
Contact [email protected] and we will route you to the correct person to answer your questions.