RateTheRef

Hi all,

Felt it prudent to do an obligatory introductory post! I moved to the USA from the UK in 2017 - I had a very minor bit of experience refereeing in England but I largely played and coached sports rather than officiated them. I was usually the moron coach on the sideline giving the referees stick!!

Fast forward to moving to America and I no longer had the time to coach or play any of the sports I loved and I wanted something I could fit around my schedule better, so I went to Mass Ref and signed up to be a referee in January of '23...it would have been sooner but COVID delayed me acting on my desire to try out refereeing.

At first I just handled youth with no desire to deal with the BS of adult leagues, but my knowledge and experience in the game seemed to really help me progress fast - and my having matured since my days of abusing referees (becoming a father, moving countries for love etc. will do that to you) - so I started to garner some interest from assignors who then started assigning me adult games.

By Fall '23 I was handling UPSL assistant referee and fourth official assignments, which culminated in my getting assigned to one of the New England conference's semi-finals as an AR2. I also got my NFHS (high school) qualification, officiating in 5 MIAA state playoff games as a referee, and getting as far as the quarter finals as an AR. For NEPSAC (private schools) I refereed one of the girls varsity semi-finals.

In '24 I want to USYS Eastern Regionals  representing the state of Massachusetts, got my first UPSL whistle, and yesterday completed my first upgrade assessment towards getting my regional badge by the end of this FIFA year. With The new USSF requirement, I hope to have my regional badge no later than 2.5 years since getting my first referee badge in the USA!

I will also be doing my first year of NCAA officiating this season!