Dear Friends and Colleagues,
This is Esse Baharmast, Director of Referees for Colorado Soccer Association. I hope that you, your family and all your loved ones are healthy and safe. I am sure that like the rest of us, you are looking forward to putting this crisis behind us and get back outside, to the game that we all love.
While you are at home, for those of you who are 13 years or older, you have a great opportunity as we have the 4.5-hour portion of referee course open to everyone and free of cost. I would encourage all the players and coaches to go through it. In the minimum, it would help you become more familiar with the laws and make you better players and coaches. It also gives you the option to decide if you want to make some extra money on the side - if that is appealing to you.
For players who are younger than 13, I encourage their parents or older siblings to take the free version of the course and watch it together with them. The parents or older siblings may decide to take the next step by becoming referees and once everyone is 13 or older, this can become a wonderful family activity.
Each game can pay anywhere from $30 to $65 so you can see that by doing 3 games on any given day you can make some decent money ( I have attached the pay scale for games). If you decide that is something you want to do, then all you have to do is to take a field session and that is when you pay your registration fee. Once that is done, you are good to go. You may even like it so much that you may set your goal to referee in MLS or in the World Cup. With the expansion of the game for women and men, the demand is ever increasing and there is a great need for referees at all levels of the game.
You have nothing to lose, the course is free and online. You can do it at your own pace and there is no better time to get this done. It is Win - Win and I hope you will give it a try.
I have attached the step by step guide to get you started, and remember, up to step # 6 in the guide, everything is free and at no cost. Step # 6 is if you decide that you are interested to take the field session. Becoming certified will allow you to be assigned to games, give back to the game and make some decent money along the way.
Should anyone have problems getting through the course or want to know more about the next steps, or other technical questions, please feel free to contact Deanna Duncan-Allen via e-mail at : refeducation@coloradoreferees.com or you can reach here via call/text at 303-888-6863
Thank you and stay safe. Cannot wait to see you back on the field soon.
Kindest Regards,
Esse Baharmast