Steps to Becoming a New Referee
Message from the TN State Soccer Association regarding changes to referee certification:
STEPS TO BECOME A REFEREE
As you have heard by now, on July 1st, 2019, US Soccer changed the way we, as a Country, register and certify referees. TSSA is working hard to make these changes as easy as possible for our members statewide. The biggest impact currently is that we had to suspend all "old style" entry level courses and retrain our instructors for the new "grassroots" referee course. The new course is a better tool for training and certifying referees, and will prove beneficial for us once we are accustomed to the new way.
To combat our biggest issue, we are working diligently to get our instructors trained so we can start offering in-person courses. We are training the majority of instructors at our Advanced Clinic the first weekend in August. Once that is done and we have the new Referee Coaches in place we can then start to offer in-person courses.
We are offering a few in-person courses in key areas to help get this process started. Nashville and Memphis will host in-person courses on August 10th and Knoxville will host one on August 24th. We will also have these courses on the learning center website by first of next week. New referees can follow the instructions below and sign up. They will have to successfully complete the online portion prior to taking the in-person course. If you know of new candidates push them to the learning center below and get them started with the online portion of the certification process. This is one of the best parts about the new process. Candidates will be able to register and do the online US Soccer requirements any time of the year. Then all they have to do is find an in-person course near them and register for it.
Once we get through the next month we will be able to work directly with clubs across the state in offering the in-person course and will do our best to accommodate all requests. Please reach out to Jessie if you want to get on a list of clubs that would like to host the in-person course. We will contact your club directly and do our best to get this set up. The overall landscape for the new program looks different but it really isn't. We can assure you that this change was needed and will be beneficial for the officials and the game.
We know change is always scary, but TSSA is here to help you meet the challenge. We also know that each area of the state is diverse and we are willing to sit down and speak with clubs that have fears of the new program and work toward continued success.
Details on the US Soccer Referee Pathway can be read here.
Per US Soccer, new referees must be 13 years of age or older at the time they register. State Referee Committees have no discretion in changing this.
(This change is due to new Federal Risk Management standards, COPPA compliance, and legal advice from the USSF legal team.)