Officials Introduction

Welcome, officials, to the Walker Recreation Department youth soccer program!

Many of the officials come from the soccer program itself, and go from being players to officials. As a player, you could rely on your coaches and the officials to guide you. As an official, you’re in charge. Now you must now become the guide. This requires that you learn the soccer program and the rules of the game from a very different perspective. You must have the self-confidence to take the lead. That’s what this online training section is all about!

While the most important topics are highlighted in the officials guide, you actually might benefit from scrolling through the official’s slideshow first. It’s the quickest, most visual way to cover all the topics you’ll need to know and understand. From there, you can browse whatever topic most interests you to learn in greater detail.

About Recreational Soccer

This soccer program is designed to be a community activity for the participants. It is not designed to conform to the competitive model of club-level youth soccer; therefore, many aspects of competitive league officiating are missing, such as the need to track goals and goal scorers and keep track of standings.

Even still, the expectation to exhibit fairness and professionalism rests upon your shoulders. Build upon your knowledge of the game by learning about the spirit and philosophy of the soccer program. The task of taking to the field with two teams of youth soccer players will then be greatly enjoyable for yourself and for the participants.

Required Equipment

Your uniform jersey is a loaner and must be returned at the end of the season. The whistle is yours to keep, with one whistle provided free of charge by the program. Replacements will come at a nominal cost, so don’t lose your whistle! Bring it back from season to season. You are required to provide your own timekeeping device (e.g., a countdown timer with a conspicuous alarm that’s built into a watch or a smartphone).

Education and Training

Officials are given 3 hours of training at the beginning of every season, which are divided into 3 separate 1-hour sessions:

• Virtrual Meeting (on-line learning; 1.0 hrs. paid)
• Concussion Training (on-line learning, 1.0 hrs. paid, required if you are 18+ years old, optional otherwise)
• Outdoor Field Training (outdoor, 2.0 hrs. paid)

Classroom Training and Testing (Online)

All needed study materials are available online:

• Officials Guide: Everything you need to know can be found there.
• Safety: Pay particular attention to this topic.
• Slideshow: A very visual way to quickly get an overview of your required knowledge.
• Rules: All the rules of the game; most importantly, fouls and misconduct.
• Test Questions: You get to study the field test before you take it. No surprises!

Once you have completely studied the online guide, you will be provided with a website link to take the online test (via email or text messaging). There are only 10 questions, but most of those have checkboxes with a “check all that apply” type format, so there are 65 points available. You must score 46 points or higher in order to pass the examination and qualify as an official.

Field Training and Testing

After completing the officials’ knowledge preparation and field training sessions, you are finally ready for a practical examination of your skills. You will be asked to verbally explain and/or demonstrate each skill on an actual soccer field. This examination is required in order to qualify for the job. Don’t let that scare you; it’s much easier than you think! It does require a little bit of preparation, but by the time you study for (and pass!) the online examination, the field testing will go well for you.

Good luck, officials! You are going to enjoy this experience and have fun working for the community in the soccer program that has brought you and other young athletes years of enjoyment and a lifetime of memories.