¶ Developing Youth Referees
Hello and welcome to the Refs Need Love 2 podcast , a show that gives you a real raw and behind-the-scenes view of one of the hardest jobs on the pitch the referee . I'm your host , david Gerson , a grassroots referee with over 10 years of experience and now a certified mentor in over 1,200 matches under my belt .
You can find me at refsneedlovecom , on Insta , tiktok and YouTube as well . Definitely check out the merch and support the channel at refsneedlovecom . Everything you purchase there goes right back into the show . Guys , today we have a really special guest and a topic near and dear to my heart , someone who is helping to develop the next generation of referees .
He is associated with the Florida Futures Program . I give you , mr Charlie Cox . Charlie , welcome to the program . Hi , here I am . Hey , charlie , so you've been a ref for quite a long time . You even started not far from where I live here . Can you tell me a little bit about your referee story ? How'd you get started and where it's taken you ?
I started back in 1977 . I got perked there while I was in the army . I was supposed to be headed to sniper school but they found out that I wasn't combat arms En route . The closest place they had was Fort McPherson and while I was there I found out that there was a referee certification class . I just showed up and they let me take it and I did . It .
Did pretty well , later went to Germany and did the refereeing for the youth groups over there , had some good fun and when I came back I just jumped on it . I was a merchant marine officer , what some other people would call big , slow target . Well , we got to ourselves .
But when I wasn't shipping , when I was off the ship , which was six to nine months a year , I refereed . It was just always the thing that it's fun . Getting out with those kids is such a kick . I don't know why more people don't do it .
It is fascinating , but I do . I find a number of people that are military or former military are attracted to being a referee , that they have the discipline , they appreciate the need for order , whatnot , but also can balance that with good social skills .
And I'm not sure , but at least in my area I find a number of people who are active or former military actually are attracted to being a referee .
I think that's probably true . It's pretty common , Because when you're in the military or when you're in charge , you have to tell people to do things , but do it in a manner that is not you know . You're not forcing them or pushing them to do it all the time . You can say , hey , would you ?
And that carries all the weight of a lawful order , and we do the same thing on the pitch .
We go out the way it is when you say watch , that you want to keep those elbows to yourself , or what's those chicken wings , buddy ? That is wonderful . So , so , so you've been reffing for over 45 years , which is amazing , just absolutely amazing . What is it specifically ? And a bit evolved in reffing and now as a mentor as well .
So what is it specifically that you like about being a referee ? What's kept you in it ?
Honestly , I enjoy getting out with the . I specialize mostly these days with little kids because my knee's blown out and I can't really run as fast as I used to and what I enjoy doing is turning it back into a game with the kids . When you get out there and these 14 year old kids , they're with a coach .
That's so serious and their parents are thinking that it's the World Cup and I'm going . Hey guys , it's just a game , let's have some fun . Somebody's going to win , somebody's going to lose . Let's come out of here without hurting anybody and have a good time . And when the kids come off and they're going yeah , yeah , that was cool .
You can't touch that feeling with anything . It's an unmistakable feeling of joy when you get to spread that . I think more people need to have that attitude frankly , it's interesting .
I actually had a referee who was at regionals and one of the pieces of feedback that was given to him at regionals was that he needed to smile more Seriously .
That's a serious thing and I think it's interesting that now we're starting to have this age of refereeing where not only do we not want to be combative right like we're not trying to be telling when this is the law and this is what it is , type of thing but we actually want the referee , especially at the youth levels , to be a positive facilitator of an
all-around kind of positive environment .
Absolutely . And if you think about it , it's just as easy to say a direct free kick handling as it is to say bet , you wish you hadn't done that , they're bald going that way . It's so much easier just to be pleasant about it and to even maybe crack a little joke . The kids love it when you make those little jokes . It's on a foul throw .
It's just as easy to say dance moves , those are cool , but not on a soccer pitch , buddy , they're a green throw or whatever it may be .
I think it takes a long time to develop those types of soft skills to know when to use it , when not to , especially dealing with youth referees that are just starting out . They're just even trying to figure out how to feel comfortable out there on the pitch , let alone actually have small talk and banter , which takes a long time to figure out .
When is it appropriate , when is it not ? Who's into it , who's not ? That actually is a really good segue actually .
Speaking of exactly what it is that I do now way , actually exactly what , what it is that I do .
Now I know . So you're right , for 45 years you're a certified , a mentor , referee , mentor but you're actually part of a really unique program , because I I don't think we have one in the state of georgia and I don't know a lot of states have them , but florida has a program called the florida futures program .
Can you talk to us about that program , what that is ? And yeah , I'll be happy .
The Futures Program is for kids that are 11 to 14 , not quite old enough to referee for real , but they have an interest in becoming a referee and doing those sorts of things . We create an environment within clubs that have in-house recreational games .
We send them through a program three hours of online clinic and then an in-person field training exercise and then work with a mentor on the field so that they can go out and actually run some games .
Uh , we're now doing U6 games where the coaches are out on the field but we put the kids out there with them under the tutelage of a mentor to go out and just get used to the mechanics blowing the whistle , indicating the throw in or the corner or whatever the call might be and that makes it safe for them to try to do it and feel like they can get
comfortable doing it . Because , as Dave , the most important thing with almost all of this is experience . How many times we all have done those things where that did not go well . I stunk the place up tonight .
But if you have those experiences when you're young , with somebody there who say , yeah , don't sweat it , Don't make mistakes , Not that big a deal , Blow it off and let's go out there and get the next one right and that confidence to move forward . And then when they turn 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 years old , they're very good young referees .
They know the rules better than the vast majority of the young referees that are just getting started at that age and they've got experience . They're comfortable on the pitch . You can't touch that .
I don't know . I a thousand percent agree that repetitions with a mentor , repetitions with a mentor , is the best possible thing you can do to build confidence in a young referee . I think that's so key . I want to step back one second .
You mentioned an online training and I'm curious is this the same online USSF training that you go through to get US soccer certified , or has Florida created their own curriculum for this ?
They've created . They've taken the online USSF stuff and made it very close . They've simplified a few things because you're not going to get into the finer points as a futures referee with a lot of focus on law 11 and law 12 , and then the restarts what do you do ?
And then , of course , the assistant referee job , because that's going to be the stuff that you do Very junior recreational games and recreational game assistant referees on the , say , the U12s , or even the U-14s sometimes .
And you've created a curriculum there in Florida . You've gotten the online course and then you bring them for an in-person session and
¶ Youth Referee Program Success
this is again . You said this is club-oriented , so each club has a program within it , specifically a futures referee program , and they have a course , I'm assuming , a couple times a year , and they bring the kids and so what is the fees to get started ?
So if I'm an 11 or 12-year-old kid , how much does it cost for me to get started in a futures program to start being a referee ?
In Florida it costs $40 to get refereed . That registers you through the online management system , fsr system , the Florida State Referee System . You get the online video modules that are essentially three hours and it's very close to the same thing that we get as just grassroots referees .
You participate in the field training event or the field training exercise and that typically lasts for a couple of three hours and then you are given a futures referee , jersey , referee , shorts , whistle cards , coin everything except socks . Pretty much you have to buy .
I just want to clarify . So , 40 bucks , 40 bucks , you the access to take the session online , the in-person session , and you give them a uniform yeah , pretty good deal . All they got to do is they got to get their black socks and black shoes . That's it . Yeah , that's it . Oh my gosh , and hang on .
Do these kids even get paid , too , to do the U6 and U8 matches ?
Yes , they do . Some of them get paid the full wages that anybody else would get paid . Some of them get paid the full wages that anybody else would get paid . It's up to the club , obviously , and usually it's a discounted rate . But here is a think about this as a part-time job for you as a middle school student .
For me it was junior high , because I'm that old , but as a middle school student you're out there and you're making 50 , 60 , 70 bucks on a Saturday . Think about that .
Oh , it's insane . It's a crazy amount of money there is there . First off , there is no job . It's hard . My son is 15 years old . He's had a really hard time getting any type of job at 15 years old . These days it's hard . Forget about 14 , 13 .
No way are you actually getting like a paid , regular type of works in place to actually be 11 years old and 12 years old and to be able to earn money . And 50 bucks to a 13 , 14 year old kid that is bank and earning that a couple of times a month . That's pretty amazing .
Now , I'm a guardian ad litem . I don't know if you know what , but children are removed from homes by Child Protective Services . The court will often appoint somebody to be their personal guardian angel . I think of it that's what I think of it as , and you've got all the rights and privileges of a guardian .
About three quarters of the teenage boys that I get and help I mentor , also as referees . Some of them have accumulated many thousands of dollars in the bank as a foster kid .
Can you ?
imagine .
It's unbelievable . I'm a huge advocate . I actually I don't shy away from having the money conversation on refereeing . My son went to college with about $9,000 in the bank and a large chunk of that was from being a referee as a teenager , which is insane . He always had more money than his friends . He didn't spend it and we taught him that .
But it's through being a referee and I think as a young kid to learn work ethic , to learn about responsibility , to show up looking like a professional and all of those other great life skills you get . It's an unbelievable experience and a bonus . You make money on top of it . I think is fantastic experience .
It's ideal , let's face it . Why do we teach our children ? Why do we want our children to play soccer ? There's three reasons . Number one nobody is a born soccer player . The more you practice , the better you get .
Two it doesn't matter how good you are , unless you can work with other people , unless you can work conveniently with other people or well with other people , you're never going to win anything . And three everything is extemporaneous . You make it up as you go along . 8% of what happens on the pitch is well Hurst , the kid got the ball at his feet .
Those are skills that we want children to have . And then you couple that with being a referee , a young referee with the sense of responsibility and the authority that you have , even just looking professional in what you do . It's a home run .
to me , that's just the way I see it , oh , a thousand percent , I agree with you . So one of the things that you mentioned that I want to key in on this is really a big deal . So , as Charlie , there is a massive referee shortage and all sorts of people are talking about lots of different things about addressing this . The clubs in florida .
This futures program would not exist without the clubs to go out there and get these junior referees and develop them . What is , what do the clubs get out of this for them ? And I can assume what it is , but you know why is it that these clubs are sponsoring , organizing , participating in these futures programs to develop these referees from 11 to 14 ?
What do they see in it for them ?
From the club perspective . One you don't run out of referees to fill slots . Every club in existence has had to cancel games because there simply weren't all referees , or had to reschedule games because there were no referees . That becomes a lot less of an issue . Two these kids come up through that to that future system . What do you think ?
A 90% retention rate ? Maybe one out of 10 drops out . You got to stop right there .
You got to stop . You cannot go further . We got to dive into this . Did I just hear you say that you get a kid into this futures program ? 11 to 14 year old kid who can't even figure out who their best friend is ? Week to week , Okay , Relationships last a matter of hours , not even months hours .
You just said a 90% retention rate for a kid who gets in this program , the Futures program , and they stay long enough to become a certified referee ? Absolutely .
Almost every single one . I had 12 Futures referees last year aged up and were finally able to get their regular certification . 100% of them did it Unbelievable . That is just unbelievable 100% of them did it Unbelievable ?
That is just unbelievable . Those kind of numbers are absolutely crazy and unheard of in this day and age . Yeah , that's the big news these days is that you hear about , we all know , the big published numbers of 80% of referees don't make it past the three years . They drop out before four years .
And I know sometimes I've , I've , I know plenty of kids who've gotten their uniform . They've gone out and ref didn't have a great experience . They don't come back . They don't even earn enough to pay off what they paid in to become a referee .
To hear you talk about 90% of the kids who enter a specific program wind up becoming referees after a couple of years . That's an amazing number .
Think about that . If that isn't enough motivation to get a club involved and invest that time and effort , and what little money there is involved in it , then nothing is . They don't have to worry about finding referees on a Saturday , in fact , most of them .
With the futures referees , we have to switch out referees at halftime just so we can get everybody some experience .
That's just unbelievable , and so let's talk a little bit more about that and that retention rate when you get a kid in this futures
¶ Youth Referee Mentorship and Development
program . Now , obviously , I know in the initial online videos you talked about law 11 , law 12 , so we're talking about our direct free kicks . It's probably too early if you're just doing u6 , you wait to be worrying about one side or anything like that . But you've got some of the basics .
Obviously , you're having them making sure that they're clear on throw-ins and goal kicks and corner kicks . They're playing corner kicks and things of that nature . But when you've got someone in this future , what are you focused on with them ? Let's say you got a 12 year old kid . They're starting to do their first three or four games .
They're 12 years old and they're reffing kids who are seven , eight years old or something like that . What are you focused on with them , as opposed to say , maybe someone who's 14 or 15 ?
With them . Mostly , I focus on your demeanor on the field . Are you confident ? Do the kids know that you know what you're talking about ? Confident , do the kids know that you know what you're talking about ? And in terms of the laws of the games , the laws of the game , it's just the very basic things .
You don't trip , you don't push , you don't grab each other . What is a good throw in ? How do you teach the kid how to make a proper throw in ? What's a corner kick ? How do you indicate a corner corner kick ? What are your mechanics involved in doing those things so that it's just automatic ? My wife gives me a hard time .
I'm watching a soccer match on tv and , totally without thinking about it , I'm indicating that to throw in this way , or that's a direct kick , or he was offside . She won't sit next to me because it's dangerous . I don't do it consciously , but that's just because I've got so much experience .
So if you focus on those mechanics that we do as a referee , having a confident whistle , know how to blow your whistle hard and get people to stop . Or you have to tweet your whistle to let them know stop . That's a whoop . Don't do that anymore . All of those simple mechanics that we think of as second nature .
As experienced referees , we have to teach them and you have to learn that on the pitch . So we find those little kid games and we teach them also to have fun with the little kid , laugh and smile with them . Let them have some fun . It's a fun game .
Yeah , I feel like this is the really what's missing . I'll just be very transparent . It's again so . I got certified as a mentor last year . I just got signed up today for my first mentor or new ref training class in a couple of weeks they're going to do their online . I'm excited . I love training , so they're going to get online .
They're going to watch these videos that are not really going to be relevant . They're probably going to be barely paying attention . They just pass the online quiz . Then they're going to come to this three hour training session . They've shortened it . It used to be four hours Now it's three hours .
Now we're going to do some basic mechanics as quick as we can , recognizing offside throw-ins , all that kind of stuff . Try and teach them in a big group how to blow a whistle and then we give them a badge and they're gone and they might not get any more training , literally for the rest of the year after that and I think the normal system .
Now , that's right , it's I . I talk to people who don't know who parents of players and they . They asked me why , why is that reffing like this ? Or why can't you get reffs ? And I explained to them it's like we , we get them certified and we throw them to the wool .
And I feel , charlie , what you're describing is so valuable that that mentor to be there to talk to them before , after , maybe even a little bit during the match , you might , you wait , you might even have an opportunity to talk during a match whatnot to give them that confidence and that reinforcement of what to do , and you can watch them and see what they're
doing and then give them pointers Like I have . No , it makes all the sense of the world why they're being successful . That sounds amazing .
Kids that go through high school , when they get their regular , when they get their regular grassroots certification , almost all of them , as they go on to college , continue to referee in college . I get on the phone and I call up assigners in whatever city , whatever town their college is in and say , hey look , I got a good one for you .
You want to use this kid as much as you possibly can .
And you're saying kids who have come through the futures program , because they have come through that futures program .
If you imagine yourself as an 18-year-old kid , you just graduated from high school . Now , if you went through the regular program , you've got what ? Three years of experience , probably . But you came through the Futures program , you've got six , seven years of experience .
Now we know how much difference that made in your simple mechanics , your confidence on the pitch , knowing what to do , what to say and how to do it . You're still going to make mistakes we all do . I've been for 40 something years I usually tell people about half a century and I make stupid mistakes sometimes .
I usually catch them , but I'm still caught there with my all over my face .
Yeah , but I think it's so interesting . Yeah , soccer is one of those games where you think you've seen it all . You haven't . Someone will do something that you've never thought of , a scenario you've never experienced before . You're like what just happened , or , and ?
But those repetitions they add up and they come into your memory and your brain and the next time it happens you're ready for it . And then even I often say too , it's the first time you experience dissent from a coach you probably are not going to know how to handle it .
You're either number one , you're just going to deal with it because you're not sure Is that dissent ? Is it not dissent ? Should I say something ? Or maybe you're going to react badly to it , maybe a yell back or something of that nature probably takes like about four or five different times of going through that to finally figure out .
Okay , I know what's happening . Okay , I've been told now by a mentor , a friend , or I've had time to think about it and now I know how to respond . But having those repetitions and that experience , if you've got five years of that man , at that time you feel confident and know how to deal with it .
But if you don't have that experience with a mentor giving you feedback and guidance . It's almost impossible .
Exactly . Think about all of the kids that have gone out there and had that horrible experience , maybe at their second weekend of refereeing ever , and just go screw this , I'm done . This is not fun , it's not worth the money . I don't want to get screamed at by these people .
Once you've got the time , if you can deal with that under the tutelage with somebody in a safe environment , with a mentor there , so that you have the chance to get immediate feedback and go , you know that's it , coach , you're done . The next one is going to cost you everything .
So I want to talk about that specifically . I have two questions . The first one is about the club . So again , the club is enabling this program to take place . So I want to talk about that specifically . I have two questions . The first one is about the club . So again , the club is enabling this program to take place .
So I'm assuming they've got to make some investment because those uniforms and stuff aren't free , so they've got to make some investment there . Do they specifically go out of their way to educate the parents about the futures program and that there's going to be Futures referees out there ?
Do they have specific policies dealing with parent or coach behavior towards the referees in their club ?
I'll give you the example of my club . I work at Pensacola Youth Soccer full-time . That's basically my thing . I do other games , obviously , but that is my main focus because that's the club that I work with the most . We go out as a mentor .
So you work with them as a mentor , as a mentor , and they pay me to mentor the young futures referees there and even the older ones . I'm just the guy . That isn't a mental encyclopedia . You know how that goes . You read something a few million times . You're probably going to remember what it says . That's right .
There's that chant , but we talk to the parents extensively about how these kids are training , just like the kids that you have out there playing . So you're not going to scream at your kid . Don't scream at somebody else's kid out there . Referee . And my presence is there . I know most everybody there .
We've only got about a thousand players at the club and almost everybody knows who I am . I have a large presence , not just this way .
Not just physically but mentally , a large presence .
And I'm telling look , somebody makes a mistake . Whoops , they made a mistake . Your kid didn't play perfect game either , and that's the way . There's no use in screaming at them . It's just recreational soccer to have fun . Now we have exceptional parents in that regard because we have conditioned them .
Probably once a year we'll have somebody that gets just a skosh out of hand , not too much , because everybody else tells them to shut up . The parents police themselves . Exceptionally well , I've noticed . That's fantastic . Peer pressure works best .
Yeah , I'm assuming it's not just you .
And there's a weekly blast that goes out , blast email that goes out to all the parents that says remember , these referees are training too .
Yeah , I was just about to say I think it's not just you . It's a club who has a position to make sure that parents know what's expected on the pitch towards the referees . And there are just so many benefits that comes from that . Number one , you're teaching proactively , teaching the parents how to behave , so they're going to behave better .
Number two , you're creating an environment where the kids are going to players are going to have a positive experience , not toxic and angry .
And then , number three , you'll actually develop an environment where you can actually get great refs , because the refs feel welcomed and they don't feel attacked and under pressure and they can actually learn and experience and try and better themselves over time , because they're not having to do that in a difficult , toxic environment . It's fantastic .
There's so many wins , dave , one of the things that's really cool because of the way that we do that and the way we work with our parents and the young referees . When a kid goes and does a good job on the field , you'll see the parents walking over to shake their hand and say they did a really good job .
Now , how much do you get with that at the competitive games that you see ?
you know , at those weekend tournaments Not lot happens but it's pretty rare . So talk to me about so that . So this is pensacola youth soccer . It's about a thousand kids there , or do you know of any ? So the futures program is a florida wide .
Now you're in the panhandle , you're in pensacola , but do you know of any competitive clubs academy type clubs , if you will , those clubs that have ecnl or mls next to them ? Do you know of any competitive clubs academy type clubs , if you will , those clubs that have ECNL or MLS next to them ?
Do you know of any of those clubs who also run futures programs there ?
Yeah , there's one in Niceville that does that , wakula doesn't . But Niceville used to be the FC Dallas team and I'm not sure I think they went rush now . Hold me to that . But the paint handle largely has gone through the rush program .
¶ Mentoring and Developing Youth Referees
I know down in Central Florida there are lots of them . There's Swan City has a great futures program . West Florida Flames has a great futures program . Those are the two that immediately come to mind . Oh , hawks has a great futures program and those are all highly competitive clubs that play Premier League soccer .
Yeah , I would also say too I know we're talking about the futures program and those are all highly competitive clubs that play premier league soccer .
Yeah , I would also say too . I know we're talking about the futures program here , but I just want to give some props to the Florida state referee association in general . I know I I'm lucky enough , I get the emails , I'm invited to the webinars .
But your organization is doing monthly webinars , usually bringing in FIFA professional referees , highly experienced referees , talking about different laws of the game scenario . I know that you guys do wonderful trainings . You've got amazing facilities there in Florida and have extremely high power tournaments that come to your state and unbelievable opportunities to get mentors .
I think in Florida it's not just this Futures program , which I think is fantastic , but as you just this Futures program , which I think is fantastic , but as you move up , there seems to be lots of opportunities to get the training you need to advance as a grassroots ref , move to regional if you want , if that's what you desire , and even national .
I've seen just unbelievable things out of all of the Florida State Referees .
Association . Yeah , I've got nothing but good things to say about the Florida State Referees Association . They have done a phenomenal job of developing with the most highly organized bunch that I've run across anywhere in refereeing , except for possibly the German system when I was over there , but I hadn't learned to speak German to do that .
That was hard I know , I will tell you , I'm just going to give props . Florida , minnesota , southern California are probably the three . Northern California I hear wonderful things about as well , but it's not everywhere . And listen , I'm very actively involved with my local association and I know the referees who are part of the state referee association .
We've had a lot of turnover . They're wonderful people but they're under resourced and we've got a lot of different clubs going a lot of different directions . It's hard to get people organized .
But what you guys have in Florida is special and I got to tell you , man , this futures program , it just it solves so many of the ills that we have in just in culture around the game , in developing and understanding and appreciation for the game and developing the next generation of referees , but even just the empathy for the referees from the parents and the
players and the coaches , because they see young kids out there learning the game . You know it . They have to adapt and develop a different way to participate in the game too . I just I think it's fantastic .
I do too . I'm extremely fond of this program . I think that it solves so many little problems that come with it , not the least of which is when a 14 or 15 year old kid goes out there on his first weekend refereeing soccer and he gets thrown into the wolves . There's nobody around to nudge him along and say , okay , you did a really good job of this .
You missed this one up . You might want to work on a better way to do that . In the end , you probably did a very good job . There's nobody doing that . There is no other place . But if you come through the Futures program , you've got years of that behind you where people have worked with a finer point than taught you to get things like the consideration .
You don't even get that in your basic grassroots . They don't go over the considerations . It doesn't happen , not at all .
Yeah , completely agree , completely agree . Even as an experienced referee , it's very hard to know and very hard to get . Now I want to just ask about that next level referee , those grassroots referees .
Now .
I know you work specifically with Pensacola Youth Soccer , so you're at the field and I'm sure you're working with not just the futures referees but the older or experienced referees , with everybody the other clubs in the area . Do they have someone that they primarily work with as a mentor that's regularly at the field ? Is that a ?
common thing ? Is it rare ? I think it's actually rare . You'll have somebody there , but they aren't wandering the fields looking , you just don't see it . There just aren't enough mentors .
Of mentors and that's something that Florida has put a lot of emphasis on is finding referee mentors and referee coaches and having them at tournaments to go and work with the young referees when they're doing those first few games .
I do that a fair amount on weekends when I'm not engaged at the club where I am , and there just aren't enough of them , you know . So they put a lot of focus on trying to teach people to be mentors and you don't have to be a young stud in your prime doing that . It's the older guys that have done it for a long time .
They can tell you don't let that worry about , that's a very minor thing , or , yeah , don't do that again .
I have to tell you . So I became a mentor for two reasons . Number one I'm really passionate about , you know , developing referees and giving them the training and mentoring that I never had in my first five or six years , so I'm really big about that .
The other thing I will tell you about being a mentor is I'm so I'm a bit younger than you , charlie , but I'm right about to be 50 . I'm almost 50
¶ Futures Program Promotion and Mentoring
. And I got injured . About two years ago I tore my hamstring regional fitness test for Miami and I was out for eight weeks in the middle of the season it was March through the beginning of March and I lost my entire high school season .
I lost the main part of the club season and when I'm not reffing on the weekend or out there at the fields , I feel really lost . I mean serious , crazy thing this weekend , this past weekend it was July 4th weekend and like all the local , like men's leagues , took it off for the weekend .
I couldn't get a game , like not one game , and I was laying around the house . I'm like what am I supposed to do here ? I literally didn't know . I caught up on all my chores . I mowed the lawn , I hedged , I did all this stuff . I was asking my wife . I was like do I need to fix anything ? Can I change any vents or something ? It's like nothing .
And I was like , really , but I felt useless and so I became a mentor so that if I do get injured or again cause I get older , I do think about it more or whatever my Achilles acts up or something , that I can do that on the weekends as opposed to reffing on the weekends , running out there and still be connected to the game and get back .
Now let me give you some props right quick , because I want you to know that I use your little shorts that you put on Tik TOK and Facebook and whatnot he doesn't say listen to what he says here . Look at how he goes through , what the considerations are , to see if this is worthy of a red , or should it just be a yellow , or is it even a foul ?
Use that extensively . You are a tremendous asset to this profession and don't ever wonder about that . I count it as a privilege to be here talking . It's just a phenomenal thing in the ranks of kairos doll at all .
no , kairos doll . He is the man I'll say that . But , charlie I I will just say thank you so much for that . I sincerely I am . I get messages all the time about people digging the content . I wish there was more out there . There is a massive gap that I feel like I'm trying to fill .
The FIFA referees and the SRAs get access to what's called FIFA Red , and there might be like 99% of the people listening to this podcast have probably never heard of FIFA Red , but that's where you get to go If you're a national or a pro ref .
They have videos that go through the considerations and and they're from like international matches and they give guidance . This is what you'd be thinking about . This is a yellow versus a Rick or whatever . But between that and the grassroots certification one time a year exam , there's really nothing , nothing , nothing , there is nothing , nothing .
Nothing . There's a void . There's nothing .
Total empty void , and so I'm trying to fill that in right now , the best I can .
You're doing a phenomenal job with it and I just think I can do to help promote that . I'm in you just call on me , I'm all in .
Listen , I will tell you just sharing this futures program . Charlie , if people want to find out about the Futures program in Florida , or specifically what you're doing , where would they go to get information on that ?
You can go to the FSR website . Just look at Google Florida Soccer Referees and it will take you there . And it will take you there and then , once you're there , when it says , get into the beautiful game , it's a great little website . You can hit look for futures .
That's there and it says non-recreational games only or club level games only , and that is your certification and you can do that . You can also contact a couple of guys . Let me see if I can give you their Right . A couple of guys , let me see if I can give you their . Matt O'Brien is the guy that has done so much work with all of this .
He is the futures guy that has created the program statewide . He's the one that grabbed me and said hey , what are you doing ? We need to talk . Can we talk extensively ? Probably once a week . Four kids trying to get his doctorate in mathematics education at South Florida oh , that's all Nothing , yeah .
And the youth soccer guy for the Florida State Soccer Referees is John Bowman . You can find both of their contact information on the Florida FSR website . Feel free to contact them and ask them . They are a wealth of information . We have a flyer . I'll be happy to send you a copy of it You're ready . But those are the two big contacts in the state .
Yeah , so I'm just going to commit right now for everyone to listen to this . I'm going to . I'll write a blog on my website with everyone's contact information and information about the futures program . So you can check it out at refsneedlove2.com . I'll put a link to the Florida's page in the show notes for the podcast as well .
¶ Junior Referee Development Program Success
Well , charlie , I just want to say thank you so much for coming on the pod today and thank you so much for what you're doing to develop that next generation of referees down in the panhandle of Florida . Man , they are so blessed to have you . Thank you so much it it's a good program .
Thanks so much for having me on , man outstanding guys .
I hope you all enjoyed today's podcast . This is so needed , so needed for those junior referees who are interested in being a referee , but maybe not ready yet and certainly can't be thrown to the wolves by themselves . This gives them the experience they need to become refs and , oh my , 90% of those referees wind up staying as referees beyond this program .
That is huge success right now . So I give Charlie and the Florida Futures Program so much props for making this happen . Guys , I just want to remind you out there . If you ever want to get in touch with me , shoot me an email at refsneedloveto at gmailcom . Shoot me a DM on Insta or TikTok . I read every single note sent my way .
It may take me a little while to get to it , but know that I care about you and I appreciate it . As always , I wish you well , I wish you strength , I wish you safety , I wish you fun on and off the pitch and , of course , I hope your next match is red card free you .