The experience of refereeing high school soccer varies depending on your previous refereeing experience. Most of our members were club soccer referees before joining us. Some officiated in other high school sports and wanted to add soccer to their portfolio. The smallest group of new members are those that have never refereed any sport.
Since a large majority of new members have club soccer refereeing experience, this page is oriented to that group.
What’s Different From Club Soccer?
- Officiating crews are exclusively adults (18 years old and up)
- Games are played during the winter season, with the regular season starting about the first week of November and ending in late January.
- The refereeing system is different. FHSAA employs both the the dual system of control and the double dual system.
- The rules are different and you have to know the differences
- Games play on weekday evenings. A small number of games play on Saturday evenings.
- Assignments typically consist of two games: a junior varsity game at 5:30 and a varsity game at 7:00. Times and level of games can vary
- The purpose of high school athletic competitions, including soccer, is to promote sporting behavior, participation and teamwork. Yes, teams want to win and are intensively competitive, but the purpose is not to promote the sport of soccer as it is with USSF competitions
- Each school pays you directly via mail after the assignment
- Limited paperwork is required; only for red cards and other significant incidents
Ready to join?