How can I get myself into a referee job? Not as a career, but something to make a little money calling youth games to help get me through college. I’m 19 and have substituted for a missing ref in a very-young youth soccer game, and have been a linesman for a season of high school volleyball before, officially representing my school; I’ve got a great understanding of the ins and outs of baseball, football and hockey (can’t skate worth a damn though!), and have a pretty good idea of how soccer, volleyball, lacrosse and basketball work*. How can I get myself involved in this kind of temporary job?
Thanks!
*For the soccer game, all I had to do was wave a flag and keep time. I’ve watched a pretty large amount of soccer games, too, so I know at least enough to get me in trouble. In the volleyball games I just called in-bounds and out-of-bounds. I played basketball in high school and managed to play clean but aggressive defense and almost never fouled, but I never got a great handle on all the specifics of the rules.
Hey there, I can tell you that officiating youth sports is a very rewarding but stressful job. I have been an official for youth soccer since high school. Most of the time it is nice and pleasant but every now and then you get the crazy parents who flip out at every call. Over time, even the nutballs calm down once they realize that you are going to be officiating a large number of games. When you have a polite audience and good coaches it can be a really fun job where you get to exercise while you work.
All of the jobs that I have had officiating have come directly from the township department of recreation. This is a good place to start out in your search for employment as a referee. If there is a specific league that you would like to work with you should check with the organizers of the league. For example, in my town, the football teams are not actually underneath the department of recreation since they draw players from multiple towns. Your best bet in a situation like this would be to contact the people in charge by getting in touch with whoever is handling the recruitment of players.
For high school sports, there is often an entirely different set of requirements. In this case, an interest in sports is a plus but specific training and competence is a must. This site gives a very good outline of the requirements for officiating at the high school level.
My experience with volleyball has been very similar to yours. In college, the men’s team volunteered our time to the women’s team for any tournaments that were hosted by our school. It was our job to sign up for slots as linesmen, scorekeepers and Libero trackers. The host school was supposed to provide a certain number of volunteers and never having played before college, I am not really sure how this works in youth sports. I would have to assume, however, that you can get a job as a volleyball referee through your township as well. Good luck and keep us posted on the progress.
In some sports the governing body of the sport (such as USA Hockey and Little League) has a certification program. It is easy to locate them. Find out when they are having officiating clinics and what their certification requirement are. Once you get certified get as much experience as possible. Once you break in it is easy to get jobs. Qualified officials are usually in short supply.
Do everyone a favor. Work sports in which you have a good fundamental knowledge. A game looks different to a knowledgeable person than to a casual observer. If you can’t skate, stay away from hockey. Having a ref that can’t skate and therefore is out of position is a travesty.
Timekeepers and scorers are usually parent volunteers in youth sports. There’s no chance to make money there. Certified referees and umpires can make a good bit of cash for a relatively small time investment. You just have to have a flexible schedule and transportation. It can be far more lucrative and rewarding than flipping burgers.
I ought to show you the Air Force Medical Hold boot camp dorm that was under my command, which was chock full of the people the government didn’t want working for them anymore, for just about all the reasons you could imagine!
Seriously though, good info, thanks!
I will, but I’m not going to be able to try it for a while for a number of reasons. As of now it’s all hypothetical.
You’re right, but I was thinking something among the lines of timekeeper or scorer…
OK, reading your next paragraph…nevermind.
That could be a bit of an issue for me, as I’m in college and will be for a long time. Should I just look into leagues that play only over winter/summer break? Or is it generally easy to find a league that only plays on nights and weekends?
How much money should I expect to make? Is it per hour or per game or what?
I do football, and I get paid per game. For Pop Warner games, I get paid $40 per game, and for school games I get anywhere from $25-$200+, plus travel, depending on the level and the number of games that night (the first game in a night pays about $10 more than any other game that night).
I just did a 7-on-7 high school level touch football tourney this morning and got $20 per game. We did anywhere from 5-8 games depending on your assignment, and these took about an hour each.
Some sports pay more and some pay less. The local Little League Baseball league only accepts umpires on a volunteer basis. The schools and city leagues pay umpires pretty well, though, and a few umps I know earn 5-10K during the season (which is pretty long here).
We pull our timekeepers, chain crews, and scorers from the general officiating pool, unless the schools provide them themselves. You may find that these “support staff” are longtime employees or volunteers for the school, school district, or league, and it may be diffucult to get one of these jobs.
Some sports pay more and some pay less. The local Little League Baseball league only accepts umpires on a volunteer basis.
Perhaps the easiest way to get involved is to pick a sport you are familiar with, go to a game, and ask the people doing the job you are interested in how to get involved. We are usually carrying around something with phone numbers and web addresses of the local officiating chapter, and we are always looking for new official. We do classes to teach the rules and have a program for bringing you along in your first year. Your transportation issue may or may not be a problem; we often have to go 100 miles round trip or more for games, but we tend to travel together. You may be able to get a ride from a fellow official.
Lots of great info, thanks! I don’t have a transportation issue, I have a time issue. I take public transit everywhere but I have a car too, and if I sell it before I start working (which I might) I have no problem paying for gas in exchange for a ride.