DC United Referee Training Series
Each year, Major League Soccer and the US Soccer Referee Program provide a unique training and developmental opportunity to meet with the referee crew after specific MLS games to discuss the match and other referee issues. The dates for DC United’s 2008 Referee Training Series have been set. They are:
Additionally, DC United and Official Sports have teamed up to offer special referee ticket pricing if you attend all three matches. Click here for the order form or call Dan Giffin or Chris Jennings with DC United at 202-587-5459 for more information. The form should be faxed to 202-587-5400.
Cassandra Ferrari Wins US Youth Soccer Young Female Referee of the Year
February 8, 2008 in Pittsburgh, PA
Congratulations to Cassandra Ferrari of Fairfax, Virginia, who was named US Youth Soccer Female Referee of the Year at the Awards Gala at the US Youth Soccer adidas Workshop held on February 8th in
Pittsburgh, PA.
Click here and select the "The Young Referee of the Year Award" link to view a clip of the referee award presentations and an interview with Cassie.
VYSA Young Referees of the Year
Bethany Horstmann and Ryan White
Virginia Youth Soccer Association named Bethany Horstmann and Ryan White as the Young Female and Young Male Referees of the Year for 2007. They were recognized at the VYSA Workshop and Awards Luncheon held on February 2 in
Richmond.
Bethany Horstmann has been a referee for four years and recently upgraded to Grade 7. She was her club’s Outstanding Female Referee of the Year in 2005 and the Golden Whistle Award winner in 2006. She has officiated at State Cup, Region 1 ODP Championships, Premier Division of the WAGS Tournament and the adidas MLS Showcase. She is also a referee for Special Olympics soccer.
Bethany maintains a 3.9 GPA and was selected for the Governor’s
School of
Humanities last year. She is captain of her high school golf team and managing editor of her school newspaper.
Ryan White has also been a referee for four years and has upgraded to Grade 7. He attended the State Referee Program’s
Basic
Academy in 2003 and was named Top Male Camper. The following year he attended the
Advanced
Academy and was again named the Top Male Camper. He was PWSI’s Youth Male Referee of the Year for 2006-07. His game experience includes State Cup, ODP Friendlies and the ODP Camp in
Rhode Island. Ryan was a three-year letterman on his high school varsity lacrosse team and is currently a freshman student at VCU where he has a 3.3 GPA.
Congratulations to Bethany and Ryan!
George Vergara Appointed State Referee Administrator
Denise Edwards, President of
Virginia Youth Soccer Association, and Jim Sadowski, President of Metro DC-Virginia Soccer Association, announced last week that George Vergara has been appointed as the State Referee Administrator for the Metro DC-Virginia State Referee Program. George follows Scott Meyer who served more than 10 years in this position.
George has an extensive soccer background. He is a National Referee and a former FIFA Assistant Referee. He also holds a USSF “A” coaching license.
From playing to coaching to refereeing, soccer has been a part of George’s life for more than 30 years. George has been a USSF Referee since 1980. He was selected six times to represent the Metro DC-Virginia State Referee Program at the US Youth Soccer Regional Championships. He was selected to referee the US Youth National Championships in 1996. In 1997, George became a USSF National Referee and, in 1999, became
Virginia ’s first FIFA Assistant Referee. In the MLS, he officiated over 100 games, an MLS All Star game and an MLS Cup Final in 2000. In his seven years as a FIFA AR, George worked numerous international competitions and matches. His personal highlight was being selected to be part of the referee team for World Cup qualifiers in Mexico, Haiti, and St. Kitts.
George lives in
Chesterfield, Virginia, with his wife, Dianne, and three sons, George, Matthew, and Jonathan. He is the owner/president of Quest Construction, Inc., a custom builder and remodeling company which has been in business for 20 years. George is also a licensed real estate appraiser in the state of
Virginia.
In discussing his thoughts about the program and becoming the SRA, George said, “The youth and amateur programs are very strong and the number of pro teams in the state rivals none. Referees have the access to such a strong soccer venue to hone their skills. We don’t need just a program that is good. We need a program that the rest of the country will want to follow and model themselves after. I am looking forward to the challenge.”
George’s email address for SRA matters is SRADCVA@comcast.net.
New Interpretation of Offside
Recently there has been a lot of focus and discussion on the "new interpretation" of Law 11 - Offside. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide you with an explanation that can be distributed to your members in the hopes that all of us - players, coaches, referees, and administrators - can be on the "same page" with regard to offside.
What's Happening With Offside
Shortly after USSF published its annual memorandum on changes in the Laws of the Game, a controversy arose regarding the element of "touching the ball" as a requirement for being involved in active play. To put it mildly, this caused something of an uproar in the international soccer community, particularly in Europe, and several national/regional associations flatly declared they wouldn't implement what were thought to be new rules about offside.
Top Adult Division 1 Leagues
Grades 5 and Higher
The following MDCVSA leagues/divisions have been designated as "Top Adult Division 1 Leagues" for assessment of referees attempting to upgrade to Grade 5, and for Grade 3, 4, 5 maintenance assessments.
| League |
Division |
Location |
| CVSA |
Premier |
Richmond |
| Southside |
Premier |
Virginia Beach |
| NVSL |
Premier |
Northern Virginia |
| Alexandria |
Premier |
Northern Virginia |
| WPL |
Premier |
Northern Virginia |
Unsecured Goal Causes Fatal Accident
By now most of you have read or seen the news about the tragic death of a 10 year old soccer player who was killed when a goal fell on him during a scrimmage earlier this week. Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to his family, to his teammates, and to the coaches and administrators of his team.
All of us must use this tragic event as a reminder that the safety of the players is our number one responsibility on the field. This includes ensuring that the field of play is safe. Law 1, "Field of Play," requires that goals be securely anchored to the ground. Law 5, "Referee," requires that referees inspect the field and ensure that it is safe. This includes ensuring that the goals are securely anchored.
Photo Gallery
Metro DC-VA Referees in Action
Contact Us
Metro DC-Virginia State Referee Program
Carol Shaeffer, Office Administrator
2241-E Tackett's Mill Drive  Woodbridge, VA 22192 Telephone 703.491.1717 Fax 703.492.1948 Outside 703 888.832.1866 Email: mdcvasrp@erols.com
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Referee Game Incident Reports NEW!
