The Genesis Referee Program (GRP) was started in 2018 as a collaboration between Mass Youth Soccer and the Massachusetts State Referee Committee to support our town and club organizations in the recruiting, development and retention of youth referees in parallel with Player Development and Coach Education programs.

  • Provide a SAFE -FAIR -FUN environment for our young referees to grow and gain experience.
  • Provide a means for all youth soccer stakeholders to engage in the process of recruiting, developing, and advancing young referees.
  • Bring consistency through approved instructors, trained mentors, professional training materials AND sharing of best practices.
  • Provide a clear pathway for towns/clubs and young people to embark on a referee career and advance.

Overview

  • The town identifies a Program Administrator who will work with the GRP administration and register with Mass Youth Soccer.
  • Referee Candidates attend a training session (classroom or online) emphasizing practical advice to become a referee with particular emphasis on SAFETY. The module takes approximately 90 minutes to deliver and is taught by a US Soccer certified Mentor.
  • Referee Candidates must be in the program at least one season (minimum six games refereed.) They referee games and are mentored in – town by local referees. There is a training curriculum for mentoring we will provide.
  • Once the Referee Candidates reaches the minimum age of 13 and has refereed at least one season (6 games) they are eligible to be evaluated. The administrator (usually the assignor) schedules them for a game and requests the evaluation through the Director of Mentoring (DOM). Requests must be at least three weeks before the game date.
  • Evaluations are done by certified Referee Mentors or Referee Coaches at the direction of the DOM.
  • Once the Referee Candidates passes the evaluation, they are notified by the Certified Mentor or DOM.
  • They will get an email from the MSRC Administrator, inviting them to register for the MSRC Website.
    • Complete US Soccer Learning Center Modules
    • Complete SafeSport’s “Introduction to Safe & Healthy Playing Environments”
    • Pay registration fee – $65 (vs. the normal fee of $110)
    • Field Session – Exempt
    • Class session – Exempt

REFEREE CANDIDATES CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR YOUR GRP PROGRAM 


COST Neither Mass Youth nor MSRC charge a town or club to enroll in the Genesis Referee Program.​ Program costs are born by the town or club and are under the control of the town or club. Costs can vary greatly depending on whether you decide you have volunteers available or need independent contractors to facilitate your classes, act as mentors, schedule your trainees, provide a training classroom, uniform/equipment you require and who pays for it, and whether you charge participants. We will work with you to develop your program based on your resources.


CONTACT US: grp@massref.net

MSRC State Program Director:           Kevin Suares

Mass Youth Board Co-Liaison:            Jeff Chambers

Mass Youth Board Co-Liaison:            Janet Gargan

TOWN PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR PROGRAM FOR THE GRP 

TOWN PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS CLICK HERE TO REQUEST A TRAINING SESSION

TOWN PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS CLICK HERE TO REQUEST CANDIDATE EVALUATIONS

If you have are not ready to get started but have questions, please email us