Refereeing at North Toronto

North Toronto Soccer provides referees the opportunity to officiate across all levels of grassroots soccer. The Club organizes and runs outdoor refereed youth recreational soccer leagues from ages U9 to U18 in the spring and summer. In addition to our outdoor league programming, we organize refereed leagues during the indoor soccer season (October to March/April) to keep officials, as well as players, active. By doing so, we can accommodate the needs of all officials. Not available on Monday evenings, no problem, we’ll look to get you out on the field another evening in the week instead. This also allows officials to work on a season specific basis should they choose.

Providing referees with an understanding and friendly staffing environment is something we strive for at North Toronto Soccer. Being flexible when it comes to assigning referees games is not only what has helped us retain referees, but also to develop their officiating skills. Newer referees typically start with 7v7 matches, working their way up to 9v9 and 11v11 format games. With multiple age divisions to assign referees to, our officials have a broad range of dynamic matches at their disposal, and the experience they gain through these matches, alongside mentorship by Senior Club Referees, makes North Toronto Soccer a community-leader in referee development.

While having a wealth of matches across many age groups, alongside dedicated and driven match official development, is a key aspect of officiating at North Toronto Soccer, the safety of officials is a major component of our refereeing program as well. We all know the line “no referee, no game,” but oftentimes coaches, players, and supporters forget as much. North Toronto Soccer is aware of this, and to combat match official abuse we employ strong mechanisms to help deter and stop abuse before it takes place. For example, across all our U9 to U12 leagues, all teams have a staff coach in addition to a volunteer parent coach assigned to them. As a result, there are always two other staff members present on field to support the referee if needed. Furthermore, we often have a Senior Club Referee present at 11v11 matches.

Alongside a zero tolerance approach to match official abuse, we mentor and develop our officials, and most importantly, support them when we need to.
Should you have any further questions about refereeing with North Toronto Soccer, please email our Head Referee, Ben, at [email protected].