This is a friendly reminder of the Parent and Coach Codes of Conduct pertaining to treatment of referees during Cambridge Youth Soccer games.

Please be aware that parents and coaches are to be courteous toward all players, coaches and game officials.

Our organization like so many others across the country has experienced a drop in the number of registered referees over the past several years.

The overwhelming reason why many young referees are choosing not to return is due to coaches and parents being verbally abusive. Each year we have a number of enthusiastic young officials eager to begin officiating games and after the first month of the season they have already decided not to return.

Yes, many of these officials are inexperienced and do not know the Laws of the Game like a veteran official does.  However, they are learning from their experiences on the field to become a better official, just as the players are trying to better themselves honing the new skills they've learned in practices.

With that being said, the officials must also conduct themselves in a professional manner on the field.

We hope that with continued improvements to our referee assessment program and with support from coaches and parents that we will be able to provide a model referee development program for our District.

Derek Bridgman
General Manager
Cambridge Youth Soccer
(519) 653-8800