FAQs

Your primary assignor. This is the person with whom you will be assigned most of your games. There may be other assignors you work for, but this is the first person you should talk to regarding getting games, not getting enough games, problems occurring during games, problems with GotSoccer, etc.

There is both a training class and USSF Registration fee. Total fees for a First Year Entry Level Referee is $90.00. This would not include the cost of the Referee Uniform. The Referee Uniform would be the Referee's expense.

You will not be in the USSF system for at least 30 days following the completion of the training class you attend. You will not be getting assignments through Got Soccer for at least 30 days following the date of your training class.

Yes. A 1-day recertification clinic is required for all Referees Grade 8 and higher. 

The USSF has no minimum age requirement. However, in Indiana you must be at least 12 years of age to obtain a work permit for youth sporting events. ​

Click HERE to check the status of your registration.  

NO REFUNDS! We are not able to offer refunds once the registration fees have been paid. This is stated clearly on this website as well as on the Game Officials website when you register for the class.

Anyone over the age of 12 years old may sign up to take the course to become a referee.

Now that you've passed the test and have registered with USSF it's time to go out and buy your first uniform. The basic uniform for referees is a yellow shirt, black referee shorts, black socks and shoes. Though there are several places to buy uniforms, USSF is officially sponsored by Official Sports Inc., (view website) or print this flyer for a discount package on an Indiana Starter Kit. Your starter kit should include just about everything you need to work your matches. For completeness here is a short list: Uniform (Referee jersey and black shorts), watch with a timer, whistle, a pad of paper to keep score, a flipping coin, red and yellow cards and a set of flags.

 

Now that you've passed the test, bought your uniform and all the equipment, you'll need to talk to a licensed USSF assignor who will schedule your games. Not sure who your local assignor is - not to worry. Your training class instructor will give you the name and telephone number of the referee assignors in your area. Once you become a referee, you can always ask current licensed referees for help in contacting licensed referee assignors in your area.
 

Now that you have been on the field as a referee, gained valuable experience, learned how to blow the whistle properly, understand the importance of good positioning, communication, and applying the laws, now what? Every year you will be required to follow a recertification process to keep your referee registrati

So you've been doing recreational games and are ready for more challenging games. How do you get these games? Again you'll have to work with your local assignor who will get a hold of your local assessor. The assessor will come to the field and evaluate your game and give you pointers on how to improve your game. The assessor is there to help you and take their feedback as constructive criticism. View the assessment information on this website for full details on what you need to do.
 

Esports also known as "electronic sports" is organized video gaming sports competition often played individually or in teams

For this initial league, players between the ages of 13-19 may participate.  Players under the age of 12 are subject to Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) guidelines and the GDS team is working to assure full compliance prior to offering U12 programs.  The goal is to launch U12 programs this summer. We are also extending leagues to coaches and referees as well as adults.

All clubs including referees & coaches will be provided a free Club Portal and tools to manage their own players. Clubs that embrace the program can create their own leagues, tournaments, and events.  Those that do not have the resources to do so will still receive the benefits of the promotion of their club as we directly engage players to join with or without club direct engagement.

Register

Our summer program until August 1, 2020 is free for all members.  After August 1, the registration cost of participating in our esports programs is $10.00/year for intramural gamers, $15.00/year for extramural gamers, (equivalent to travel grass player), and $25.00/year elite level gamers, (equivalent to conference level players).

The GDS Platform is supported by GYO Score and is an online gaming community platform that is built to help connect players with gaming opportunities, leagues, esports scholarships, and more. Unlike many platforms, GDS Platform is also built to allow for parental registration and oversight of child accounts in order to help parents monitor and understand their child's gaming habits and to take advantage of potential college opportunities for esports.  Because GDS is the only platform that has placed an emphasis on child safety and parental involvement, your State Association selected GDS as our official vendor to help facilitate online gaming leagues for our players to participate during downtime from soccer. 

Through this program, all State Soccer Clubs are welcome to create Club Portals which are like online hangouts for your children.  When a child joins these Club Portals, their participation is verified by a Club administrator so that only registered club players are able to participate in the program and communicate with the other registered players.  Within the Club portal, the players may share their gamer connection information and communicate with one another about video games and esports safely.  Instead of connecting players to random people around the world you do not know, the Club Portals give you a space where you can feel assured that the online communications are occurring between children of similar ages who are also members of the registered soccer community. For further safety and security, all messages and communications that occur on the platform are accessed and monitored by Club administrators and professional adults who will enforce a strict code of civility, decorum and appropriate discussions.

While on the GDS platform and within the Club Portals, your child will likely participate in two key types of activity:  Self-driven Gameplay and League Gameplay. In self-driven activity, the players will communicate among themselves and may schedule play activities that occur in their games.  For League Gameplay, an administrator representing the Clubs or the state association will create an online gameplay league structure that mirrors the grass soccer league structure. Players will be assigned a designated opponent and be scheduled to play against them at specific times, and then they will report the scores directly to the platform.  In addition to being a fun competition, we believe this is an opportunity to help teach the players responsibility and accountability, as players are required to manage their own schedules and report their own scores.  Failure to do so would result in forfeits and negative consequences, including removal from the league.

We all know that our children are going to have screen time at home - we aim to create positive, competitive, safe and social league play experiences to help make sure a significant amount of that screen time is productive. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask for additional assistance!

There is a wide range of benefits for children who participate in measured video gaming including, cognitive development, social engagement, and the development of motor skills. Please follow this link for more information: Must point to the benefits of esports web page.

We do not offer violent games. Our league offers non-violent games that complement kids' soccer development on the grass field as well as in the digital space. 

The GDS Platform allows kids to safely play esports games with kids in their current soccer club as well as other clubs affiliated with your State Soccer Association. Our league offers a fun & safe digital environment where children represent their clubs while competing against their peers, (people you know) from clubs they compete with on the grass leagues.

The answer is yes, the tool allows you to create and manage your own leagues and tournaments however you would like to do so.  This is similar to the "Rec" model - “intramural” where your players will be playing amongst each other.

No, we do not provide copies of any games, they must be purchased and owned by the players.

Yes!  There is great desire among coaches, referees & adults to participate in a community league among themselves. We see this as a great opportunity to enhance the coaching fraternity and to further engage in the overall soccer community.

Register

Please visit our esports portal to see all of the available leagues and tournaments.

Absolutely. The platform is built to allow you to promote your own leagues and events, and the kids themselves can also self-organize if they wish to do so.  For example, if your kids want to find out information about their teammates' Fortnite gamertags, they may send messages or use the chat boards to get that information.  As an organizer, you can be active or you can be passive and let the kids communicate with each other!

• How to setup a match versus your opponent in FIFA 20

1. Start up FIFA 20 on your console

2. Navigate to the online tab 

3. Select “online friendlies” 

4. Select “new friendly season”

5. Select your opponents gamer tag and invite them. 

• Under the settings tab ensure the following settings are applied before starting your match: 

1. Half Length: 15 minutes

2. Controls: Any

3. Game Speed: Normal

4. Squad Type: 85 overall
    

• HAVE FUN!!