The State Referee Program, in association with US Soccer, is sponsoring an Advanced Referee Clinic on February 7 in Richmond, Virginia.  This exceptional training opportunity is managed through USSF's National Program for Referee Development and is always taught by a member of the National Instructional Staff.

The February 7 clinic, held as part of the Virginia Youth Soccer Association annual meeting that weekend, will be taught by Freddie Usher, a former National Referee, MLS match inspector and mentor, and National Instructor.  Mr. Usher began his career in England and gained extensive experience at the highest competitive divisions in that country before moving to the United States.  The agenda for the Advanced Clinic will be presented in four sessions held throughout the day at the Richmond Convention Center (401 North Third Street).  There will be a fifth session featuring a panel of the State Referee Committee at which attendees will be able to get current information about the status and direction of all state program activities.

All referees are invited to attend, but the program will be specifically oriented toward topics of interest to senior referees.  Although there is no charge by the State Referee Program for this event, attendees are required to register and pay the visitor fee for the VYSA annual meeting.  Registration can be completed by accessing the VYSA website (www.vysa.com) and following the links to the annual meeting page, which includes full directions to the convention center.  In addition to registering for the VYSA meeting, referees are urged to send a brief email message to the DCV State Office indicating their intention to attend -- this helps us to estimate the number of persons who will be in the room.  The message need be nothing more than "Advanced Referee Clinic" in the subject line.

Mr. Usher will also run a senior recertification clinic at Germanna Community College (Fredericksburg) on Sunday, February 8, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  This will be the last scheduled opportunity for senior referees to meet the recertification training, written test, and field test requirements for renewing their registration at a senior grade (7 or above) for 2004.  The field test will be run starting at 2:30 p.m. at a nearby high school track.  Preregistration for this clinic through the state office is mandatory.  For further details, see the class schedule.

Special Note: Referees at grade 6 who plan to upgrade to 5 in 2004 may use attendance at  this clinic (all sessions) to meet the additional training requirement for the upgrade.  If this option is of interest, you will need to request approval from the SDI in advance and then make sure that you sign in at the beginning of each session.