On Wednesday, October 18th Fusion held its 3rd referee clinic of 2023 in conjunction with the East Bay Referee Association (EBRA). EBRA has held a total of 9 clinics this year for it's affiliated clubs.

Over the course of the fall season, Fusion has had a 98% coverage rate, up from 93% in 2022 and over the last month a 98-100% coverage rate. This provides huge encouragement for future referee coverage, and the pool of referees we have. With more and more referee clinics to come, we hope to deepen the referee pool even more.

Especially encouraging, was the amount of adults in the course.  Out of the 30 attendees, 13 of them were over 17 years old, including our very own Executive Director, Ben Graham. Understanding the dire need for more referees, Ben stepped up to take the course for the benefit of the club.

Ben said this of the training, “I thought Alex and Val put on a great course. They made you think, created real game situations, built confidence in those who needed some and made it enjoyable at the same time. As a coach of over 20 years, it was also nice to see the game from a difference angle. The online portion is detailed and I think a good way to take the first step in becoming a referee. Many rules are misunderstood or unknown to many players and parents, and this course helps you get a greater depth of knowledge.”

Fusion and EBRA are currently in discussions to hold more referee clinics in 2024 using the new Fusion indoor facility. We hope to use our new indoor training facility as a home base for referee clinics and continuing education courses.

Like the 30 on this clinic, keep an eye out on the next course in the region: U.S. Soccer Learning Center (ussoccer.com)