Castle Rock school trains students as soccer referees amid shortage
Castle Rock students are filling a growing referee gap, with Renaissance Secondary School turning teens into paid soccer officials. The pilot has certified 45 students and put every one on a field within weeks.
Castle Rock’s Renaissance Secondary School is turning students into soccer referees to help keep youth games moving as Colorado’s referee shortage grows. The quarter-long certification class, now in its third year at the school, has become a local pipeline for paid officiating at a time when families and leagues are feeling the squeeze on game days.
Renaissance opened in 2017 and serves students in grades 6 through 12. Physical education teacher Jessica Perkin said she built the program from her own love of soccer and a practical need: too few referees to cover the sport’s expanding schedule. The class began with about five students and has grown to 25, a sign that interest in officiating can be built inside the school day when students see a direct path to the field.
The Colorado Soccer Association began partnering with Renaissance in 2024 and says the pilot has enrolled 47 students and certified 45, a 96% completion rate. Several graduates have returned for recertification, and the association says every certified student has gone onto a field as a licensed official within weeks of finishing the course. That matters in Douglas County, where youth soccer is booming and missed assignments can mean delayed starts, shortened games, or canceled weekends for teams and parents.
The program uses a structured nine-week curriculum built with U.S. Soccer and includes Green Badge referee certification and Referee Abuse Prevention training. U.S. Soccer launched the Green Badge Initiative for referees under 18 beginning with the 2025-26 season, a move meant to make clear to players, coaches, and spectators that a young official deserves extra patience and respect. U.S. Soccer says refereeing is essential to fairness, player safety, and the growth of soccer, and says it has more than 130,000 active referees across 55 state associations.
Colorado Soccer Association referee development leaders connected to the effort include Deanna Duncan-Allen, Jeff Arthurholtz and Esse Baharmast. Brooke Mayo, a FIFA assistant referee and U.S. Soccer Female Referee of the Year 2026, also met with first-year students as part of the program. CSA says it provides a referee hotline at 303-529-7718 for assignment and game-day support, along with a mentor hotline at 720-513-2535 for game reports and feedback.
The timing has only sharpened the program’s relevance. Denver Summit FC, Colorado’s professional women’s soccer club, has helped drive more interest in the sport statewide, and Gov. Jared Polis declared April 27, 2026, Denver Summit FC Day in Colorado. In Castle Rock, Renaissance is showing how a local school can meet that demand head-on by training the next generation of officials before the shortage sidelines more games.
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