My oldest daughter wants a phone. My wife and I told her that she must wait until she was 13 before we would even begin to discuss this possibility. Her birthday is early in January. Soon after her birthday she proposed that if we gave her a phone, she would become a referee so she could earn money to pay for the monthly fees. There was no way we could tell her no so I agreed to sign her up for a local referee clinic.

I was all set to sign her up for the clinic and logged in to complete the application but when I logged in, the clinic had been cancelled. I looked at the other locations offering the clinics and found one about an hour and a half away. The clinic was from 8 - 5. What was I going to do all day in another town while she went to the clinic?

I decided that I would also sign up to be a referee. If I am going to be getting up early on Saturdays to take my daughter to referee at the local soccer complex, I might as well stay and do a bit of officiating myself. This of course horrified my three daughters. They did not want Dad to embarrass them out on the pitch where their friends might see me. I told them that they did not get a vote. I was now getting excited about the chance to wear yellow and stripes on Saturdays.

Last Saturday my daughter and I took the course and passed. It looks like we will get our first opportunities next week to see how we do as referees. I can't wait to see if being a referee will affect how my daughter sees the game and if it transfers to her own soccer game.

I will keep you posted on how it goes and I promise to let you know the first time I get yelled at by a parent or coach.