Park Ridge Soccer Club and the Soccer Referee Coaching Committee are pleased to announce that Colin Schermerhorn is the 2023 recipient of the Referee of the Year award.

The PRSC Referee of the Year Award is given annually to a graduating high school senior who has demonstrated excellence in soccer officiating. The award is determined by a vote of the PRSC Referee Coaching Committee and is based on the following factors:

• Performance as a referee for PRSC House League games and/or as an assistant referee for PRSC club games for a minimum of four years.
• On field evaluation by the PRSC Referee Coaching Committee
• Other factors also considered include USSF registration, acceptance of club center referee assignments, classroom referee test scores, and extra-curricular activities.

Colin began his officiating career as a 13 year old Assistant Referee in the PRS program. He immediately made an impression on our referee coaches. Since then, he has taken on more challenging assignments as a House League referee and as a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) certified center official for high school aged boy’s and girl’s club matches. This past spring, he officiated the finals of the Mid-senior Boy’s and Mid-senior Girl’s House league matches.  

Besides excelling as a referee, Colin is also an accomplished soccer player. He began playing soccer in the PRS House League in kindergarten. He moved to the PRS travel program in second grade. Colin continued playing locally with PRS until this past spring season, finishing with the PRS Premier High School program. He also played soccer at Maine South High School all four years, including being selected for a varsity position in his senior year.

Colin loves that he gets to watch soccer while being an official. He recalled his first travel assignment as a center referee. While it was only a U9 match, it was a top level, highly competitive game. “It was a bit overwhelming in the beginning with the parents and coaches cheering and yelling. However, once it was over, I was able to see just how helpful that game was in allowing me to learn how to officiate a competitive game.” Colin says that being a soccer referee has given him another avenue to express his passion for the game outside of playing.

Colin takes great joy in being able to mentor new referees. His advice to new referees is to always show confidence in your decisions. Colin believes that positioning is one of the most important things in refereeing. “Whether you are an assistant referee or center, you need to make sure you stay in position because it makes the job a lot easier.”

In addition to playing club and high school soccer, Colin has been a participate in TOPSoccer as a volunteer helping kids with disabilities play soccer. He was a part of stage crew for the Maine South Theater program, Vice-President of Spanish National Honor Society, as well as a part of a handful of other clubs and after-school activities. Colin plans to attend the University of Utah, majoring in chemical engineering.