2024 PRSC Referee of the Year

Livia Jolineau

Park Ridge Soccer Club and the Soccer Referee Coaching Committee are pleased to announce that Livia Jolineau is this year’s 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. 

Livia participated in the PRSC referee training program and was set to begin her officiating career as an 8th grader. Unfortunately, the COVID epidemic eliminated her first two seasons. She officially started her referee career in the spring of 2021. She grew very quickly into an experienced referee, taking on more and more challenging assignments both in the House League and as an USSF Certified Referee, centering travel matches for Park Ridge and Chicago Celtic.      

Besides excelling as a referee, Livia is also an accomplished soccer player. Her ten-year career with Park Ridge Soccer started in the instructional league and moving on to house league. She joined the PRSC travel program in third grade and played for PRSC into her early high school years. She was a four-year starter for Maine South, playing at the varsity level in her junior and senior years. She was a leader on and off the field and was named a team captain in her senior season at MSHS. 

In recommending Livia for the referee award, the referee committee recognized Livia’s ability to work with new referees, mentoring them to become better officials. She really enjoys officiating at different ages and levels and is a great role model especially for the young female referees in our program. Soccer officiating has kept her active in the game and even sharpened her playing skills. Being a PRS referee for the house and club levels has helped her develop her decision making and communication skills. Along the way, she has developed new friendships and bonds with teammates and coaches.  

Livia’s advice to new referees is to “always go into a game with a positive mindset. It is okay to make mistakes because no referee is perfect. With a positive mindset, it is easier to let your bad calls go and continue to finish the game strong,” adding that “it’s a great way to earn spending money”.

Livia is also involved in activities outside of soccer. She played basketball and hockey while attending Maine South, taught catechism at St Paul of the Cross and was involved in a variety of National Honor Societies, serving as Vice President of Science National Honor Society. This fall, Livia will be attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign majoring in Biomedical Engineering and plans to continue officiating matches as often as she can.