Heartland Soccer's New Referee Development Academy Program (RDAP)

    This spring Heartland is rolling out a new Referee Development Academy Program.  The goal is to educate and encourage every single referee in Heartland through the Mentor Program, Monthly Meetings, and Tournament Clinics.  Each part is designed to reach different populations of referees, ranging from the brand new to the extremely experienced.

    The original Mentor Program is now part of the RDAP and remains largely unchanged. Young, peer mentors, chosen largely from the State Regional and Developmental groups, spend every league weekend watching the small fields (6v6 and 8v8), focusing on helping new referees through their first few games.  By supporting, praising, and guiding young referees from the very beginning, the Mentors are coaching the most vulnerable part of our community through some of the most trying days of their refereeing careers.

    In addition to the Mentor Program, the Mentors are helping with the new Heartland Tournament Clinics. These clinics are invitation-only Referee Academies, where young, motivated, and recommended referees are watched, evaluated, and allowed to discuss more advanced topics under the guidance of the Mentors and RDAP staff.  We hope participation in these Academies will yield more qualified referees for State events, as well as create a desirable structure for other Heartland referees to work toward.

Finally, Monthly Meetings are back and open to all Heartland (and even non-Heartland) referees to attend.  These meetings will be run by RDAP staff with the help of the Mentors and Academy participants (eventually).  Several topics will be covered throughout the season using more small group activities and less classroom lecture, keeping the meetings fun and fresh. Keep an eye out for signs in the complex and emails from Gordon with upcoming meeting dates!