My 16 year old and 14 year old did it last year and need to renew for 2023 this month. One must renew certifications annually and it is alot of time, imo. It is good to renew in August for the next year , as they have time to do so while not in school. Fall and Spring trainings get booked so you might drive farther, as someone mentioned. There are costs for whistle and uniform. If they can stick with it through college years, its a great flexible side gig.

The training itself is not too tedious but takes time. The website to sign up is very antiquated and difficult to navigate! We have to reach out to the coordinator to get the login credentials since it kept kicking us out and not saving my player's information. Good luck its worth it.

My 14 year old did it. We are in Arlington. Like pp said it takes 6 to 8 hours - about half of those in person in what is one session of in person training. After that, it’s the easiest money they’ll make for years. Ones we have picked pay in range of $35-$50 a game. She started late in the fall and barely did it and pulled in $400 so far. And you pick the times and locations. Poor kid. She’ll probably be 30 before she gets another job this good.

C3PO wrote:My 14 year old is interested becoming a ref through the Metro DC/Virginia program to earn some money. However, the process looks fairly tedious, from what I can see on the website. If anyone has experience with it, how was it? My son loves and plays soccer, but it looks like a lot of it is an online course.

There are some online videos and tests to complete. Maybe 3-4 hours worth. Then there is in person on the field training which is probably another 3-4 hours. Not difficult to complete but does require some planning as the in person sessions are not always the most convenient times/places and can fill up. It's a good way for a 14 yo to make money and get some work experience

My 14 year old is interested becoming a ref through the Metro DC/Virginia program to earn some money. However, the process looks fairly tedious, from what I can see on the website. If anyone has experience with it, how was it? My son loves and plays soccer, but it looks like a lot of it is an online course.