The Park Ridge Football program provides an opportunity for young men and women to be a youth football referee for our flag football games. Football officiating can provide a person with a sense of pride, self-respect, and most importantly, confidence.

Park Ridge Football will provide a referee shirt, hat, flag, whistle, and the initial instruction necessary to officiate a football game at our mandatory meeting on either date listed below, a free lunch will be provided. 

• Monday, July 3rd at noon at the Prospect Park O’Connor building

OR

• Sunday, August 20th at noon at Mel’s Craft BBQ

It is the responsibility of each individual to know and understand the rules of the game, and to commit to improving their skills.

We are looking for 7th – Seniors in HS with past or current football experience to ref Flag games on Fridays and Saturday’s. Each game should have 2 refs assigned thru RefTown. Pay is as follows-

• $20 per game for 1st year associate referees
• $25 per game for 2nd year/8th grade referees
• $35 per game for High School or returning referees

We appreciate your interest in becoming a referee in the Park Ridge Football program. 

2023 Pre-season Referee Mtg is either July 3rd at Prospect Park or Aug 20th at Mel’s Craft BBQ, Free Lunch Provided! Instructions and uniforms will be given out then and there. Prior 🏈 experience is preferred – games start week after Labor Day, ends at Halloween. Invite your buddies to officiate with you!

For 7th- 12th graders interested in officiating in Park Ridge Football, you need to attend ONE of the two scheduled meetings at either Prospect O’Connor room in July or Mel’s Craft BBQ in Aug.  

At the meeting, we will walk you thru USA Football Flag Rules and some of our local rule modifications (Flag Rules Exceptions and Guidelines) , including discussing some IHSA rules, common calls, and provide guidance thru a lively Q&A session. 

In addition, you will receive your whistle, hat, shirt (only the shirt needs to be returned at end of the season), and detailed instructions for how to use RefTown website. 

RefTown is how games are scheduled for officials and MUST be used by each referee to confirm games, manage availability, and get paid.

Please note that game assignment for each youth referee will be at Rob Leach’s/Director’s sole discretion, but usually based on a youth referee’s experience and performance. 

Failure to perform as expected can result in no future game assignments, and YOUR understanding of all Flag rules is a prerequisite. 

A mid-season Youth Referee meeting will be scheduled to include: 1st paycheck distribution, program feedback, and a Q&A session.  2nd / last paycheck will be provided with return of your shirt and flag (you keep your hat and whistle) at end of season.