We have a critical need for referees to support the tremendous growth of Lacrosse in Illinois.
If you are interested in officiating lacrosse, see the process below.
BECOME A HIGH SCHOOL REFEREE - Keep scrolling down to become a YOUTH REFEREE
To become a lacrosse referee , take these next steps:
Step 1 - Become of Member of GLLOA*
Registration
Valid US Lacrosse Membership
Pay GLLOA dues
Attend at least one mandatory meeting
Support GLLOA, US Lacrosse, and IHSA philosophies (rule interpretation, mechanics, game management)
Valid IHSA Registration (for Boy's Lacrosse) - needed to officiate high school games
Step 2 - Training
This season GLLOA will host 2 IHSA clinic
First IHSA clinic is on Monday nights starting Feb 6th, 2023. This clinic will run for 5 Mondays.
Second IHSA clinic will be on March 4th and 5th. This is a in person clinic and will be held at Conant High School or another Mid Suburban high School. This is a 2-day clinic, and you must attend both days to
get clinic credit.
Step 3 - Uniforms
From top to bottom:
-Black pin-strip cap
-Black and white striped official’s jersey (short or long sleeve, but prefer crews to match. Ideal to have both)
-Black undershirt (can be any black T-shirt)
-Black Shorts
-Black Socks (short - just out of the shoe style)
-Black Belt
-Two yellow, weighted flags
-Lacrosse Score Card (plastic or paper) with pencil / pen
-Coin (for coin toss)
-Whistle (Finger whistles such as the Fox-40 work very well)
-Small tape measure (for measuring Lacrosse sticks; should be up to 72” long)
-Black Cleats/Shoes (prefer solid black, but some white stripping allowed)
-20 Second Timer (ReadyRef has vibrating and audible models)
Link to sources for uniform here and more info
Step 4 - Assignments
Get registered in Arbiter under Midwest Lacrosse. Midwest Lacrosse assigns all the boy’s high school
teams in Illinois except O’Fallon High School which get assign by the St. Louis officials association.
Below is the list of Midwest High School assigners along with their email, phone number and
conferences they assign.
Name Phone # email Conference
Tony Albertina
618-540-0393
shyguy3582@aol.com
Central Illinois
Steve Fisher
630-229-5141
sfisher@unitrin.com
Western, Suburban, South Suburban, Kaneland and Riverside Brookfield
Steve Eckelberry
630-204-1724
steve_eckelberry@yahoo.com
Chicago Public League and Fox valley
John Bosco
847-542-8037
fbref57@comcast.net
Mid Suburban, DuPage and DuKane
Nick Maucieri
630-546-6813
nick.maucieri@att.net
Catholic League
John Vetter
847-847-9135
vjsvetter@aol.com
North Suburban, GLLC, Central Suburban
YOUTH REFEREE ONLY
Ages 14-16
JOIN USA LACROSSE
$30/Year
USA Lacrosse has a suite of benefits to help you, from access to best-in-class training
opportunities, insurance coverage, a free rule book and more.
Access to scores of online courses through our E-learning portal
Free rule book annually
Insurance coverage that travels with you anywhere your lacrosse experience takes you and
includes game-fee reimbursement coverage in the event of a lacrosse injury
Free criminal background check
Discounts and free shipping from the USA Lacrosse Shop
Exclusive offers from our partners, sponsors and advertisers
Annual subscription to the sport’s premiere feature publication, USA Lacrosse Magazine
Professional and college lacrosse discounted game tickets
Junior Official Certification
Junior Official Certification is for anybody that is between the ages of 14 and 18 who wishes to
officiate lacrosse games. It is recommended that junior officials only officiate youth games for
players that are at least two age levels below their age. ACTIVE USA LACROSSE MEMBERSHIP WITH OFFICIAL PARTICIPATION
USA Lacrosse membership as an official enrolls you into the certification program, provides you
with free access to online courses, rules exams recorded webinars, downloadable resources
and insurance benefits.
COMPLETE THE BOYS OR GIRLS LACROSSE RULES ONLINE COURSE
This course explains the rulebook so that new officials have a better grasp of the rules and how
to differentiate between legal and illegal checking. ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE
This is an annual online learning component that must be completed by all officials. ANNUAL ONLINE RULES EXAM
All officials must obtain a score of 90% or higher to pass this annual exam. PASS THE JUNIOR OFFICIALS FIELD EVALUATION
Your local trainer or observer will conduct this evaluation when they feel you are ready. Please
check with them to secure a game to be evaluated on. The evaluation is the most critical
component of certification as it ensures the official is ready to officiate games at that level and
that they have learned the fundamentals needed to officiate lacrosse games. Accessing Rule Tests
USA Lacrosse offers online exams based on rules for NFHS Boys and Girls Rules and USA
Lacrosse Boys and Girls Youth Rules. USA Lacrosse member officials may take any or all of these
exams. In order to be certified as an official annually with USA Lacrosse, all officials must pass
the NFHS Boys and/or Girls Rules Exam with a 90%.
To take the exams:
Login at learning.uslacrosse.org
Click on Catalog
Click on Officiating Courses
Click on Enroll
Click on Launch