Instructions for Registering for the Castaic 2025 (and other) Referee Training Courses

Steps for becoming a referee:

First: REGISTER AS A VOLUNTEER – If you are already a registered volunteer skip to the next section.

Section 1 – Getting set up as an AYSO volunteer

1. Login to AYSO 1441 SportsConnect and go to your account.
2. Click on the volunteer button on the left.
3. Click on “Find Volunteer Roles” in the top right.
4. Select the Card that says “Referee”.  Click Select so that the card flips over.
5. Select to sign up a registered user and in the pop-up click on the user that you want to sign up for this position.  The card will flip over as selected.
   1. Some browsers (especially on phones) do not display properly here, when it happens click the arrow on the right to advance the cards and the referee card will show up at the very end.
6. Click on continue or pick show all available opportunities to sign up additional volunteers
7.  Enter in your information, accept the various waivers, and consent forms at the bottom and hit continue.
8. Having Problems?  SEE Special NOTE below on advice for youth and family accounts.

BACKGROUND CHECK

1. Go to your volunteer page at AYSO Blue Sombrero/ StackSports and checkmark the box for “Risk Status” and then click on “Renew & Update.”
2. A window will pop up asking you to verify your information.  Verify and then click “Submit.”
3. Another pop-up will appear asking you to submit again. Click “Submit”.
4. Another pop-up will appear letting you know that you will receive an email to complete the background check process.
5. Open your email, you will have received an email from Sterling Volunteers, subject “Your requested copy of your completed background check for American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is available” with a link specific to your registration.
6. Click on the link and complete fields to verify your information (email, date of birth, zip code).
7. You will create an account entering a user name and password.
8.  You will then complete the 4-step process of completing your background check. You will be asked if you will be paying for your background check, select NO, our region will cover this fee.
9. You will have completed your background check when you reach the screen that says “Congrats, you’re on your way to becoming a volunteer.”
10. Your AYSO account will start by showing your registration as “Pending” and once clear it will change to “Eligible.”

SECTION 2 Part 1 – SafeSport (Adults only, not required for youth referees)

LiveScan requirements apply to “Regular Volunteers” which is defined as “a person who has direct contact with children 16 hours a month or 32 hours per year.” Most referees do not referee for that many hours (but it would be great if you did!) If it looks like you will, you can do the LiveScan at a later date. Or you can do it now.

Follow the instructions here to do your LiveScan:
AYSO LiveScan

SECTION 3 – Becoming a referee

In addition to the referee training, you will need to complete Safe Haven, Cardiac Arrest, and CDC/Concussion Awareness training in “etrainu” (also called "AYSOU", or "AYSO University").

“etrainu” is a separate training website where you can take online training courses for coaching and refereeing. It is accessed through the Sports Connect site; you must sign in there first (you can’t login to etrainu directly).

All AYSO referees will need to complete either Option 1 – the two Part Online/In-Person hybrid training class or Option 2 – the All-Day (8-hour) in person referee training course. The Castaic course is the Online/In-Person hybrid course.

Option 1 (for the Castaic course):

1. Login to your account at Blue Sombrero/Sports Affinity.  Click on the “Volunteer” button on the left-hand side of the screen.  Under your name there will be an “AYSOU” button, click that button to open the etrainu system.
   
2. 1.  If you do not see the AYSOU button under your name then you are in a family group that shows all your family names.  You are probably logged into a family member’s account and are not logged into your account; the button only shows up if the person who is logged into their own account.  Login to your account with your unique password and username and the button will show up.
   2.  If you are logged into your account and the button does not show up then your background check expired and you will need to redo your background check.
3. Once in etrainu  –  click on the “Training Library” button on the left.
   1. Click View Courses for SAFE HAVEN
      1. Enroll in and complete AYSO’s Safe Haven – Online
      2. Enroll in and complete CDC Concussions awareness – Online
      3. Enroll in and complete Sudden Cardiac Arrest – Online
4. Click on the “Training Library” button on the left.
   1. Click View courses for Refereeing
      1. Enroll in and complete the “Regional Referee Online + In-Person Companion Course” course.
      2. Both courses must be completed - the "Regional Referee" portion must be done online before you attend the in-person course.
5. Click on the “Training Event” Calendar button on the Left
   1. In the top part of the screen, type in Regional Referee, and a list of options will appear, pick the “Regional Referee – Online + In-Person Companion Course (2 Part Bundle)” option to help sort out classes.
   2. Search for “Castaic” and the course for Thursday 8/15 should show up.
6. Attend the 3 hour in-person Referee Companion course you registered for.

(You can also search for other local courses, including the in-person only courses that take 8 hours)

1. Additional Volunteer Users – users volunteering outside of the registration system will volunteer his/herself or add a new user to volunteer.  If the volunteer now becomes an additional user, he/she will want to log in to the email account that was used to register the person as an additional volunteer and accept the invite to create a Username/Password on Sports Connect to get them access to AYSOU.
2. AYSOU Certifications – Certifications will port over from AYSOU to Etrainu once the user volunteers, based on the system recognizing the volunteer ID.  If the certifications do not port over, there is a mismatch in the ID. To ensure the best results DO NOT CREATE another account.
3. All volunteers must have their own account tied to their own unique email address.  A youth watching the videos on a parent’s account or a spouse watching the videos and doing the courses on their spouses’ account will not count and we cannot award credit after the fact.