RICHMOND, VA (January 16, 2008) -- Congratulations to Ryan White who was named Virginia Youth Soccer Association’s Young Male Referee of the Year. Ryan, who is now a freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University, was Prince William Soccer Referees Association Youth Ref of the Year for 2006-2007.

Ryan first became certified in 2004. As a junior in high school, he started working with us seeking additional mentoring and more challenging assignments. With PWSRA he officiated mostly adult matches but also took on a number of other assignments. In the past two years since Ryan has been working with us, many of our youth refs immediately recognized how good he was and requested to be assigned with him.

Ryan worked very hard not to become VYSA Ref of the Year but to become the best he could be. He constantly asked not for the most difficult assignments available but for the most experienced refs he could work with. Rarely does Ryan work an assignment where he does not ask for honest feedback of ways more experienced refs might have handled a situation or call and is always seeking constructive feedback on how he can improve.

Ryan completed all the requirements for upgrading to Grade 7 before he turned 17 so that on his 17th birthday he could meet the final requirement -- age. He has officiated a number of State Cup matches, including finals and had his invitation to officiate in the Regional ODP Finals pulled from him to force him to attend his high school graduation. He is a 2007 graduate of Osbourn Park H.S.

PWSRA is extremely proud to have been a part of Ryan’s growth, congratulate him on this great honor, and will for years to come, assist where we can and be a fan as he continues to greater success in refereeing and in life.