Soccer association looking for volunteers for 2026 season<\/p>\n
Published 5:00 am Thursday, February 5, 2026<\/p>\n
The South Cariboo Minor Soccer Association (SCMSA) is looking for volunteers willing to act as coaches and referees for the 2026 season, or who are able to help out at tournament time, meaning anyone can be a part of \u201cthe beautiful game\u201d even if they don\u2019t have children playing.<\/p>\n
Chantal Johnson, head coach and head referee for SCMSA, says that coaching and refereeing are great ways to learn leadership and conflict resolution skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year we joined BC Soccer, so we get access to their education for referees and coaches, in-person and online, and have their leadership as well. And when you become a referee or coach you get access to a higher level of soccer knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you don\u2019t even have to know how to play soccer,\u201d she adds. \u201cIdeally it\u2019s great if you have soccer knowledge, but what we need are volunteers to run some drills and get the kids out there, which is the whole point. We can\u2019t ask more than for people to show up and be kind individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n
In order to be a referee, applicants need to be aged 12 or older. Applicants 19 or older have to have a criminal record check, which can be done online and only takes a few minutes. The commitment is refereeing at least one game a week through the season, which runs from mid-April through the end of June.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need your email address, and we\u2019ll respond and send the training requirements,\u201d says Johnson. \u201cThere\u2019s an online portion and a one-day referee clinic which we\u2019re hoping to host in Ashcroft at the end of March or in early April.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referees get paid $40 per game, and Johnson says that younger refs, as well as new ones, are usually given games in the younger divisions in order to introduce them slowly.<\/p>\n
Coaches have to be 18 or older and also need to complete an online criminal record check. Applicants need to complete an online Canada Soccer coaching program and do a one-day in-person clinic, which Johnson hopes will take place in Ashcroft before the season starts.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoaches need to commit to two days per week through the season,\u201d says Johnson. She adds that any coaches or referees who are planning to attend post-secondary education will be given a letter showing their volunteer hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try our best in the association to keep things pleasant, because we want people to come back. If they\u2019re having trouble they can come to members of the executive and we will support them in conflict resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
The association\u2019s AGM is coming up later in February, and registration for the 2026 season will start after that. There are pre-school, U7, U10, and U13 divisions, and there will be a U17 division if there are enough players, who can come from Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Clinton, Lillooet, Lytton, Spences Bridge, and the surrounding communities.<\/p>\n
There are usually enough players in Logan Lake for teams from that community, and most of the games are played in Ashcroft, although Johnson says that their new connection with BC Soccer could mean some games against Kamloops teams. \u201cIt means our teams can get out of the community and go somewhere different.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is an end of season celebration\/fun day, as well as a tournament that usually takes place in May, and Johnson says they welcome volunteers who are able to help out with one or both of these events.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf people are interested in becoming members of the executive or volunteering they can be in touch. We\u2019re always looking for people, and you don\u2019t have to have kids in soccer. If you can pass a criminal record check you can be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone interested in refereeing, coaching, or volunteering, or who would like to learn more, can email Johnson at chantaljohnson06@gmail.com. You can also go to the South Cariboo Minor Soccer Facebook page.<\/p>\n
Johnson encourages people to get involved in the association in any capacity, whether it\u2019s registering their children or volunteering their time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about keeping sports in small communities, and the more we talk about soccer the more kids get interested in it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout volunteers we wouldn\u2019t be able to run a season. It gets kids out there exercising and making friends, learning all the social skills you get with team sports. The point is to have fun out there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Soccer association looking for volunteers for 2026 season Published 5:00 am Thursday, February 5, 2026 The South Cariboo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-455562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}