As part of the ongoing effort to promote a positive and supportive environment within the North Haven Soccer Club (NHSC), it has launched a new series called “Get to Know Your Referee.” This initiative aligns with the club’s zero tolerance stance on referee abuse and aims to highlight the fact that the referees are kids from within the community. The goal of the series is to help the community get to know the referees a bit, and celebrate their contributions and their hard work.

Last week’s referee spotlight was on Christian Temfack, a 15-year old referee from North Haven High School. He is in 10th grade, and his favorite school subject is math. Temfack’s favorite soccer team is Juventus, and his favorite player is Romelu Lukaku. Temfack’s favorite food is a cheeseburger, and he also competes on the track and field team. His favorite movie is “Black Panther.”

Temfack’s favorite thing about being a referee is watching the kids enjoy themselves on the field . A fun fact about Temfack is that he runs fast, and he became a referee to start earning money, and develop his soccer knowledge from both a player and a referee’s perspective.

The next spotlight was on Kayden Goss, a 14-year old referee from Lauralton Hall High School. She is in 10th grade, and and her favorite school subject is math. Goss’s favorite soccer team is the U.S. Women’s National Team, and her favorite player is Alyssa Naeher. Goss also competes in basketball and track and field, and her favorite food is a cheeseburger. Goss’s favorite movies are “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “The Hunger Games.” A fun fact about Goss is that she started playing soccer at 4 years old. Goss became a referee so that she could continue to support the sport she loves, even if she stopped playing.

This past week, the spotlight was on Braden Cohen, a 15-year old referee from North Haven High School. He is in 10th grade, and his favorite school subject is math. Cohen’s favorite soccer team is the U.S. Men’s National Team, and his favorite player is Lionel Messi. Cohen also plays tennis, and his favorite food is pizza. Cohen’s favorite movie is “World War Z”, and his favorite book is “The Maze Runner.”

A fun fact about Cohen is that his juggling streak is 424 juggles. Cohen’s favorite thing about being a referee is meeting new people involved with soccer. He became a referee because he loves the game.