Michael Barwegen goes for a chance to become an assistant referee at the highest rank of North American soccer. He will be in Texas for the Generation Adidas Cup, a tournament hosted by FC Dallas of Major League Soccer. The competition is a 10-day tournament featuring MLS youth academies and top international youth teams. For Barwegen, it is essentially an MLS tryout camp. He�ll work the sidelines as an assistant referee and at the end of it all; a chosen few will be added to the list by PRO � the Professional Referee Organization � which provides officials to MLS.
Barwegen is already a nationally certified soccer official, coloured badge and all. He�s in his 19th season as a referee, starting at 12 years old in his hometown, Coaldale. �It was a way to make money,� he said. �I was 12, what other job can you get at that age that makes you any money at all?� Barwegen is already a staple in the local soccer community, being the best in show for university, college and Alberta Major Soccer League games. In those instances, he�s usually in the middle of the pitch but nationally, he�s an AR, patrolling the sidelines or working as a fourth official. That�s the capacity he�s in when travels to Edmonton to do games for the North American Soccer League�s FC Edmonton. Those games, he jokes, have put his bald spot on national TV. But the next 11 days could give the back of his head a whole new profile. If Barwegen is chosen to work games for MLS, he could wind up at games with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders or the Portland Timbers.
Barwegen has to fit his officiating around his career as a teacher at Coalhurst High School. He was notified after Christmas that he was on the list of Canadian officials sent to Dallas. Of course, with school out of session for the holiday, making the necessary arrangements to let Soccer Canada know he�d be there could have been messy. �I got a hold of him and he said �Wow, that�s brilliant you have to do it, how are we going to do this?'� said Barwegen. �But everyone�s been supportive the whole way and I�ve put in a lot of work to make sure my students and my subs are well prepared�. Barwegen has been across the country as a soccer official, and it�s definitely been worth the time and effort. There is sacrifice, too, and not just in time away from the school. Barwegen is a teacher, a board game fanatic � he teaches a board game option at Coalhurst and runs the tabletop gaming club after school � and a vintner. Somewhere in all that, he also plays rec hockey. Juggling all that and a career as an national referee takes sacrifice. �Mostly my sanity,� he said. �And my family. I don�t get to go to family Thanksgiving because that�s when nationals are. That�s probably what I miss most, obviously, I hate missing school but yeah, I don�t get to the big family events a lot.� He said the last Thanksgiving he spent with family was when Lethbridge hosted the national championships. But any sacrifice has been worth it. If he doesn�t get chosen to work for the MLS, Barwegen said he�s still one of less than a dozen Canadians on the shortlist in the eyes of Soccer Canada. And it means more time for teaching, family, friends, board games and winemaking. �I�m going on a trip to Dallas that isn�t costing me anything. I get to watch some of the best soccer players in North America. It�s a fair trade�.

Source: The Lethbridge Herald