MONROE, Conn. — Go back to May 16, 1956 and a young man in the British Army named Stan Tait was with a group of fellow service men about to play a pickup soccer game. There was an uneven number of players, so someone noted that since his dad had been a referee, Tait might be able to officiate the game.
“The rest is history,” Tait said during an interview at Wolfe Park, after having officiated alongside younger referees Evelyn Crawford and Yash Raj Verma for an AYSO Region 79 Monroe boys’ game on May 16 of this spring.
It was exactly 70 years to the day of his introduction to refereeing. Tait has been involved with officiating games throughout all of these decades.
Tait, who serves as referee administrator for AYSO Region 79, estimates he has refereed between 5,000 and 6,000 games at a variety of levels. Among them was a tournament matchup between the United States and Bermuda in February of 1975, a 3-1 U.S. win, Tait recalls. And there have been plenty of recreational and travel games in and out of town as well.
“He’s been a pillar of AYSO here in Monroe for the past 50 years,” said Ryan Healey, commissioner for Monroe’s AYSO program. “He’s been an active volunteer and continues to put time into our league up to this day. He is a very talented referee and knows the sport of soccer inside and out. He’s also a great guy once you get to know him a bit. We all have been very blessed to have Stan in our lives and he is a big part of AYSO Region 79.”
Healey presented Tait with a plaque that features a silver whistle to commemorate the 70 years. Stan joined AYSO in 1980, coaching his 12-year-old son and refereeing when needed.
“To have him in Monroe has been a blessing for all of us,” said Brendan Sheehan, coaching and equipment manager for Monroe’s AYSO program.
Tait, who is 88-years-old, has been imparting his extensive knowledge and experience in the game to younger generations of rising referees for decades. This is particularly important with a shortage of referees in most towns. Monroe, due in large part to Tait’s dedication, regularly has multiple refs at each game whereas some towns often have fewer officials, Monroe AYSO officials said.
“My objective is to get kids to enjoy refereeing as much as I did,” said Tait, who has done most of his work from the sidelines and off the field, but was thrilled to step back onto the pitch, between the lines, perhaps one last time.
Tait has trained more than 2,000 referees
He became certified in 1958 as a member of the Scottish Football Association, before emigrating to Canada in 1960, joining the Quebec Referees Association an arm of the Canadian Soccer Association.
Tait obtained his FIFA designation in 1967, the year he was also appointed to the North American Soccer League. He became a national referee instructor in 1969.
In 1979, Tait was named Honorary National Referee prior to his employment transfer to the USA. He joined the Region 79 Board in 2005 as referee administrator and was approved as an instructor in 2007, holding clinics a couple of times a year.
“I enjoy all of it. That’s why I’m still at it,” Tait said.
Well, there have been some moments. While officiating his first professional game in Canada, he said a player put his hands around his neck after a call he disagreed with. Of course, the player was ejected and Tait continued to referee the game — and many, many more throughout the decades, eventually making Monroe home for his family and soccer refereeing.
Tait’s son, Shawn, and grandson, Brayden, were on hand for the May 16 game and celebration this spring.
“It’s a love affair with soccer and refereeing and trying to help the young referees and the program,” Shawn Tait said of his father’s passion. “He has dedicated a lot of his time to the program. We’re proud of him.”
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Stan Tait is the best. I always enjoyed watching him ref my son’s soccer games–late 80’s to mid 90’s. Congratulations!