Michael Farmer has been involved with the beautiful game since he was five. His passion and enthusiasm for the game has helped him become a high school and collegiate player, a coach, and a referee.
He has spent time as a middle school coach, a goalkeeping coach and trainer, and an assistant high school coach.
As a young player, he idolized Tony Meola and Brad Friedel and became a top high school keeper and eventually played at Mount Union College.
“I was part of the first generation to fully grow up with soccer,” Farmer concluded.
As you can see coaching has also been a big part of his life. But the biggest part of his time is now spent as a top referee. But he hasn’t forgotten his roots. At every step and every stage, he has given back to the sport.
He refereed his first game when he was a middle school and has never looked back. He has officiated matches at national tournaments and professional matches at the USL, NPSL, PDL, and MLS Reserve levels.
“The fun thing is the comradery,” Farmer added. “It’s like a small fraternity. We really look out for each other.”
People don’t become referees for the money, but rather because they care about the game. Farmer encourages people to join the referee ranks, mentoring them and offering them professional development so they could grow and prosper. He organized local referee academies at the Samurai Sportswear Soccer Combines and the 2012 ISN Cup, events that remained free to players and teams because of his good work.
“One of the big things in the referee world is giving back to the game,” Farmer said. “We are not there to perform for ourselves. We provide a fun environment for players to display their skills at.”
But it isn’t always easy to be a top-flight referee.
“You want to make sure you don’t get burnt out,” Farmer commented. “In Ohio there is such a shortage of referees that I could referee every day of the week if I wanted to. That gets tiring on the mind and tiring on the body.”
Managing players and coaches in different environments can also be a challenge. But when you love what you do, it doesn’t seem like work.
Farmer credits his father with getting him involved with the game at an early age and other referees like Sorin Stoica and Jon Safar for pushing him to higher and higher levels.
And he remains a huge fan of the sport. Why else would he would spend countless hours trying to improve the quality of officiating here in the States. In particular he enjoys watching the U.S. men’s national team.
“The U.S. still struggles to find their own style of play,” Farmer stated. “We are trying to be more European and see if that can work for us.”
Farmer is confident that some day soccer will be among America’s favorite sports along with baseball, basketball, and football. And that certainly will work for all of us in the game.
Pelé is unquestionably the world’s greatest soccer ambassador, spreading his love of the Beautiful Revolution wherever he goes. He has become the game’s strongest supporter and has been the source of inspiration for millions around the globe. From the streets of New York to the fields of South Africa, Pelé Sports is a name synonymous with passion, creativity and innovating the game the way it should be played. A world without Pelé would be a world without soccer with millions missing out on the joy and the Beautiful Revolution we all love in this game.
Today’s supporters carry on the prestigious legacy of Pelé, growing and promoting the game in their own communities and passing the torch to a new generation of footballers. Mainstream media outlets have failed to give a face to these fans, people who do extraordinary things everyday and have stories that deserve to be told. Whether it is an Iraqi War veteran who is a passionate supporter of his favorite MLS side or a student making an impact on the college game, the concept of ambassadorship is alive and well here in North America. Today’s supporters are not hooligans or fanatics or even überfans, but rather gatekeepers to the true spirit of the beautiful game.
International Soccer Network, in conjunction with Pelé Sports, plans to celebrate the contributions of North American soccer fans every month with a new series of feature articles.
