Whatever It Takes: Introducing Chris Penso and RefMasters Soccer
Our newest leader talks career, craft, and what's in store for RefMasters' latest sport
When Chris Penso talks about refereeing, you notice two things right away: his humility and his passion. In one breath, he’ll laugh about his locker room playlist being hijacked by his daughters’ Frozen soundtrack — “At any given point, ‘Let It Go’ might be blasting before kickoff,” he says — and in the next, he’ll describe the raw electricity of standing in the middle of a stadium as 60,000 fans roar. “I love the sound of that, whether it’s for me or against me. I live for that adrenaline on a Saturday night.”
It’s a duality that defines Penso: part dad, part teacher, part referee, part assignor and now, the newest architect in RefMasters’ growing multi-sport enterprise. On September 15, Chris launches RefMasters Soccer with open global discussion and daily education for referees at every level. The program’s first live film session comes soon after, on September 24. For soccer officiating education, this is a watershed moment.
The Long Road from 1997
Penso’s journey into officiating started, as he tells it, with a shrug. “Back in 1997, my U14 coach asked if anyone wanted to take the referee course. A few of us raised our hands, mostly thinking it was a good way to make some money on weekends.” Two of his teammates dropped out quickly, one after a year, the other after three. “I’m the last one standing,” he says with a grin.
That “shrug” became a career. Over seventeen seasons, Penso has worked NCAA Division I Cup Finals, Olympic matches, and more than 250 Major League Soccer league games. He also found himself wearing many other hats: coordinator, assignor, educator, FIFA Video Match Official. Along the way, he’s endured the setbacks that test every official’s resilience: “I’ve had both Achilles operated on. Each one put me out for a year. But here I am, over 17 seasons in the professional ranks seasons in, feeling better now than I did 15 years ago. Whatever it takes, I’ll be on the field.”
The State of Soccer Officiating Education
Despite his decorated résumé, Chris is quick to shift the spotlight away from himself and toward the broader challenges in officiating education. “The biggest gap we have in soccer is law changes and interpretations. FIFA pushes updates down, but by the time it trickles to grassroots referees, a lot gets lost.” With 125,000 registered referees in the U.S., the scale of the problem is enormous.
The result? A young official might show up at a tournament and apply an outdated interpretation of handball, or misread a denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, simply because they never received the updated guidance. “It’s no one’s fault,” Penso explains. “It’s just the nature of the beast. But knowledge is power. The more readily available we can make it, the better everyone gets: referees, coaches, players, even fans.”
That urgency is exactly why RefMasters Soccer matters. By combining real-time film sessions, peer-to-peer conversations, and curated learning from someone who lives both the MLS and grassroots realities, Chris is positioning RefMasters Soccer as the connective tissue that officiating education truly needs.
Lessons from the Badge and the Whistle
Before he was a full-time referee, Penso was a state trooper. That chapter of his life still colors the way he sees officiating. “In the Patrol Academy, you go through 31 weeks of training designed to break you down and build you back up. They teach you to be confident, resilient, able to perform under pressure. That translates directly to refereeing.”
He offers one example: blocking out the noise. “As VAR, you’ve got open mics from three officials, plus the crowd. It’s chaos. In law enforcement, I learned not to let noise affect my decision-making. Officiating is the same. You have to prioritize, block distractions, and respond with clarity.”
His leadership philosophy flows from the same source. “Always take a breath. Be calm, be measured, avoid knee-jerk reactions. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you’ll regret the knee-jerk later. Whether it’s on the field, in administration, or in life, that’s my biggest lesson.”
Penso’s advice couldn’t come at a better time. In a profession where abuse, burnout, and attrition are constant threats, the ability to slow down and center yourself can mean the difference between quitting after a year or building a career like Penso’s.
Community as the Lifeline
If law enforcement taught him resilience, refereeing taught him community. “One of my biggest pieces of advice to new referees is make friends. It can be lonely, especially at the start when you’re out there by yourself with eight-year-olds and parents who think it’s the World Cup. But the friendships are what keep you in.”
For Chris, that’s more than sweet sentiment. He met his wife (Tori, a world-class and pioneering soccer official in her own right) at a soccer tournament. He’s been welcomed into the homes of referees across New Zealand and countless other countries. “Everywhere I travel, officials treat me like family. That sense of community is powerful.”
It’s also at the heart of why he signed on to lead RefMasters Soccer. “When I peeked under the hood of the RefMasters app, what struck me most was the community. The education is great, but the peer-to-peer conversations, the support, the friendships — that’s what keeps referees in the game. That’s what we’re going to build on in soccer.”
Why RefMasters, Why Now
The statistics are sobering: Nearly 70% of referees in the U.S. don’t return after their first year. And while soccer is unique in its scale, the problem isn’t unique to soccer — basketball, football, and baseball all struggle with retention. RefMasters’ multi-sport platform was designed to tackle exactly this: knowledge gaps, lack of mentorship, and the absence of community.
For Chris, that cross-pollination is what excites him most. “Football can learn from soccer. Soccer can learn from baseball. Basketball can learn from all of them. The principles of officiating are the same regardless of level or location.”
That’s why the first RefMasters Soccer film session on September 24 won’t just be about analyzing an MLS clip. It might be a Division III match, or even a youth game. “Positioning is positioning,” Penso reminds me. “Communication is communication. There’s something for everyone.”
Run the Game
In the end, Chris’ message is simple: make friends, ignore the noise, and keep learning. That’s what sustained him from a $20-a-game teenager in 1997 to a global referee on the biggest stages. It’s what will sustain the next generation if we can give them the tools, confidence, and community they need.
Or as Chris likes to say: “Whatever it takes, I’ll be on the field.”
With RefMasters Soccer, he’s making sure countless others will be too.