The North Carolina soccer referee
program is nationally recognized as one of the finest in
the United States. In tournament after tournament, referees
from North Carolina distinguish themselves individually
and as a group. Their exceptional performance is not the
result of random good fortune, but rather, their commitment
to excellence, improvement, and teamwork. Their success
is also attributable to the persuasive leadership of John
Bouda, a man with a passion for “Safe, Fair, Fun Soccer.”
John Bouda’s exceptional contribution
as the State Referee Administrator for North Carolina Soccer
for the past fifteen years has earned him the distinction
of being selected as a member of the ninth class of inductees
to the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame on this, the eleventh
day of February, 2006.
John first refereed in 1984, was
appointed as the Area Referee Administrator for Western
North Carolina in 1986, and became a referee instructor
in 1988. By 1990 he faced a difficult decision regarding
his future in soccer – pursue an individual career
as a referee or turn his attention to the administration
of the referee program? In a move that would work in favor
of thousands of future referees and hundreds of thousands
of future players, he chose the later and accepted an appointment
as the N.C. State Referee Administrator (SRA). He has held
the volunteer position ever since. He inherited a program
that served fewer than 300 referees in the entire state
and, with the help of a cadre of able administrators, has
guided it through explosive growth. The program now has
an infrastructure that supports the instruction, assignment,
and assessment of almost 4,000 certified members per year.
John was influenced by his parents, Betty Jean and Francis
Bouda. Throughout John’s boyhood, his mom was a teacher,
his dad an attorney and Boy Scout Leader. When the family
moved to Switzerland in 1962, John’s parents discovered
that there was no American high school there. Seeing the
need, the next year they founded the American International
School in Zurich. He found further inspiration for reaching
out and strengthening communities during the time he spent
at his beloved Brown University. Trained as an historian,
archaeologist, and political scientist, he was awarded the
Brown University Arnold Fellowship and spent nearly four
years in the Middle East following the route of Alexander
the Great. When he began to establish roots in Asheville
in 1982, he was drawn to the soccer community there –
especially by the international and cultural diversity of
the referees. The confluence of these dynamics brought John
to his role as SRA.
John’s contribution to the
game expanded when he served on the U.S. Soccer National
Board of Directors for four years from 2001 until 2005.
He was the lone referee representative on a Board consisting
of forty Directors. He was a staunch advocate for U.S. soccer
referees with vastly differing levels of experience, but
also became widely known as a Director who could articulate
well-organized positions that balance the interests of all
parties involved in any dispute.
North Carolina Soccer has benefited
tremendously because of the work of John Bouda. He has instilled
a theme that guides the referee program on a course toward
excellence and service. Under his leadership, there is no
doubt about his goals for the program. His mantra says it
all: “Safe, Fair, Fun Soccer.”
