Thanks for the info, but it didn't work. Tried to add US Soccer and it asked for an access code (16 digits). I tried my 16 digit USSF ID and it said it was invalid.
It took about two weeks to get a reply from referee@ussoccer.org then another several days for them to update it. I read something about they cannot publish an organization's access code. For coaches, my state setup and auto-email reply address to get the code for safesport. Might check your State Association's site for a general pointer on it. Interestingly, it looks like I don't actually have a safesport account; "forgot password" option did not find anything with my email address. I did safesport through the ussf learning center while re-certifying. I did save the cert so I have the number when renewing my USClub coaches license if needed - hopefully that'll be enough.
I have actually sent it both addresses, this one and referee@ussoccer.org. It has not been two weeks, so I guess I will wait it out and see if they respond.
They won't take anything that you have done for other sports/organizations. I have multiple background checks done every year: one for my job (I work in an elementary school), one for high school soccer, and one for USSF.
I could get rich if I could figure out how to offer the universal background check that everyone could opt into . . . I know I can never become a criminal because by fingerprints are in so, so many different places . . .
Our SRC's office manager once took the entry level written test and got a 90. She has never refereed, never played and, I'm pretty sure, not even watched games.
No that's to start the whole training process because it's not free. Organizations pay for those codes to give to their members. You said you already did the training so you have to have an existing account to log in to where you can update your own profile to add US Soccer.
Just an FYI here. I do have a Safesport account and I took the original Safesport training last year and two refreshers this year. Safesport is supposed to be universal across all Olympic level sports. I was finally able to add US Soccer to my Safesport profile with a little help. It now is updated on my US Soccer LC profile. Now I just need it to recognize my referee license. I am guessing it is a name matching issue, but their response time leaves a lot to be desired. If they really want the LC to work, US Soccer needs to up their support game.
That's what happens when you just dump out a new system nationwide without testing it anywhere first.
I imagine the various state committees will have to extend registration into late winter/early spring of 2020.
I would be shocked if this happened. What will happen is the early spring will be even harder on assignors needing certified referees. Each Spring is always hard. This will be worse.
Wait, things are still happening? I remember when USSF first released this newfangled system back in August and I had to postpone my refereeing journey as they had bungled up the background checks so I had to have multiple games taken off my plate.
You are correct. If you aren't fully registered, you can not referee. There is no insurance coverage and any assignor who put you out there, knowing that you are not currently registered, could lose their assignor "badge," which would be a problem for them and any league/tournament that they currently assign.
I _really_ hope that come January, Alabama has its numbers because as it stands, only 300 of the eligible 800 are eligible to ref for 2020. But same can be said for states with refs lower than 1,000.
I thought I had already posted this but..... SafeSport told me directly that it is a matter of each national governing body having their own standards of what is a disqualifying issue. As frustrating as it is, this does not surprise me. Something that, say, soccer considers no big deal may be something that another sport will absolutely not allow you to register. And there are various standards about how long ago a conviction will continue to disqualify you and that will probably depend on what the conviction was for. Those standards also vary amongst the various national governing bodies, never mind what school districts may also have as their standards.
The registration window its literally open 24/7/365 with everything online. But Jan 1 If you aren't done you cant referee.
Of course. No 2020 badge, no 2020 match assignments. I don’t think I’m saying anything particularly profound: some states establish a registration window with a deadline by which returning referees should get all the requirements done. People who complete the process after the date often get a late fee. With the growing backlogs for background checks and Learning Center profile reconciliations, many returning referees who are doing or will do their due diligence will not complete the process before January 1, 2020.
And with regard to 24/7/365, I can access my Learning Center profile whenever I choose. Administrators from my state determine when one of “My Courses” is available.
Correct -- there's a general framework, but NGBs codify the specifics to meet their sport. Swimming and gymnastics, where we've had horrific abuses, have different needs than soccer does. Individual sports have a different vibe than team sports do, especially when one coach is so often seen (sometimes with justification) as the only ticket to the national team or college. Swimming and gymnastics also have a different culture. USA Swimming actually resisted putting in language to prevent coach-swimmer relationships until they were told, "No, you have to do that." (Yes, I know Foudy and Chastain married their college coaches, but they were adults. In swimming, we're talking about coaches who convinced their 15-year-old kids they were "special.")
And, to follow on Beau's comments, SafeSport does not have jurisdiction over high school or college coaches, administrators or officials. There was a woman in track who was coaching at a medium size high school in a less urban part of our state. Her father-in-law is a huge name in the sport. She took one of the boys on her track team to prom! As a result, of course, she was non-renewed by the school. (She was an outside coach, not someone otherwise on staff, although being in the union does not protect extra duty assignments and pay.) The next year, another, smaller high school hired her as the coach. A small enough community that they were most likely just grateful to have a coach and a background check would not have shown what happened at the previous school. "No....convictions!" as Bill Murray would say. She then began an affair with a 17 year old boy on the team. Yes, still married, even after all of this came out. USATF suspended her from coaching, at least on the club side, but there was essentially no youth club program in her part of the state anyway. Background checks only check for criminal convictions and should not/cannot be relied on to obtain all of the information you should have before hiring someone. Yes, individual sports are different. In the track world, there has been a big blow up over a suspension of the number one distance coach in the world recently. (Not related to sex or minors in any way, convoluted details, currently on appeal to the Court for Arbitration for Sport.) One of the athletes he coached has (only now) made some public statements about how horrible he is as a coach. Since he's suspended from coaching now, she announced that she now has an "advisor," rather than a formal coach. It seems that the 'advisor' doesn't have a coaching license from any NGB for the sport. Down on the ground, can anyone tell what an advisor can't do that a coach can? I think it's just a question about whether they can be in the coaches' area trackside at big meets. But no background check required to "advise" someone.