No, it doesn't. https://m.box.com/shared_item/https://ussoccer.box.com/s/6larxlw3j1wjmql64x6x/browse/76087532736
They can increase certain standards such as fitness test or instruction requirements. They can't change the assessment requirements or make them easier. Increase the number required if they really want to but that's about it.
I guess you prefer the rogue SRAs that do whatever they want. Which is exactly why the federation wants to get rid of SRCs to begin with.
No I prefer the following of the regulations. My point is that isn’t what happens and there’s little to nothing that US Soccer is willing to do about it. For instance North Texas is apparently one of the states just not doing the learning center this year and is offering licenses to 12 year olds and still plans to do grade 9 courses. What do you want to bet nothing happens.
Wait! WTF! I learn very little from coaching on youth games and it isn't like they are really going to stand up to me the way adults do. As was said the other day, "What are you going to do in an adult game if a player tells you to 'F___ off!'? Send them off with a red card? Now your game has gone to hell. We need to practice and learn the verbal judo to keep the game going." At least I know South Texas doesn't care that my assessments were both adult games.
How? Licensing is now through the Learning Center, and in order to establish a Learning Center profile, one must be at least 13. The exception is previously certified referees who are under 13, as they can be grandfathered in.
You’re asking the wrong guy. But that’s what’s apparently being advertised there. And my understanding is others states are basically waiving people through at the regional level that haven’t done all the requirements. None of this is new, the only wrinkle is that now we are supposed to have a uniform “national” standard.
Well, I can tell you for a fact that none of the referees in Hawaii are being given any breaks. One of my brothers happens to be the SRA of Hawaii, and he is holding his referees to the letter. Nobody is getting "waived through".
To be honest, if anyone tells me to "**** off" they are getting sent off. Not much "management" is going to bring that guy to the world of the rational.
Not all states are using the Learning Center. About 30 are. The rest are still using either OMS, GameOfficials, or who knows what. The batch uploads from those systems are also not currently functioning so states not using the Learning Center have a whole lot of unregistered referees at the moment.
Well I guess it’s not much of a surprise- ussf seems to have done a nice job with the new referee curriculum. Beyond that they were not ready and forced the existing cohort through a meaningless and infuriating process. so srcs are faced with a choice: they can suffer an abrupt and significant reduction of registrations, or they can wave people through and maintain their number until ussf gets their act together. This is going to be a pretty rough year getting ussf games covered. But i bet it will be better in states where the committee was more “flexible.”
Well, who is "the federation?" The Referee department's proposal that they be given power over the states never came to a vote at the AGM. SRC's, for better or worse, are not going away, as long as the youth and adult have over 50% of the vote.
I didn't say it was feasible. But if you were running the referee program you'd feel the same way most likely when you have SRAs going way off the reservation so often.
Years ago, I had a one on one conversation with a "very high level official" about the USSF Referee Department. We agreed that they have never been able to find someone to run the department the way it should. Either they're an administrator who's just getting their ticket punched but who doesn't know which end of the whistle to blow into, or they're a highly experienced official who can't manage their way out of a paper bag. It's been this way for over 30 years. The problem isn't just with SRA's. It's the Referee Department too. And remember that "SRAs going way off the reservation" are doing so with the consent of the people who appoint the SRA, their state's youth and adult associations. The fact is that one size does not fit all states. Cf. Vermont v. Cal South. And no, I'm not saying that SRA's are all great managers. Almost all of them are volunteers and you don't get what you don't pay for.
This is the biggest thing and it’s me of the major issues with the new curriculum. The “field” sessions are a great idea in concept but not everywhere has weather like Cal South where they can do this all year. And so we run into issues. There has to be a balance between the needs of the stars and the requirements of US Soccer.
I agree. The field session that I helped with a few weeks ago was done in a gym on a basketball court. Not the same as being able to get out on an actual field.
When I was still working, I was a presenter by trade. I was really good at what I did. Most of the recerts I have been to in my career are poorly presented (videos don’t play, screens too small, the presenter all over the place). I would think field sessions would be worse.
Ha, that's the truth. Can't imagine how many hours I've lost over the years in recerts watching instructors struggle with the projector, or search for video files. Ont of the dozen or so reason I hate recerts.
But 2 of the 3 things described are issues with technology which are not possible with field sessions. To become an instructor, you first need to be a good referee and in the field sessions you are demonstrating how to be a good referee and correcting newbies to physically make them better referees. I could say, 45 degrees up straight down the line 3 different ways and half of them will not look good when they hit the field (droopy, back over their shoulder, etc). But if I have them do it and physically move the arm so they feel what it should be when it is correct. This podcast tackles how watching videos makes people feel like they can do something but spending a fraction of the time with the actual tools leads to increased mastery. https://www.npr.org/2019/02/05/691697963/close-enough-the-lure-of-living-through-others
We have this thing called "Winter" hereabouts. Field sessions have mostly been at indoor field locations (we have quite a few places with indoor 11v11-sized fields, plus of course smaller ones). Unfortunately, those are in big demand this time of year as well. I predict that there will be a move toward summer recertification for northern-tier states. That is, open the recert window from July-Feb instead of the Nov-Mar we have now.
Which is a stop gap measure at best in my opinion. This solution is pretty crappy for areas that have to implement it. I know in my area of the state we were laughed out of the building when we asked to use actual indoor soccer facilities. They just don’t care. So I’ll go back to the original point. US Soccer set up a system that works for the all year spring and summer states. Doesn’t do anything for the rest of us.