Best big city to referee in?

It wasnt supposed to be funny. I have several friends who are iin iraq(including a San antonio police officer) who wouldnt think that a crossways mortar joke is funny. I am glad that I am censured when I get serious about war and others are not when they joke about it.

 

Is that because the National Open Champion and Amateur Cup finalist play there? I seen that 2 referees from Baltimore went into the National Hall of Fame last year together, Tamberino and Manfre. I am confused by your comment of DC. Happy Holidays

 

I didn't see the deleted message, but I don't really think the original joke was funny or appropriate to the topic.

 

The nice thing about Orlando is that there is some form of outdoor soccer all year round, both adult and youth. There are also lots of quality tournaments, such as Score at the Shore and several Disney Showcase tournaments.

 

I am surprised nobody has mentioned San Francisco. Discounting Europe, it has the absolute highest level of amateur competitive play I've seen in my entire career. The fields are all close by, the assessors and assignors are the best in the nation (Bob Evans, John Kennedy, etc), and you can work with the best referees in the nation (Brian Hall, Ricardo Valenzuela, Keri Seitz, Tim Weyland, and Chris Strickland to name a few). CAN has consistently produced champion amateur teams, and all are within a few hours drive of each other.

What most areas experience is a gap between youth and amateur soccer. Either the youth are not quality enough to prepare for transition to amateur, or the amateur are basically the same or worse than U19. In both CAN and CAS, the transition and upgrade path is seamless - the youth experience flows into low-level amateur, which flows into major division amateur, and then on into the national level amateur. It is for this reason why California has consistently produced the top referees in the nation, and in Brian Hall's case, one of the best in the world.

 

nobody else thinks jokes about war arent funny?

 

I was going to mention SF but have not had a chance to post and give it justice. I have lived in the Midwest, NYC and SF. By far, the best soccer is San Francisco. The competition at the upper level amateur is second to none. There are so many adult leagues it is unbelievable and all use promotion and relegation as they have as many as 5 or 6 divisions. The top league, the CPSA, is a premier league with the top teams from all of the Cal North leagues. The competition is great with many ex college players, ex-pros, and some guys who have spent time with their national teams. I was privileged enough to referee in this league and it was a great learning experience. Working through the SFSFL (the oldest amateur league in the country) and the CPSA you will be forced to become a better referee and see teams from many different cultural backgrounds.

There is also great HS soccer (played in the winter so refereeing is a year round event) and many top notch colleges from JC through D1. The youth soccer is also very high level with many good clubs and a very active Super Y program. When I was there (just a couple years ago) the big problem was the lack of professional matches...alll the PDL teams that were available involved at least a 3 hour drive. That has changed as there are now many more teams coming to Cal North.

As Statesman said, the best thing about the area is the great referees you work with every week...even on youth matches. Additionally, the assessor group has to be the deepest in the country. In addition to those that Statesman mentioned (and i was assessed by both), I will never forget my state 1 maintenance assessment in 2003. I had a CPSA match and requested an assessor...never know who will show as there are a ton of State assessors...though for young guys advancing it was usually one of the nationals (I was assessed by John Kennedy 5 times in 2 years). I get to my match and there to assess me was Fernando Alvarez, one of the most respected men in the history of american soccer, not just refereeing. That was quite an experience to have him watching me...but in Cal North it is just what happens.

I am not as familiar with some of the other areas mentioned (i know nothing about DC), but the number of national and FIFA referees that Cal North has produced should tell you something about the organization of the referee program, their ability to identify and grow talent, and their ability and willingness to promote their referees to the highest levels.

All that being said, I am more a Midwest type of guy so I am happy to be where I am at, which is a state that has one of the best referee development programs in the country despite being a very small state without the weekly quality matches others can find as evidenced by the development of Terry Vaughn!

Good luck on your choice of where to move!

 

Even though I am very DCcentric you have sold me on SF.........never mind, I couldnt afford to buy a tool shed with the cost of housing in that area!

 

Why do you think I moved to Iowa? As much fun as SF was, I was tired of bread and water after paying rent The housing market here is much more reasonable

 

Undoubtedly any small town in Iowa. After all, that's where Terry Vaughn got his start.

 

Having just moved to the Richmond, VA area about a year and a half ago, I can't say enough good things about the level of adult competition, the high level of youth tournaments and the way that referees are handled by their assignors in Central VA.

Scott

 

I've been meaning to get to Richmond to ref at some point -- was supposed to do the Chesterfield tournament last March but got injured and couldn't go. I'll be there this year.

Haven't done any adult games for CVSA but know that the teams are quality and the assignors might even be better, so your remarks don't surprise me.

 

i have enjoyed my visits to richmond for touneys. they treat you well.
kevin - i plan to work jefferson cup 3/11 and 12. do you want to tell beth we can work/ room together; work same site or same games so we can carpool?

 

See your PMs.