US Soccer has recently announced the names of the newly certified National Referees and National Referee Coaches for 2019. According to the article, there are 83 National Referees (which I assume includes ARs) and 122 National Referee Coaches. https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...-national-referees-referee-coach-announcement Here is my question. There are some people on this list that are also on the PRO roster. What about all the other officials on the PRO roster? Is that a separate thing because of the bargaining agreement between PRO and the officials? Are some of the officials on the PRO roster not national referees?
No one on the MLS "PRO Roster"--in the sense that they had been hired into the bargaining unit when the NR re-certification process was happening--is on the NR list provided by USSF. There are some names (Ford, Rivas, Touchan, etc.) of officials who will be fully in the PRO fold this year, but weren't quite so in the 2018 season. Suffice it to say there was a difference of opinion over whether or not those referees needed to go the USSF camp and USSF won out. Once an official is hired for MLS, they no longer have a requirement to go to the USSF camp.
What about Cory Richardson? He is listed on the PRO roster as an AR. This is his first year on the roster. He had two trial spots last year. Also, Jon Freemon. He is listed as a VAR, and he even had 3 4O assignments. And Matt Franz. He is also listed as a VAR, and had one 4O assignment. Have they not done enough games to get hired into the bargaining unit yet?
Basically, what @MassachusettsRef is kind of saying and what most everyone believes in the referee community is that the National Referee list is really irrelevant and meaningless. It's a nice designation to have, but in terms of assignments and path to MLS there isn't much benefit to it. There are many names on that list that won't touch anything better than a local Open Cup game. It's a grander philosophical question, but since US Soccer has no influence anymore in who makes MLS and who does MLS then what is the point of having a national referee list? It's also one of the main reasons why the number of FIFA referees on the men's side is so low.
As far as National Referees and ARs, is this number (83) adequate for the number of games we have at the professional level in this country? Especially with the ongoing expansion of the USL on three different levels, there are a lot more professional games now than there ever have been. Will this mean an increase in the number of national referees in the coming years? Or just more opportunities for up and coming state referees?
I don't know about Richardson or the new ARs. I can't remember if they are hired directly into the bargaining unit when they get named by PRO or if it still requires five assignments. VAR was the big point of contention. USSF didn't care if a referee had done a bunch of VARs in MLS apparently because, for USSF VAR isn't a thing. The bottom line is that new MLS officials or officials who only worked VAR or very few fourth trialist assignments were told/forced to go to USSF camp this year. They won't go next year.
See @RedStar91 's post above. I would be harsh to say the NR list is irrelevant because it's the pinnacle of USSF officiating and it takes a lot to get there. And for the ARs, it still seems the clearest path to PRO taking notice and consideration for MLS. But if the question is whether or not the NR list is adequate to cover the professional game, it really is an irrelevant one. PRO fills those matches. They will use some names on the NR list but will also pluck the 5s and 6s that it has identified and wants to promote. For women and male ARs, the NR list is very important if we're talking about ultimate promotion. For male CRs, less so.
IMHO, whether the number is adequate is not a question that can be resolved at a national level. The fact is that USL doesn't have the money to send referees long distances to do games. And there's no money to travel AR's and 4ths, period. They are more concerned about meeting payroll for players, coaches and back office staff, renting the stadium, etc. So questions about who can do the game this week are going to be answered at the local level.
I think you need to look at last year's assignments a little closer. The referees on PRO's radar are traveling great distances for USL matches now. And every few matches, an AR is either flying or driving a great distance. Two officials are almost always local and often three are local. But it's not uncommon for two officials to be flying and I'd guess in the majority of matches last season the center was flown in.
In almost all of the USL matches I have done in the last 4 years, the referee has flown in from a great distance. Once, we even had a referee from Canada.
There is also at least one person on this list (Baboucarr Jallow) who was in PRO last year and is not listed on the PRO site this year. I also know a few AR's who have worked regional USL/NWSL/etc. games, are now in the PRO Development program, and are not (and were never) on this list: so it may be true that this list isn't particularly important for ARs either.
Yes but there are 3 divisions now. That is true for the top division. CR almost always flown in and AR1 flown in the majority if not at least half. Will be interesting to see what the pay scale is for League One and if they fly CRs in for those. Of course League Two (PDL) is still going to be shit pay and locals only.
There is a level below League 2 (PDL) that USL will be involved with like NPSL level? It was my understanding that the travel of referees is handled thru PRO. If it goes unfilled beyond a certain point then the National Assignor can fill it in with a local guy like @Law5 mentioned.
Yes, on USL games PRO get first shot to fill the assignments. If, after a certain time frame (not sure how much), a position is not filled, then it gets opened up to the LAC for that state.
I’m on that list. I can assure you it is important. Not only is it recognition of hard work for several years of demonstrated success but two groups go hand in hand. Most of the initial ID from PRO is happening at DA and similar national events (youth nationals, ECNL, etc) so working towards your national badge at these events is synonymous with getting in front of PRO, at least at the beginning. National assessments can only be completed on adult games to be considered for a national badge and with so many of those coaches also used by PRO in some capacity, doing well in those games serves both purposes. Nobody is getting USL middles without demonstrating success in both of these components and while there is no grade requirement the upgrade process is what opened the doors to have those opportunities. It is then no secret that by the time you’re a national you’ve been considered by PRO already. Of course there are exceptions in both directions but the overwhelming majority of DG members are national officials.
With the removal of the career 4th pool, Baboucarr switched tracks and is trying to make it back to the MLS as an AR
Your entire post is good and I agree with it. But this sentence is what's important, in my opinion. By the time you're an NR you've already been considered by PRO. I'm not sure if you chose your words as carefully as I'm reading them or not, but I think this is perfectly written. PRO--insofar as the MLS CR track--has pretty much already decided if you have a chance or not once you're on the NR list. That means certain names are obviously moving onward. It also means there are plenty of CRs on that list who have peaked; PRO knows it and they should know it. There are a bunch of Grade 3s on that list who have no chance at MLS, while a half dozen to a dozen Grade 5s and 6s are being flown around the country to do USL matches. Those Grade 5s and 6s will likely become NRs (some did this year), but this all goes to your point about PRO making its considerations before a referee even gets to the NR stage. There are always going to be some rare exceptions. And I believe that ARs have a better chance of getting noticed later on in the process. But I think the big change with the advent of PRO is that "in the old days" when a referee finally hit NR they were ready to make their push for the pro leagues. Nowadays, when you first get your NR badge the die has pretty much already been cast on whether or not PRO considers you MLS material.
Good eye massref and I did mean it exactly as typed. And I still maintain that even if not considered for MLS, a national badge can still be deserved for the work to get there. The DG is meant to include the best of the best no matter the grade but will naturally be the top % of national referees who are already the top 86 officials in the country with a few others not quite there yet
One other bit of info. There are Grade 5's and 6's that can not become Nationals because they are not US Citizens. However they are in the DG group being looked at to go to MLS skipping the National badge.
I think the confusion lies with the mystery behind DG and NR list in general. I've heard a lot of state referees say they're uninterested in even pursuing NR because it "doesn't get you" anything. "PRO assigns the matches, so why bother?" I don't think a lot of people understand that sometimes you make it somewhere because you're on a list that eventually gets you on another list that eventually gets you on another list, etc..
In practice, this may be true -- or not. As a technicality, however, (and I do believe it to be important for the sake of accuracy), a referee can reach National, and even FIFA certification, if they are a non-citizen permanent resident. This has been the case for several years.
That's also usually coming from state referees that have already been ID'd by PRO and are getting assignments from them. So for them maybe it makes sense to not care much about USSF assignments or a National badge. No harm no foul. But for those not lucky enough to be ID'd yet, they have to keep climbing the ladder if PRO is still their goal or maybe just better USSF assignments. If you're just treading water and not actively climbing the ladder and pursuing the next step then of course you'll get passed by. It's not like anyone chases after either a National badge or PRO without knowing it's a long shot. There are probably plenty of Nationals that have no desire to even get to PRO because they have a career and/or family that's more important to them. They are still perfectly happy to put in the work and sacrifice though. High level USSF assignments are growing exponentially in the US. USL is expanding a ton this year, and NPSL Pro is starting next year. Open Cup games are quite fun as well. Nationals and 5s will naturally get first pick at those assignments. To each his own. I'm not sure I understand your question. Or maybe you misunderstood my statement? USL and NPSL have no involvement. They are competing leagues. USL had two divisions last year. Top division which was DII under USSF pyramid and then PDL. When originally announced the new league was being called USL DIII because it was the 3rd division of pro leagues. They re-branded their operations in the off season. For 2019: Div 1) MLS Div 2) USL Championship https://www.uslchampionship.com/teams Div 3) USL League One (new league originally referred to as USL DIII) https://www.uslleagueone.com/league-teams Div 4) Amateur leagues - USL League Two (formerly PDL), NPSL, and UPSL For 2020 NPSL is planning the start of NPSL Pro. I'm sure from a marketing perspective they'll be clamoring that they'll be on par with USL Championship and deserve DII sanctioning from USSF. In reality they'll be on par with DIII minimum standards and level of play. It's some of the remnants of NASL teams (NY Cosmos) that didn't switch to USL and the larger and more successful NPSL teams already in existence. http://www.npsl.com/news/9317 Anywho, substantially more high level games for USSF referees to work than existed not that long ago. Of course when the economy inevitably tanks at some point, half or more of those games will disappear overnight.
You clarified. I thought you were saying that NPSL was starting a league to compete for that division 3 spot. I heard rumblings of a NPSL Pro or something along those lines happening this season. But makes sense it’s coming out in 2020. I’m curious who will assign USL League 1 games. If Pro will continue having their hand in it or if LAC/National assignors will be exclusively assigning.
Can't imagine it will be any different. PRO will have first dibs. If it times out or they kick the can down the road then USSF, and then on to LACs. Highly doubt they'll be flying anyone for those games but who knows. Maybe a few games here or there they will be.