How Do Assessments Work?

1. Assessments can vary. Especially in the new environment. I live in the DC area and one of the assessors told me that there is currently a dearth in assessors at the "National" rank in the DMV. He told me that they haven't opened a new course for assessors to apply for, and that there is currently one guy in the process of upgrading, and he has been in that course for about a year. So you end up with 3 assessors for a ton of Regionals refs who need maintenance assessments, then the guys who need upgrades.

I've passed and failed assessments. I made a thread two years ago opining about the "non-competitive" nature of assessments, the cost, and overall inconsistent nature of them.

2. There are assessors who pass everyone, those that rarely pass everyone. I had a guy upset that I didn't fix the net. He didn't have a valid solution for what I could do to fix it, but I sure wasn't cancelling a game because no one carried duct tape in their bag to fix a local net. Anyway, it can be that level of petty, which is why I bring duct tape to assessment games.

3. If you fail, you have to wait a certain amount of time (21 days, I think, it's in the manual). If you get a non competitive (which is in the opinion of the assessor, and can vary from a blowout, uneven amount of players, etc.) you have to do it again. You don't keep the money. Same if the game is a rainout. You could shell out hundreds just to get 1 assessment.

4. Yeah you found that little Catch-22? I remember when I went to Grade 7 five years ago no league would give me a qualifying game because you had to be a 7 to work an adult middle, but you couldn't get such a game without passing an assessment to be a 7.

It'll take a while to get that many games. In the meantime, just find an assignor and work their crappy games. Women's "Pro 23", USSF affiliated co-ed leagues, Men's League blowouts, etc.

5. Don't forget that you have to get a "Provisional Assessment" to qualify for Regional Assessments in VA-DC. More money to shell out. So you have 5 Assessments (1 Provisional, 3 Middles, 1 AR).

6. How they affect you varies. Personally I don't see the value now that they got rid of the State designation. I have no desire to be a PRO official, so why get a Regional Badge? You qualify to work USL/NWSL centers, but those typically go to the folks they're grooming to be in the MLS. I think you said you want to do that, so it's worth it for you.

Unofficially it's also the path to working D1 middles/lines. More so the lines, as once you get past D2 getting into D1 requires you to have some pull with the ECSR guys to get centers. Coincidentally, those guys tend to do USL games as well.

That's truly the only reason I would ever want to upgrade to Regional. College games pay way better than USL, NPSL, UPSL, etc. last I checked (which was in 2019).

7. Get assessed when you want to move-up, and sooner is better than later. Truly. It's good to have someone say "Stop doing that" and they likely know what they are talking about. The good ones break down what you did wrong and tell you how to fix it. Positioning, was a caution needed, etc. They'll also point out what you did well.

Fun Fact: That list of leagues they have that qualify is out of date. NVSL died several years ago. WPL is quality, but good luck getting the assignor to get you a schedule more than 3 days ahead of the game, and you need to request an assessment with at least 7 days notice to guarantee an assessor. I think the DC Premier league counts, but I'm not sure. So be ready to travel, which if you want to work this level, is what you need to do anyway.

My Unasked for Thoughts:

Take a look at this from the website.

https://www.vadcsoccerref.com/assessment

Effective January 1, 2021, assessment fees for youth and senior amateur league matches will be $70 with the following exceptions: USL = $115, NPSL = $130, UPSL = $80, CCL P-23 = $110, Open Cup = $125, ECNL = $80, EDP = $95.

Why are kid leagues (EDP, ECNL) more expensive than UPSL? Because the refs get paid more in the kid leagues?

Why is USL less expensive than NPSL? USL (typically) is better than NPSL and I can bet USL pays better than NPSL. NPSL is a fourth-tier league, and all that means is that they MIGHT practice more than a Men's Sunday league.

What exactly is the difference that justifies these rates? I'm not against the assessors getting paid. They're doing a job and they need money. But why are the rates different? What exactly are you doing differently for P-23 than for ECNL that justifies $30 more?

A flat rate makes more sense. Otherwise, you're just taking my money. Refs need different rates because the amount of work you're doing in a USL game is VASTLY different than the work you do in an men's P-23 league. But $5? What is the difference?

Anyway, that's my take on it.

 

US Soccer has actually addressed the issue of non-competitive/insufficient games (https://ussoccer.app.box.com/s/u7o23m7vxgt5gdq9adsxgw0o9wlqcddm/file/743218952028):

 

Weird. https://www.ussoccer.com/referee-program -> Instruction Resources -> Position Papers.

You can do assessments out of state but you have to get the approval of your SDA for it to count.

 

Typically, you must do the assessments in the state you are applying for the upgrade in. The exceptions are usually regional and national level events hosted by US Soccer, professional and semi-professional games assigned by US Soccer, select invitational tournaments (e.g. Dallas Cup) with approval of your SRC/SRA, or games outside your state that are at a level not offered within your state/area (e.g. your state/area has a limited pool of ASA men's D1) with approval of your SRC/SRA. When in doubt, get approval in writing (email) before requesting the assessment.

edit - yes, games you are assessed on do count towards your portfolio.

 

Something that you might find helpful would be to buddy up with someone who is due to be assessed and run a line for them on their assessment. You will get to see the process firsthand and will know what to expect.

 

Oh you're in MD? That's a different animal. They have a Maryland Mentor Group or something that's great for guys trying to move up. I'd try and join that if I were you.

I will say though, some of the worst Grade 6s/Regional Refs I've ever met were from MD. Bunch of young kids who thought they were hot stuff, then did a Men's game (or even a Men's College game) and learned real quick that using "MLS Ideas or Philosophies" in Academy games doesn't work in a Sunday league. But I've seen similar guys from VA/DC, so it's likely a "Regional" problem (I had to do it).

In my experience, I'd say VA/DC has better refs, but MD has a better mentor group. I know the last paragraph is insulting their quality, but most MD Regional refs are pretty approachable. Most of the VA/DC folks tend to be, uh, well, arrogant in their approach to reffing. You'll see what I mean as you work with them. I can't think of an MD Regional ref who I'd stick in a blender, but I have small list of non-Grassroots refs from VA/DC who I like working with, and most of those people are Nationals.

 

FYI, there's currently 7 national referee coaches in DC/Virginia. That doesn't even include anyone from Maryland. I think there are only 2 other associations in the country that have 7 or more. Not sure why someone would call that a "dearth".

DA used to be the big event series. Now it's ECNL, MLSNext, and Girls' Academy. Most people doing those events are higher skilled grassroots or regional referees. Getting mentored and assessed locally first is definitely the better idea.

At the end of the day, it all depends what your goal is. If you want a specific badge or to get to a certain level, assessments are absolutely necessary. If you just want to be a better referee, assessments are helpful, but any kind of mentoring--even unofficial--is helpful.

 

Well, when you don't have enough assessors to meet the demand for assessments, you have a "dearth". What I said was (and it's possible I misheard) taken directly from the assignor of assessors in the NoVA area, who was explaining how difficult it was to get people assessed.

@OP

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MDsoccerReferees/2432104266829684/

Here you go.

 

There used to be something called the National Assessment Program, with a National Director in overall charge and State Directors in each state. They held training for new assessors and annual update clinics for established assessors at each level. This was dismantled several years ago by the "smart" people at US Soccer. Also a large number of National Assessors were summarily booted out in the changeover to National Referee Coach designation. Many of these were highly experienced people with professional and even international refereeing and assessing experience. Several others with similar levels of experience got disillusioned and fed up with the goings on in Chicago and simply retired.

You reap what you sow.

PH

 

I should have added that the National Assessment Program worked extremely well for over 30 years and developed large numbers of competent assessors that led to the improvement in the quantity and quality of US referees up to the FIFA level. The program was run by legendary characters such as Pat Smith, Angelo Bratsis and David McKee together with many excellent SDAs. A good solution would be to resurrect the National Assessment Program, but that would take power away from Chicago so is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

PH

 

Pierre Head and I are in the same camp on this. When I first received the new criteria for National assessor/coach/mentor/helicopter parent, with all of the requirements, I immediately thought "why would someone be willing to go through all of those hoops?" The facts are that it's fine to talk about all of this for assessors who are invited to big regional and national events, but that's a very tiny percentage of the games played and the active referees in the country, even a tiny percentage of the referees seeking to upgrade to anything above "Grassroots."

The game is local. For those at the very top of the assessor pyramid, they're polishing the fenders on officials who are doing MLS but want a white badge, too. How much value are they really adding to the game? And a significant percentage of those referees who get to that level and lose it lose it for stuff they've done off the field, and an assessor who's "the best of the best of the best" isn't going to keep that behavior from happening anyway.

MD-DC-VA? It's a local thing. The assessor program in our state is completely different. The SDA assigns the assessor and you don't know when they're coming. Some oof our assessors have taken that to an extreme and try not to be seen before or during the game. Our challenge is getting people assessed who live outside the Portland-Salem part of the state. I've had to turn down assignments that involved a six hour drive, each way, to assess one referee on one game.

Assessment programs need to help make referees better. A 'bigger' badge is far down the priority list from that.

I just received the latest Referee Magazine yesterday. There was an article about baseball umpires who aspire to become MLB umpires and how almost all of them get dropped before they ever do even a spring training MLB game. They go through a lot at the minor league level, for a pittance, and spend a lot of time away from their family. And then end up getting the call that, after two years, four years, six years at their current level, they need to make room for a new group of aspiring umpires. It reminded me a lot of some soccer referees whom I know.

 

Re my bolding. When I took the ref course way back in 1981, perhaps the main (only?) thing I still remember was the instructor saying "Ref every match as if it is the World Cup final. One of the kids out there believes that it is."

 

I haven't been the SRA for a while now, but our process for assessments was three fold. First, if you want to upgrade, you had to apply to the SRA and pay an upgrade application fee. If they had the game count and their check cleared, the SDA would be advised and would start to look for assessable games they were doing. Meanwhile, they would also have to complete the education requirement and, possibly, time in grade. The upgrade application fee paid for the cost of the assessor, more or less.
Second, if you were a State/Regional Referee already, the SDA would schedule an assessor to come see you do an assessable game sometime during the year, preferably in the spring or summer, preferably on a men's league game. The cost of the assessment was part of your registration fee.
Third, we would send assessors or mentors (i.e. senior referees who were not registered as assessors but who had a good attitude and experience) out to youth tournaments during the summer. The drill was watch half a game, give some file card size feedback to all three members of the crew at halftime and then turn your chair around and watch the second half of the game on the next field. Rinse and repeat. We weren't trying to turn them into Nationals or even Regional Referees, just knock off the one or two things that stuck out as non-standard, whether that was uniform, positioning, adjustment of foul-o-meter to the level of this game, looking at your AR's, etc. Some tournaments helped pay for the assessors/mentors, some didn't, and the money came from the SRC. These were almost always teenage referees who were going to be doing competitive youth games in the fall. Sometimes, the assessors/mentors would also be asked to post some comments on a website that only assignors could see. If a greybeard told them that they weren't doing too badly, that really helped build the confidence of young referees.

 

The support element is awfully important--especially for those who don't get officially assessed. In AYSO this year, it is going to be a challenge in places, like my Region, where the volunteers who get trained as referees come from teams in the division. So this year for U10 (the first year with GKs, OS, standings, etc.), with the lost pandemic year essentially all of the referees will be newbies. (With a handful of refs on their second kid.) So that early season on-field mentoring/coaching is going to be super critical to avoiding fast burn out and disasters.

 

Exactly. "Unofficial" mentors are important, but your post and the above are why it's important for there to be entry level assessor/instructor/mentor classes available through the Learning Center, but I have yet to see any courses other than some for initial Grassroots. I didn't look up every state, but for the several I did, there was basically nothing available. Which I can see causing even more issues down the line.

 

We've certainly been doing it. We have trained a cadre of "Mentors". The course starts with a set of modules on the DLC. Then the prospective mentor had to do three tasks:
1. Video Analysis. The student mentor was given a clip (in advance). S/he had to present that clip to a small zoom class (which included coaches, other student mentors, and a few volunteer "students"), emphasis on being able to lead the discussion through the relevant considerations. Less important was being able to at least do basic Zoom and video start/stop/pause/etc.

2. On-field exercises. The student mentor developed a presentation for an on-field exercise (a simple powerpoint; a template was provided) and presented that exercise to a zoom call of other student mentors and coaches. It wasn't a measure of how good the exercise was, it was to see if you could organize an exercise, explain it, have sufficient resources to conduct it, et c.

3. Field evaluation (assessment). The student mentor is given a clip of about 15 minutes of a game (in advance). S/he then meets with a coach, who acts as the referee crew in the clip. The student mentor conducts a mock post-game assessment conversation with the "crew". There are expectations that the CMI(s) get discussed, the the entire crew is engaged, et c.

The focus for assessments for these new mentors is new-ish referees. Expectation is that you watch all or most of a half, provide just a couple of "things gone right, things gone wrong" and fill out a short google form. You can do that at the local park, or at a tournament. Lists of "first three years" referees are posted where the mentors can see it, and all have enough access to GO to be able to see if there are any newish refs on particular games.

Annual recertification requirement is that the mentor teach at least one in person/zoom new referee or recertification course, conduct/assist in at least one field exercise (we do them at tournaments. Proctoring a fitness test counts, too), and conduct at least one of the "mini-D&G" assessments as listed above.

 

Sounds like you guys are doing a fantastic job. That's along the lines of what we _started_ to do here. Unfortunately, we fell kinda short on the rest as people tuned out with the pandemic.

I'm going to take this to one of the other instructors and float some of the ideas to him to see if we might be able to make something similar to this fly moving forward.

 

I believe you must be a Grassroots Referee for 3 years before being eligible to upgrade. At least the US Soccer Federation Regional Upgrade doc for Fall 2020 says that. Note that’s not the same as being assessed to upgrade.