NPSL expansion

It likely varies by area but as I understand NPSL is not as competitive despite being the same tier of the pyramid.

 

Any recent NPSL/PDL matchups in USOC for comparisons?
(Note: I know there are some upsets in these cup competitions.)

PH

 

I've never seen teams outside my region, but I've never seen an NPSL game that wouldn't count for a 6 maintenance. When Grade 5 existed, a solid majority would count for a 5 upgrade or maintenance. I'd say roughly half would count as a rate able match for a NC or 4. YMMV depending on location and teams of course. Night games are much more likely to count simply due to heat and fitness compared to day games.

But it is certainly overall great to hear NPSL, PDL, USL Pro and NASL are all increasing in size and providing more referee opportunities.

I think the next 12 months are going to be extremely difficult on LACs to get games assigned with appropriately experienced referees. With Rick Eddy slashing the program by almost 2/3s, I'd guess almost 80% of those aren't going to register as a 6 and are just going to quit. The program at the state and regional level is likely also going to suffer if most of those also choose not to be involved as instructors, assessors, and mentors out of their bitterness of getting 'unfairly' (in their opinion) kicked out after more than meeting the assessment requirements. Also true for the hundreds of lifetime 5s that got dropped to 6 and quit. Hopefully most of them still stick around to give back in those areas, but LACs are going to be shit out of luck this summer and you're going to see a lot of green 6s and 7s in way over their head even as ARs on these types of games.

@Pierre Head @MassachusettsRef thoughts?

 

Quite probably some truth in all of this, but perhaps not quite as dire as you say.
What is clear is that the National Referee Program as it has been for the past decades is dead.
@Law5 may have a better insight.

PH

 

Agree with everything.

Agree with PH that things aren't going to be that dire, but the overall theme of your point is correct...at least the way I see it.

Of the referees that were dropped from 4 to either 5 or 6, I think you will have the following breakdown:
25% will token register as a 6, referee minimally, and quit at the end of 2016
50% will register as a 6, but will put out minimal effort to seek out games and prepare for games, and will not travel out of their area
25% will eat the humble pie and give the process another go.

I also strongly believe that my theoretical breakdown is based on an individual referee's age, experiences, and how jaded they are to the system in place. A mid-30s referee, who has been to all the Youth and Adult championship events, checked all the boxes, and yet got bumped down from 4 to 6 might referee 3-5 PDL/NPSL games in his/her city and will likely let any assignment outside of their metro area be auto-declined after 7 days or whatever. Conversely, a 25-year old with those experiences (or a 40-year old who started refereeing late) might be willing to travel for some of those games or some USL games. Neither of those types of referees will seek out games from other LACs or seek out assessments.

Most simply, referees that want to still referee a bit will only do so in situations where it means they will actually make money on a game. They want to simply be paid for what they are worth. Don't ever confuse that with "refereeing just for the money". USSF asks referees to lose money and attend events, camps, travel to games for low pay, etc. People will do that as long as there is some sort of hope for advancement. The USSF Referee Program is funded by Referee Aspirations.

 

I think there's some truth to what Lucky Wilbury says. At one time, you checked the boxes, you were in and you got the badge, except for white badges, of course. But one of the things that is constant is change. Some of that change has been in the referee world. More of that change has been in the soccer player world. E.g. at one time, PDL was semi-pro, but that was before USL Pro, (the latest version of) NASL, etc. Leagues at that 'above amateur, sort of' level have come and gone, fueled in the beginning by ambitions, hopes and dreams of playing above the local level. Those ambitions have usually crashed on the economic realities of travel costs and team owners not having much capital beyond the league entry fee.

The referee world has tried to keep up, not always successfully, especially when the playing structure changed but the referee grade requirements didn't. This occasionally resulted in some ad hoc decisions such as the DA U-14 showcase/tournament last year where it was announced that National Assessors would be present and the games could be used for upgrade/grade maintenance for grade 4. You shake your head at hearing stuff like that, knowing that a O-40 men's game won't be considered for those purposes, even though the referee will have far more opportunities to show their game management skill in the latter than in the former.

To some extent, we are still in a transition phase, as PRO officials move to full time employees, indirectly, of MLS. We're not there yet but that's the way the league is going. I still look at Major League Baseball as the model of where soccer officiating is going. You've got the guys who do MLB games. There are, maybe, two new guys on the roster each year. Sometimes none. They make really good money, over $100,000 a year, some over $200,000, for a job that doesn't require anything beyond a high school diploma. Underneath them, there are a bunch of young guys that want those jobs, of course. They went to umpire school (read "National Camp" in soccer terms) and did well enough that they got hired to do Single A short season, at starvation wages, for a year. Some moved up, to Single A, some were released. Almost all of the umpires in the minor leagues will be released after some period of time. "You had a great season this year. We're releasing you, though, because we have to make room for the guys coming along behind you. You understand, right?" Any of this sound familiar to soccer referees these days? It should.

Those guys who got released frequently become NCAA baseball umpires and maybe do high school, there not being much adult amateur play in baseball. I'm sure the news that they are never going to be doing the Red Sox and the Yankees doesn't come any easier for them than it does for soccer referees who learn they won't be doing the Timbers and the Sounders. We have not only college but also a significant amount of adult play, depending on where you live, so someone who doesn't make it to the top level in soccer can still have a nice career as a referee. It really comes down to the motivation of the referee, why they referee in the first place. I have about three dozen State Referees. I would say that at least two thirds of them have no plans/ambitions/expectations of ever moving up. We (and I say 'we' because I put myself in that category) enjoy doing the games that we do at the top local amateur levels. I hope that those who want to advance but who can't will change their attitudes and ambitions to join us.

 

I drifted away from it in the previous post, but the fundamental change has been that check off the boxes and you get upgraded above grade 6 is no longer the case. Is NPSL comparable to PDL? Doesn't matter anymore, at least in terms of whether you can upgrade or not by doing this game but not that game. One guy makes the decision about whether you become a grade 5 or a grade 4. The policy actually makes it clear that someone could, at least theoretically, go from grade 6 straight to grade 4. The ability to walk on water might be a prerequisite but it is possible, which was not true before. The perception is that tournaments where you will be seen by National Assessors who are not from your state are the proving grounds and you need to do very well when you are assessed there. That perception might even be true.

 

Correction...Two guys.

And (before you correct me) no, that is not the way it's portrayed, but it is, however, the real-life application of how it worked.