2 Questions: 1) Is anyone else having trouble receiving stuff in a timely manner from Official Sports in the past 2 years? Previously, I would get stuff within 3 days via regular mail. Now, the norm is 10-14 days. When I didn't get my order after almost 3 weeks, they resent it to me as the original shipment finally showed up after a month. Using the tracking number they provide, it always gets stuck in a distribution center in Indiana. Official Sports only response to this is "We have no control once it leaves our facility" when I call and don't seem to care. 2) Does anyone here use shorts other than OSI? The shorts they have, I have to cut the drawcord and tie it since I enjoy a tight fit as I do with my Adidas and Under Armour when playing sports. The problem with the OSI ones are is they are not meant for this purpose as it feels like I'm wearing dental floss around my waist when I do this (no, I don't have a gut or beer belly) as the material they are using gets all stretched-out. For club league games I'd love to wear "something else" and would have to suck it up for higher level games with OSI shorts so that I don't stand out.
A couple of years ago they messed up my order--I think I ordered a pro jersey and they sent the economy version, or something similar. So I had to spend a couple bucks worth of postage to send back what had been sent by mistake. I have a couple of pairs of plain black shorts that I occasionally use (mostly during HS season when I'm doing games on lots of consecutive days). Non-refs aren't going to notice or care about the logos on your shorts. I had two pairs of OSI shorts (one economy, one pro), and the pro ones eventually split apart in the crotch so I can't wear them anymore. Now that I order almost everything else from Amazon and get it in two days, the old ways of doing online shopping stick out like a sore thumb.
I haven't had the same experience of getting wrong stuff. It's simply that it sits in the Indiana distribution center forever (when you pull up the tracking number) and if you need a replacement jersey, you will get it in weeks instead of days.
I ordered the sock sleeves back in last November/December, don't remember exactly. They showed up in less than a week. That is the only order I've had with them recently. On another note, Capelli stuff also shows up in less than a week despite their standard message that it may take up to 4 weeks ( I think because they customize a lot of stuff).
I don’t purchase from official sports because they are complicit in the soccer referee equipment scam, making low quality garbage and charging exorbitant prices. Regarding shorts, unfortunately it seems impossible to find the Pro style of shorts (solid black, two front pockets and two rear pockets with Velcro flap) outside of referee companies. I currently have a pair of OSI “international” shorts that are an older style that has no logos at all on it. When/if these get really faded I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and buy some OSI scam shorts. There used to be another company that sold these type of shorts that even had the coin pouch, but I think Covid killed them off
That's good to know. I saw this week a WHOLE bunch of people mocking them on Facebook for not getting their orders at all or for it to take weeks. It would be safe to say that they get the uniforms for their Academy teams immediately (same owner).
They are claiming that they would like to make minor changes on things, but that they have to go through the USSF in order to do so because of a contractual agreement. I have no idea if that's true or just an excuse.
It’s all a scam. Everything they say is a lie. The entire referee apparel business is a scam. I do give them credit for making those sock sleeves though, because that will take a ton of business from their garbage quality, ridiculously expensive sock scam. I can’t believe they actually made those. In sure they will discontinue them very soon when they realize how much business they lose by people not having to buy a new $15 pair of socks every year
That's not my experience with Capelli. I had to order some things to officiate with the local pro indoor soccer team and it took almost the entire season to get here. I ordered the stuff in November and didn't get them until February. Plus I find Capelli to be more expensive than Official Sports.
Nope. I have friends who’s kids never got their proper uniforms and orders but were constantly sent things they didn’t order.
I ordered a shirt last month and got it in three days. Arrived via US Mail which fortunately worked this time but unfortunately is the problem with lots of mail order stuff right now. Ordered something from a non soccer clothing company shipping from Ohio - order got lost in NC USPS distribution center (no reason it should have passed through there) finally arrived 5 weeks late. Made two orders from another retailer. One arrived in 3 days, the other, 10. All from same distribution center. Orders were a day apart.
It’s not a scam. They have a contract with US Soccer as the official uniform supplier for the referee program. Any changes to designs would require approval from US Soccer. The simple fact is that Nike and Adidas and others had the opportunity to compete for the contract and chose not to bc ultimately the market for referee uniforms is limited - especially when US Soccer is wise enough not to change designs every two years like the big manufacturers would like. And after watching the mess Capelli has made of the team uniform market, I’m happy they don’t have the primary contract. The people who run OSI are good people committed to US Soccer and who will do their best to fix things that they can fix. Unfortunately the USPS is beyond their control.
Speaking of uniforms . . . we've gone the longest I recall without a change in the uniform. I'm hoping we just keep on keeping on with what we have (and that any eventual change has fewer colors . . . ) anyone have any clue when to expect a new design to come out?
It's been 8 years and the longest gap since I've been doing this. Whenever we've had redesigns in the past, the first I've heard about the early rumors were here on these boards and haven't heard anything since. I've almost always had all 5 colors in short and long sleeve but I am one of the VERY few nowdays who does, so I would be okay doing away with one of the colors. In the past, it was "understood" you had to have all 5 colors after you were sure this is something you wanted to do after your rookie year or if you were being promoted to higher level matches. I love black, but guys who started officiating in the past decade won't buy it for some reason. I wore it only once so far this year and believe it looks sharp where folks now prefer green for some reason. I bought a new yellow this year since it was starting to fade and discolor after time, sun and washings effected them. The good thing about the redesigns is that it "forced" to people to get rid of their grungy older referee jerseys. It's a touchy topic, but folks are too cheap to throw something old and faded out and spend $50 to replace something they bought almost a decade ago.
Thank you for the feedback so I can use as a comparison. 3 days used to be my experience as well and now it sits in a Indiana distribution for days/weeks.
Exactly. OSI isn't perfect, but I would take them 1000% over Capelli. OSI is a family mom and pop shop which has it's pros and cons over a large corporation. However, the people in charge of OSI are good people who mean well and genuinely care about the referee community. Is their gear perfect? No. Also, if you decide to take refereeing serious and plan on doing it this for more than one year and try to move up the ranks you 90-95% of all the money you will ever give to OSI will be in those first two-three years. You get all 5 uniforms in both sleeve lengths. Some socks, a pair or two of shorts, whistles, cards, and flags along with a polo, warm-up shirt and maybe a warm-up jacket with track pants. Most of that stuff should last you for the next 5 to 10 years. The only items you will have to replace are the socks, and shorts due to wear and tear and fading from too many games. After that you probably you probably will be, at most, placing an order every other year to replace socks or an occasional lost referee jersey. I bought all 5 shirts in both sleeve lengths 8 years ago along with the shorts and socks. Since then, I maybe have place a grand total of three orders with OSI and that was to get some fresh socks, shorts, and a polo. Nothing else.
I'm also surprised there hasn't been a redesign yet. I think the previous uniforms became official in the 2008 badge year. I know the green made it's debut in the 2007 MLS Cup Final. So they lasted until the 2015 badge year when the current design became official in 2016 badge year (along with the new US Soccer logo/badge). So, this current iteration of uniforms will be 10 years old in 2026. With a new regime in the referee program I can maybe see a new uniform come out for the 2027 badge year as Keri and Co. settle into the program.
I've read this comment here previously over the years, and it may or may not be true since there's no specifics what they've done for our community. Have they given an occasional grant to younger refs? If so, great. For whatever it's worth, the founder of Capelli has done nothing specifically for referees that I'm aware of (that's not their target audience compared to OSI) but am aware he's given numerous players a chance to play for free who can't afford it. Growing up in a lower middle class household I can relate, as I'd be laughed at by my folks (or gotten a slap to the face), if I told them I needed 5 figures to join a team. It's disappointing to read here and elsewhere that an established company such Capelli hasn't been able to figure how to get out simple shipments, but applaud that the founder has done his part for folks in a country that is "pay to play". As far as people here being sympathetic that OSI has no control of USPS? First, there are other ways to get stuff out. It's their job to figure it out, not mine. Second, if I ever told someone in my first job, "Sorry sir that you didn't get your much needed 401(k) check, we have no control of the mail", I would have been fired on the spot. We didn't blame others on our inability to be able to deliver something much needed. A coincidence, but I officiated with someone this morning who was wearing Capelli shorts with his OSI jersey. He allowed me to touch the material and it certainly feels much smoother than the one from OSI which is much more abrasive. He loves them and says they're more comfortable and would never go back. He was doing the same thing as I am now with the OSI short which was to cut the drawcord and tie it around his waist, which gives you the feeling you tied dental floss around your waist. It's not my problem if they're handcuffed by their contractual agreement with the USSF. They cost the same as the OSI ones and if I do purchase them, I promise to report here if the shipment took weeks.
The uniform decision is not up to the Referee Department. It is a decision of the National Board of Directors. In fact, yellow first came in as a proposed alternate to black (instead of orange, which some of us reserved for games on October 31). When the NBOD saw the yellow, they decided that yellow should be the primary color instead, which led to the multiplication of the colors. My experience has been that blue and black are, in the real world, duplicates of each other. If you can't wear black because of a team wearing a dark color, you can't wear the blue either.
I get that it's not decision of the referee department, but I have a hard time believing the referee department doesn't have some say/influence. If they want a change, they will try and push for it. Especially, now that Keri Seitz is in charge. If she wants to make a change/update, I think they would listen to her to some extent. I'm not saying they would go with her, but at the end of the day the referee administration should have some influence. What the hell would the players representative on the Board of Directors care about what uniforms the referees wear? Also, I, for the life of me, do not understand why black is essentially the 5th color and no one wears it? Save me the "too many teams wear blue and that's why you can't wear black." Black and blue (at least normal blue) are not conflicts. See the Premier league wear EPL refs wear black on Chelsea games all the time. Drives me nuts when I go to games and one of my crew doesn't have black. It's by far the sharpest and best looking color. We seem to be the only country in the world that wears black the least. In every other country it's number or number two.
I might be dense today and not following well because of the hot weather, but I've never had someone pass me the ball when black was more in favor early in my career because they thought I was a teammate and they wore a "dark" color. Not a single time. The one time my whole crew wore it so far this year, one of the coaches actually said "Wow, you guys look really sharp!", as if we just bought them. Instead, folks now prefer green where we look like Kermit the Frog and I hate it. Makes no sense to me, outside of minimizing potential color conflicts with teams. In the early years, if my recollection was right, we were told (at the bare minimum), buy yellow and black if it's your first year and if you want a third jersey, take blue or perhaps red. One of the guys still alive who started when OSI was in its infancy claims there was only black back then. A lot of the "veteran" guys have it, but don't want to wear it because they claim they can't see it as well during night games. It might be a tad harder to see than yellow, but if you can't pick out your crew mates at night with black jerseys, it might be time for stronger prescription contact lenses.
I refuse to buy black because it's so hot for eight months of the year that I'd never want to wear it.
The yellow and red were (poor) rip-offs of the 1998 Adidas WC jerseys. And Adidas made yellow the "primary" at that tournament (the color names were actually "Sun" and "Ruby" to add a bit of trivia). If this story is true, then the members of the NBOD in 1999 were idiots. The far more likely story is they were just following what had happened leading into and at the previous World Cup, when Adidas realized it could monetize what had first been (mostly) a move of necessity/comfort for 1994.
I'm sure OSI is run by good people, a hell of a lot better than Nike and Adidas sweatshop conglomerates with the BS they pull. But I won't ever stop thinking that the soccer referee apparel industry in a scam, no matter how nice the company is. It has nothing to do with being cheap, it's about the principle. You say "it's just $50, you're cheap if you won't spend that to replace your stuff". If it was just a single uniform like the black and white stripes, just your pair of shorts, like every other sport, yes of course, no problem replacing it after years of use, that's expected. When it's soccer and you have 4, 5, up to 10 different USSF uniforms, potentially 15, 20 or more when you include other conferences and associations, USSF, NISOA, needing Capelli's colors or Capelli vs OSI specific branded uniform to work specific things, $50 a piece for those when there's a new design, or you get fading and need to replace, needing to get a new pair of $15 socks every year when a similarly priced 6-8 pack of calf-length regular black crew socks should be fine, that's the principle that I'm talking about. And the last few posts talking about how the design is almost a decade old and the speculations you're making about them changing it, despite there being literally no reason at all whatsoever to change this design (the fluorescent colors stand out very well and look professional, the design is clean, the cut is good, this is the best uniform design they've had) other than "it's been a decade since they changed it so they could change it again just because" and will probably excuse another upcoming $250, $500 or more financial investment by referees with "well it's JUST 1-2 tournaments worth of wages" or "it's JUST 1-2 college games of wages" is the exact problem I'm talking about. Because,it's been ingrained in soccer refereeing that the referee needs to wear a bright color to stand out, and so even though black is the most professional looking, and other sports have teams wearing the same jersey colors as soccer teams do but the refs are fine in BLACK and white stripes, soccer referees just HAVE to have the rainbow of shirts, black is no good.