Happy 2008! 

As we get ready to kick off the 2008 seasons, I want to remind all of our referees, assignors, assessors and instructors about making sure all goal posts are anchored at the pitch.

Please welcome George Vergara as our new State Referee Administrator.  George comes to the position with unequaled credentials as a former member of the US Soccer FIFA panel.  George’s energy and total focus on developing our referees will continue the results oriented programs that Scott Meyer and others before him have established. 

Secondly, we should all congratulate Cassie Ferrari who was the State and Regional two-time Young Female Referee of the Year.  This year, Cassie was selected as the National Young Female Referee of the Year for 2007.  Cassie is working hard as a student at UVA and continues her refereeing advancement.  She is always ready to help any referee especially when asked about Bodo’s Bagels. 

The 2008 year will provide a number of opportunities for referee development.  The State Referee Committee has selected the Chesterfield Soccer Tournament ( Richmond ) in March, the Nike Friendlies ( Richmond ) Labor Day weekend, and the Showcase Tournament in Williamsburg in November as three youth tournaments we want to provide a focused referee academy for different referee levels throughout the year.  Additionally, the Amateur Association President has asked the SRC to support a developmental academy at the Neptune Classic ( Virginia Beach ) in August.  We are working with assignors to support their tournaments with the right mix and still provide a developmental environment.  Please pay attention to the mass emails that come from the State Office as the tournaments draw near.  They will provide information about the academies. 

One of the best programs that the SRC has created was the ODP Friendlies and State Cup Finals weekends, each year.  The State Youth Referee Administrator worked with the VYSA to make these important player development competitions equally important for referee development.  We use these tournaments to place our younger referees into more competitive matches than they would normally see.  We also provide assessment and instruction.  The results?  Note the paragraph about Cassie.  She and most of our recent young male and female referees of the year came through this program.  This program, along with the academies and a soon to be launched mentor program are all designed with referee development in mind.  The investment financially and with assessors and instructors time and energy has been improved referees at every level. 

This year, the Metro DC-Virginia State Referee program welcomed four new National Referees:  Jeff Davis, Robert Velbis, Mike Andrews and Meredith “Moo” Hackett.  Moo is MDCVASRP’s first woman National Referee.  She was also named WUSA Referee of the Year.  Congratulations to all. 

We continue to work the technical and process issues associated with registration.  This is the most important item that must be made in a timely manner.  We have seen disconnects in our own internal processes and with the National Office at US Soccer.  We appreciate all the patience you have shown and the constructive comments we have received. 

The VYSA Workshop was fantastic.  For those of you who have never been, please mark your calendar for 2009.  It is the first weekend of February each year.  The SRC continues to look at ways to leverage the workshop with professional development sessions beneficial for all referees.  We typically have our National and FIFA referees present, as well as a US Soccer guest speaker.  This year’s guest speaker was Greg Barkey.  Greg is a member of the US Soccer FIFA panel and was a member of the team that was selected to referee at the FIFA World Cup in in 2006.  Greg’s experiences, pictures and sense of humor were a treat. 

All of these programs cost money.  We have been proud of the fact that even though costs have increased over the past five years, we have been able to execute the Referee Development Program without having to raise registration fees.  We will likely raise registration fees for the 2009 registration year.  We are also looking at ways to get everyone to complete re-certification and registration before the end of the year, so we may look at an early bird, regular and late registration fee.  We will be discussing this in the next few months.

State Cup competition starts early this year.  This competition is the road to a State Championship and possible Regional and National championship.  We have to be at our best.  If you are selected to referee a State Cup match, you should be honored.  Additionally, you should be prepared.  We cannot have any discrepancies in a match that are linked back to referee error.  Please make sure you are physically and mentally prepared and know the rules of the competition without question. 

Finally, the State Youth Referee Administrator is stepping down after eight years.  He leaves a legacy of accomplishments and programs that show the passion for soccer that he has.  The State Cup and ODP Friendlies development opportunities were a result of his leadership and hard work.  These programs are now a mainstay of our referee development program.  Please join the entire SRC and wishing Alan Liotta the best. 

Happy Refereeing as we start 2008.  As always, thank you for all you do to continue to make soccer the beautiful game in Metro DC and Virginia. 

Pat