1. George Noujaim, Director of National Referee Program announced that the deadline for accepting new applicants has been extended to June 1, 2012 just in case someone may have missed the deadline. That also means that the $30 late fee will be waived as well. So if you know of someone that is qualified and interested in the NISOA National Referee Program, please have them complete the application process quickly and route it through their chapter and Regional Area Coordinator along with a check for $75.00 payable to NISOA.
2. The National Referee Recertification Test is now available online at the NCAA Central Hub. Login to Arbiter Sports and select NCAA Central Hub under the “Type” column. Once you are on the Central Hub Home page, select the “Testing” tab at the top of the page. The “National Referee Recertification Test” should show under Open Tests. This exam must be completed prior to your attendance at a National Academy. You have three opportunities to pass the exam with a score of 80. This exam must be completed and passed prior to your attendance at a National Academy otherwise you will have your invitation rescinded. Consider this when making travel plans!
3. Physical Fitness Test should be completed prior to your selected academy if possible. It must be given by a National Clinician, National Assessor or someone with NRP staff approval. All results will be submitted to Kenneth Kaylor, Physical Fitness Director for NISOA at KIKAYLOR@MAC.COM. The PFT requires a passing score of 3.5 overall to meet requirements.

May 5, 2012 – Southern California (Citrus College, Glendora, CA)

June 2, 2012 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Area (Gloucester County College, Sewell, NJ)

June 9, 2012 – Dallas, Texas (Richland College, Dallas, TX) **Note revised site**

June 9, 2012 – Cincinnati, Ohio (Thomas More College, Crestview, KY)

June 23, 2012 – Worcester, Massachusetts (College of the Holy Cross)

July 21, 2012 – Fredricksburg, Virginia (University of Mary Washington)

July 22, 2012 – Chicago, Illinois (St. Laurence High School, Burbank, Illinois)

July 28, 2012 – Jacksonville, Florida (St. John’s Country Day School, Orange Park, FL) **Site confirmed**

August 4, 2012 – Northern California (Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA) **Note revised date**

The sites that the NRP staff selected are based on population density of assessors, national referees, and airport accessibility.

George Noujaim, Director, NISOA National Referee Academy Program

Moving forward with our mission and vision to serve the collegiate game, the NISOA National Referee Academy certification, and recertification has taken a monumental step forward to serve our customers.  We are looking at multiple sites in the country to minimize travel, and expenses to participating referees, and instructors. The program will consist of a one day yearly program aimed at the qualified referees according to policy.  Qualified referees will earn a national “current year badge” at the conclusion of the session when all the requirements listed in the National policy are met.  I am looking forward to your participation.

Best regards,

George Noujaim, Director

NISOA National Referee Academy Program

2012 National Referee Academy Program Highlights

• One day clinics located throughout the country between June 2, 2012 and August 5, 2012 at central locations
• Clinic Fee reduced to $50
• Applicant Fee $75;
• Program Renewal Fee-$40.
• Assessments reduced to 1 as a Referee, and 1 as an AR, annually
• Online testing & registration
• PPT test prior to clinic if possible
• Deleted Candidate status
• Instruction aimed at National Referees primarily thru video clips

As part of the NISOA National Referee Program (NRP), all National Referees and National Referee Candidates are required to be assessed each year in order to maintain or receive their National Referee badges. Also, as part of the NISOA Assessment Program, all Regional and National Assessors who have assessed a National Referee or NR Candidate are instructed to send these assessments to the Referee who is being assessed, to the NISOA Director of Assessment, their Regional Area Representative, their Chapter Assessment Coordinator and to the Assessment Study Chair within 7-10 days of the assessment.

These assessments, when reviewed, can provide feedback on their capability while providing the official with areas of improvement and suggestions to improve their overall abilities.  Also, these assessments are used to assist assignors as to what level of game these referees may or may not be capable of officiating in regard to NCAA Soccer games.

As the NISOA Study Chair, I was to be sent these NRP assessments and was asked to produce a report with substantiating evidence on the status of our National Referee Program.  This year, there were 427 assessments that were sent to me for analysis.  The report submitted provided a summary of the scores that the officials received in their assessments.  In addition, it was also broken down into two areas of review, Referee Improvement and Critical Rules Applications.  Here are the general findings from these assessments.

SCORING SUMMARY

For those familiar with the format of the NRP Assessment form, besides 25 areas that they are judged on, there are also 6 areas for scoring.  Each has it’s own maximum score that should total 100 points.  They are listed below by category, total score possible and the average over all assessments.

NISOA NRP Assessment Score Summary (click for full size)

As you can see, our National Referees and NRP Candidates scored an average of 83.7 points out of a possible of 100 which is considered above average. (The lowest total scores awarded was a 61 and the highest a 98).  This would appear to say that our top officials perform well overall.

That said, looking at the 6 category averages, when you factor in that most games were ranked as generally easy (67.5%) by the assessors, we see that Foul Recognition produced the lowest score of 66.5%. This is an area of concern in that it appears that we have a difficult time recognizing fouls, according to our Assessors.

WHAT SHOULD WE WORK ON

Looking through the individual assessments, a few areas stand out where we suggest need more attention and improvement.  They are broken down into two primary areas, Referee Improvement and Critical Rules Applications.  Listed below are the points of focus in each.

Referee Improvement

1. Positioning-Keeping dynamic play between the Center and AR’s and not turning your back to the AR’s.  Also, stay out of passing lanes!

2. Addressing or dealing with foul language.  We are not dealing with it!

3. Proper clock management, knowing when and when not to stop the clock.

4. Managing the technical and bench area/coaches dissent properly.

5. Know the rules!  Confusing the NCAA rules with the USSF/FIFA laws.

Besides addressing Referee Improvement, another area of concern is centered around what we call Critical Rules Applications.  This involves officials not knowing the rules, not understanding the differences between NCAA and USSF rules, their application and the reasons for the difference.  The top four areas that need attention in this area are:

Critical Rules Applications

1.  Proper application of drop ball or IFK when foul is called in PA with or without goalkeeper in possession.

2. Correct application of substitution rules when injuries and/or blood occur with or without sanctions.

3. Post-season feedback-understand Kicks from the Mark rules, I.E. who can take kicks in OT.

4. Uniform issues – keepers not wearing proper uniforms, socks, numbers required, etc.

NISOA and the National Referee Program will be addressing these things this coming year at both the local chapter meetings as well as at the National Referee Camps.   The NISOA Assessment Program, led by Gary Huber, will be addressing this feedback with the NRP Assessors too. Look back over your own assessments and see if these ring true for you.  We trust you are working on them.  And if you haven’t been assessed in a while, maybe you should look at getting one this year.   All in all, as NISOA certified officials, we owe it to the coaches and players, as well as, to ourselves to be the best we can be and the best way to improve is thru assessment.

The new application form for the 2012 National Referee camps is now available for your use. Please read the document closely and follow the steps to ensure that your application is processed in a timely manner and you can avoid any late fees.

Step 1 – Fill out the form. The form should be completed online, saved to your PC and then printed for sending to the appropriate individuals for processing. The personal information at the top of the form and the boxes in Step 1 are to be completed by the applicant. A check for $75.00 payable to NISOA should accompany this form along with the required documentation listed in Step 1.

Step 2 – All documents are then forwarded to your local chapter president or contact for their signatures. Once they have signed off on the application and reviewed the supporting documentation they will send the packet to the Regional Area Coordinator for their signature.

Step 3 – Once all signatures are obtained, then, the Regional Area Coordinator will forward the completed packet to Tom Richardson, NRP Administrative Assistant for processing.

All applications must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2012 to avoid the late fee of $30.00.

The new application form 2012 NRP Application Form is available here within the National Referee Program tab.

Incomplete packets are subject to being returned and assessed late fees if not properly completed by the deadline of March 1, 2012.

Individuals desiring credit are responsible for paying all fees and meeting the University’s registration requirements. Special thanks to Brian Glach at UCCS, Jay Engeln at NSCAA and NISOA’s Bob Jones for making this continuing and unique partnership work for NISOA members.

Official Sports Inc. will be present at all NRP clinics for your convenience.

You may download the guide here.

Effective in 2010, all applicants must meet the requirements established for certification or recertification for the NISOA National Referee Program in each of the following criteria:

1. The NISOA Physical Fitness Test, with an overall grade of 3.5.
2. The NCAA/NISOA Soccer Rules Written Test.
3. NISOA Game Assessments by a certified National Assessor for years 2010/11.

You must attend one of the clinics referenced below, and successfully complete all of the requirements for a National Referee or Candidate:

• Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA – June 4-6.
• University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK – June 11-13.
• Emory University, Atlanta, GA – June 18-20.
• Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA – July 9-11.

National Referees and National Referee Candidates must submit their completed 2008-2009 NISOA NRP Record Book to their Regional Area Coordinator for review and forwarding to Grier Cooper, National Referee Program Administrator. Applicants should complete the process as soon as possible as space is limited at the clinic locations. Only the first 125 respondents will be assured a place in the clinic location of their choice, and there will be a $30.00 late fee for applications postmarked after April 2, 2010. For this year’s program, two assessments are required of Applicants, both as a Referee.

• June 4-6, 2010, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California.
• June 11-13, 2010, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma.
• June 18-20, 2010, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
• July 9-11, 2010, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.