This area of our site is related to USSF material, clinics, and information.

Everything related to your USSF Re-Certification will be handled on-line this year.

In order to be eligible to officiate, assess, assign or instruct youth players or referees in Ohio North, any person over the age of 18 must submit an application to the OYSAN Risk Management Program.
Risk Management Instructions:

• Go to www.oysan.org
• Click on “Programs”, then “Risk Management”.
• Click on “Risk Management Disclosure Form”.
• Enter information
• At Drop down window find OYSAN Referee
• At Credit Card information at Code type in 70855

It takes about a week for you to get an email that you are approved.
Print the approval letter for your records. You MUST bring a copy to the clinic.

You received a letter from U.S. Soccer with your Login ID and Password. If you cannot find this information I suggest that you e-mail or contact U.S. Soccer Federation (www.ussoccer.com) with your name and referee ID number.

Online Registration Instructions:

• Go to www.ussoccer.info
• In the Login ID field, type your Login ID
• In the Password field, enter your Password
• In the left panel, click on “Referee”. Your Registration History will appear
• In the left panel again, click the “Click here to Register” tab. That tab will take you to the 2008 Registration page.
• At the top of the page is your biographical information. Review it. If there are any changes, click on the link below the box. A new pop-up window will appear and you can edit and save your changes, you many return to this screen at anytime during the year to update your contact information using the same procedure described above.
• Scroll down to the next part on the form and select the appropriate Referee Type/Category you are registering for. You will see a checkmark in the boxes that you are eligible for. Do not submit an application for a category you are not eligible for. If you are eligible for multiple categories, you can submit and pay for them all at once. Continue onto the rest of the form answering all questions where appropriate.
• When you are done, Read the Terms and Conditions. Check “I agree to Terms and Conditions” and click “Continue”.
• At the bottom of the page, enter a credit card number and billing address information. Once you have the correct information in these fields, click on the continue button to process payment.
  Once your credit card is approved you will see a confirmation page. Print it for your records. You MUST bring a copy of this confirmation to the clinic/meeting you choose to attend/take your test, as proof of payment.
• You are finished. Once you have met all the criteria for your State, they will approve your application and your registration material will be mailed to you.

Note: If you cannot apply online, you may download a paper registration form from www.ussoccer.com, fill it out and bring that with you to recertification clinic. You are not considered registered until you have met all the criteria specified by your state.

When you attend the Re-Certification clinic or the meeting at which you will take your re-certification test, YOU MUST BRING A COPY OF PAYMENT AND A COPY OF RISK MANAGEMENT APPROVAL. You will not get a badge until these are complete.

If, for some reason, you cannot have the above done prior to the clinic/meeting then you may attend the clinic/meeting and take the test. After you do receive the needed documents, forward via e-mail the acknowledgments to me Thom Sutcliffe at chute@aol.com, or if you do not have e-mail, mail a copy of these two documents with a self-addressed and stamped envelope to:

Thom Sutcliffe
9 Nesbitt St.
Poland, OH 44514

Your badge will be mailed to you.

2009 USSF Registration Procedure New (Novice) Soccer Officials

In order to officiate youth players, or be in contact with youth referees in Ohio North, ANY PERSON OVER THE AGE OF 18 MUST submit an application to the OYSAN Risk Management Program.

To do so follow these instructions:

• On the Internet, go to www.oysan.org
• Click on “Programs”, then “Risk Management”.
• Click on “Risk Management Disclosure Form”.
• Enter the requested information.
• At drop down window, scroll down to and choose “OYSAN Referee”.
• At Credit Card information at Code, enter in 70855.

It takes approximately one week to receive the email with your approval. Therefore, apply to the Risk Management process BEFORE attending the new (novice) clinic of your choice.

When you receive the email with the approval letter, print the letter for your records. YOU MUST BRING A COPY TO THE CLINIC.

When you attend the New Referee (Novice) Clinic, YOU MUST BRING A COPY OF RISK MANAGEMENT APPROVAL. You will not get a badge until this is complete.

If, for some reason, you cannot have the above done prior to the clinic then you may attend the clinic and take the test. After you do receive the needed documents, forward via e-mail the acknowledgments to me Thom Sutcliffe at chute@aol.com, or if you do not have e-mail, mail a copy of these two documents with a self-addressed and stamped envelope to:

Thom Sutcliffe
9 Nesbitt St.
Poland, OH 44514

Your badge will be mailed to you.

Hello Fellow Refs!

Some quick information regarding recertifying for 2009:

(1) ON LINE REGISTRATION - If you are a Grade 8 hoping to upgrade to a 7 in 2009, do NOT register on line yet! All others feel free to start your registration on-line. Go to the www.mvsoa.org website, go to the USSF page and read on! You will be going to the www.ussoccer.info web site to register.

(2) RISK MANAGEMENT - If you are registering and are over 18, you must bring proof of your Risk Management being current at the TIME YOU ARE REGISTERED BY THE DRA (when you get your badge at the test site). Risk Management is good for 12 months, so it cannot be expired when you take the test. Have this proof with you or your badge cannot be issued, and you cannot be registered unit current proof is provided. Once again go to our www.mvsoa.org website, go to the USSF page and read on. You will be going to the OYSAN.org web site to complete your Risk Management.

(3) UPGRADE CLINIC - If you are a grade 8 hoping to upgrade to a 7 in 2009, there will be an Intermediate/upgrade Clinic being held by Bill Nest on January 24th and 25th at the Poland Township Building (times to be announced). You will need these hours to be able to upgrade this year. There are other issues you need to tend to as well and I am glad to help! Go to the the Ohio North Referee web site (OHNRefs.org) to get more information, as well as referring to the Administrative Handbook. You will need to take the physical as well noted in (4) below. Please e-mail Tony Kolonich (akolonich@neo.rr.com) if you plan to attend this upgrade clinic.

(4) PHYSICAL - If you are a current Grade 7, or a grade 8 hoping to upgrade to a 7, you are REQUIRED to pass the physical annually. We are giving this physical on Sunday, November 23rd at 10am at the Poland High School Track, located on the corner of Dobbins Road and Rt. 170 in Poland. No one will be upgraded to, or registered as, a grade 7 without passing the physical. If you have already passed it somewhere else, please bring proof with you when you take the written test.

There are three parts to the test, given in this order with a reasonable rest period between each:

• ENDURANCE - you will run for 12 minutes, and after the 12 minutes are done, you must have run a MINIMUM distance of 2200 meters (under 38 years old), 2000 meters (38 to 45) or 1800 meters (over 45).
• SPEED 50 METERS - you will need to finish a 50 meter dash in 9.0 seconds (under 46) or 9.5 seconds (over 45).
• SPEED 200 METERS - you will need to finish a 200 meter dash in 40 seconds (all ages).

(5) RECERTIFYING - The website will be updated soon with dates for all clinics, including recerts. You can take the recert test during any MVSOA meeting, which are held the first Monday of every month at 7pm through June! You MUST have 5 hours of in-service training to register. We will not register you without it. Attending 3 of our meetings gets you these hours (along with a LOT of additional instructions and interaction with fellow referees), or attending one of the recertification classes gets you them.

Questions Regarding Upgrade Clinic

Hello Fellow Refs,

I have received a number of questions about the upgrade clinic. I will answer them below, along with some updates:

(1) The clinic date has changed to January 17th/18th. It will NOT change from this date. Times to be announced, but leave both days open. PLEASE E-MAIL Tony Kolonich (akolonich@neo.rr.com) if you are planning on attending!!!

(2) The Upgrade/Maintenance physical test is still Sunday, November 23rd at 10am at Poland Seminary High School Stadium.

(3) You do not have to wait until after the upgrade clinic to take a physical, now is fine. You do not have to take the physical now, you can hope to find another one in the Spring. You can take it and fail it, and retake it in the Spring somewhere else too. We are NOT offering another local test at this time.

(4) What are the guidelines for becoming a grade 7? They are defined in the Referee Administrative Handbook (available on line if you don't have one, just google it) or on the Ohio North Referee Website (www.ohnrefs.org), but to save you the time:

• (a) You must be 17 years old.
• (b) You must have documented 100 USSF games (at any age), 75 as the Center Referee and 25 as an Assistant Referee. Please bring a record of these games with you when you register.
• (c) You must have been a grade 8 for at least 12 months.
• (d) You must attend 5 hours of USSF Intermediate Level Training (not our normal meetings or recert clinics). The Intermediate/Upgrade clinic being held January 17th/18th qualifies.
• (e) Pass the USSF Referee exam with an 85% (grade 8 requires a 75%).
• (f) Pass one evaluation (assessment) as Center Referee in a USSF affiliated Under-17 or higher level game employing the Diagonal System of Control. Contact Terry Campbell (sda@ohnrefs.org), our SDA (State Director of Assessments) to help arrange this. You can get the assessment after the physical and the clinic hours.
• (g) You must pass the physical exam (times and distances noted on previous e-mail)

The other recert, bridge and novice clinics are being finalized this week and should be on the website shortly. If you have further questions, just e-mail me at chute@aol.com. Thank you for your time!

Respectfully,

Thom Sutcliffe
DRA Youngstown

Feel free to contact Thom Sutcliffe (chute@aol.com) regarding registration or upgrades, or Tony Kolonich (akolonich@neo.rr.com) regarding instruction and clinics.

2009 MVSOA Referee Clinics and Fee Schedule
(NOTE: 2008 registration is closed for this year.)

New Referee (Grade 9) Clinic
An entry-level clinic for ALL NEW Referees regardless of their prior experience. Can be used for re-certification ONLY by existing USSF Recreational Referees (Grade 9) who have been a referee for less than 3 years.

None currently scheduled.

Referee Bridge Clinic
Designed for EXISTING Recreational Referees (Grade 9) who want to upgrade to USSF Referee (Grade 8.) May also be used for re-certification by EXISTING USSF Recreational Referees (Grade 9) or USSF Referees (Grade 8) who have been a referee for less than 3 years.

None currently scheduled.

Referee Re-Certification Clinic
Designed for existing USSF certified referee (Grade 9 or 8), who need to meet the annual training requirements to renew their license for 2008.

None currently scheduled.

* Anyone (New, Upgrade, or Re-Cert) over the age of 18, must also bring proof of OYSAN Risk Management submission.

More details are available on the MVSOA web page, www.MVSOA.org. If you are planning to attend, please contact Tony Kolonich at akolonich@neo.rr.com . MVSOA reserves the right to cancel any clinic if less than 10 people sign up to attend. Fees, US Soccer on-line registration, and OYSAA Risk Management are needed at the beginning of the clinic.

Recertification and Clinic Fee Schedule
The following fees correspond to the above courses and referee recertification.
Check can be made payable to MVSOA.

**** RE-CERTIFICATION - PLEASE NOTE: *****

1. Officials with any number of years of experience may attend a Re-certification clinic to fulfill their in-service training requirement. However, officials are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to attend monthly in-service training meetings where presentations cover more topics and discussions get deeper into the presentations than possible at one-time re-certification clinics. A list of monthly meetings can be found on this web site on the USSF page, at the bottom of the page (click on USSF link on the home page).

2. Officials with 3 years or more experience CANNOT attend a Novice (entry level) or Bridge Course clinic to be eligible for re-certification.

3. Officials with less than 3 years of experience CAN attend a Grade 8 Novice (entry level) or Bridge Course clinic to be eligible for re-certification. ONLY Grade 9 Recreational Referees with less than 3 years experience CAN attend a Grade 9 Novice (entry level) clinic to be eligible for re-certification.

More details are available on the MVSOA web page, www.MVSOA.org. If you are planning to attend, please contact Tony Kolonich at akolonich@neo.rr.com.

MVSOA reserves the right to cancel any clinic if less than 10 people sign up to attend. Fees need to be paid at the beginning of the clinic.

Mahoning Valley Area USSF Registered Referee Assignors

The following are registered Referee Assignors with the United States Soccer Federation. Please contact the following persons to see if they are responsible for assigning referees to a local soccer league:

Thom Sutcliffe, Poland
330-716-8480 (cell)
330-757-0593 (home)

John Yosay, Boardman
330-758-2881 (home)

John Breedlove, Girard
330-530-0405

Karen Hallock, Niles
330-766-1505

Scott MacMillan, Niles
330-544-5206

Robert Stan, Niles
330-544-5322

Phil Atsas, Austintown & Campbell
330-755-3763
330-507-6091 (cell)

Paul Fennema, Salem
330-332-0860

Fawzi Mujahed, Youngstown
330-793-3306