The NISOA Executive Council met in Philadelphia, PA from January 16-18, 2014 in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention.  During this time President Todd Abraham continued to move NISOA forward with several initiatives.  The first item discussed was a need for a formal succession plan for NISOA leadership.  He challenged each program director to provide three names of potential successors and to provide information on what those individuals’ skills are currently and what training/developmental assignments would be needed to fully prepare them for a   leadership position.

President Abraham and Executive Director Cliff McCrath provided an update on the officers’ planning meeting and the potential to streamline NISOA’s process for conducting its business.  The current methodologies are not in pace with today’s needs.  The officers and others will continue to work on this project and provide final recommendations at the annual convention in July, 2014.

Ryan Cigich, Director NCAA Post Season Assigning, and five of the NCAA regional coordinators met with the Executive Council and responded to several questions about the post season assignment system.  Everyone agreed that the assignments were made in the best interest of the game and within the NCAA guidelines.  A total of 1,284 assignments were made and only 11 non NISOA members received post season assignments.

President Abraham is committed to installing more administrative rigor into the organization.  He expects everyone in a leadership position to work toward assisting the chapters and improving the chapter’s relevance.  Included in this endeavor is the National Referee Academies.   This year there are nine academies planned and the sites will be posted on the website.   The one day sessions will be available for auditing by the local membership. Registration and details will also be available on the National Referee Program link.

In addition to the NISOA meetings, participants also attended programs sponsored by the NAIA, NJCAA, NCCAA and the NFHS.  These provided an opportunity to work jointly and strengthen NISOA’s relationships with them.

NISOA was part of the exhibit hall with a booth that was staffed throughout the exhibit hall hours by NISOA members.  Brochures were available about the National Training Camp and the scholarships available through a grant received from the NCAA and the foundation fund.  Details about the grants and camp information will be on the National Training Camp link on this site in the near future.