Long-time pro referee discusses the state of American soccer
Brian Hall knows soccer. In fact, he arguably knows more about
it than anyone in the country.
Not only has he refereed World Cup games but he was named the
best referee in Major League Soccer two of the last three
years.
Long-time pro referee discusses the state of American soccer
Brian Hall knows soccer. In fact, he arguably knows more about it than anyone in the country.
Not only has he refereed World Cup games but he was named the best referee in Major League Soccer two of the last three years.
He’s also coached three different youth club teams to a state championship and he played quite a bit growing up. Hall is also the current head varsity coach at Gilroy High.
After the United States made its early exit at this year’s World Cup games, we decided to talk with the Gilroy resident and discuss the state of soccer in America.
We wondered why a country with the best facilities, most money and a huge talent pool to tap into has yet to become a major powerhouse and serious contender at the international level. We decided that there was no better person to talk to about these issues than Hall.
At 45, Hall’s refereeing career is winding down. Although he can still ref Major League Soccer games, he has reached the age cutoff point for international refereeing and is in his final season as an international FIFA referee – a position he has had since 1992.
Four years will go by quickly. Do you think we have what it takes to win the next World Cup?
It’s probably not going to happen until sometime after 2014. I think we still need one more cycle of youth development. It’s going to take some more time but we have made a lot of progress.
Speaking of youth development, it seems that youth soccer is thriving in America, what is your take on that?
It is but the other major sports have a stranglehold on youth sports that needs to be overcome. We have baseball and American football. This country is rich in tradition in these sports. Baseball, basketball and football were founded in this country. They were all invented here. They are entrenched in America’s sports culture. Soccer still needs more time to build. But the tide is turning. Look at the TV ratings for this World Cup. They did better than golf and NHL hockey. This World Cup had the biggest TV audience watching in the U.S. ever, which shows that things are slowly coming around.
Obviously, everything must start at the bottom levels and work its way up. In other words, the youth system needs to be in place before the next piece of the puzzle can come together. How well do you think we are teaching our younger players and making sure they are drawn to the game at an early age?
At the youth level huge strides are being made. Now for the first time ever we have former top level pro and college players that are now coaching our youth. Just 15 years ago you could not find that. The coaches were all soccer moms and pops teaching our kids. God love them. They were out there volunteering and giving their time to give us the opportunity to kick the ball around, but they didn’t know a lot about the game back then.
And now that the youth of today are being taught better at the lower levels, I assume more are going on to compete at the college level?
Yes, but college is a necessary evil in the U.S. Our college kids don’t play soccer year-round like their peers in other countries. They have many other commitments. And even if they do play year-round, they only play with their peers. The rest of the world’s pro teams have a minor league system in place. And all of the teams in that system practice together. Let’s say I’m a 16-year old kid in the Barcelona (Spain) club system – the top club system in the world. I go to school and get and education, but everyday of my life I’m in a professional soccer environment. My locker is right down the hall from Ronaldinho, for example, the two-time world Player of the Year, who plays for Brazil. He is in the Barcelona system too.
Now I’m in a position to emulate and learn from him everyday because I see him and can watch him everyday. Our baseball teams here have a minor league system but each club’s farm teams are in different cities. One team may play in Portland, Oregon and another team may be in Oklahoma. In soccer, these countries house all of their teams, regardless of skill level, in the same facility. So the younger players are constantly learning from the best players.
To get to the next level (World Cup champion) we need to transition the college game so that we can have a minor league system in place that is like the one in Europe.
So how do we change that?
We need to be in a soccer environment 24/7. Other outside influences take the focus away from being the best. College is a necessary evil. Major League Soccer over here does not have the money to put this youth development system together. So college is the only mechanism right now to develop our players, but it’s not a 24/7 professional environment.
Look at Alfonso (Motagalvan, a Gilroy High graduate in 2004). He’s at UCSB right now playing. The best scenario for him would have been if he had signed a contract (like they do in Europe) at 14 or 15 with Chivas USA (MLS team based in Los Angeles) to enter into their youth system. He’d be in the system five, six or seven years, but everyday he’d be training with the pros and the coaches that train the other top players in the U.S. But that isn’t how it works here. It’s not set up that way.
Alfonso (former Central Coast Section Player of the Year) had the ability and talent to go that route but it’s not an option here. Instead, he’s in school and getting a nice education at UCSB – a place that has to follow NCAA rules and regulations, where practicing with a team is not allowed 24/7. And if he does play year-round, he becomes ineligible.
Given the U.S. population, money and infrastructure, shouldn’t we be the top powerhouse in the world?
We do have the best infrastructure. Most all of the Olympians from other countries come here to train. We have great weather, some of the best training facilities in the world and the best medical experts. If all of that were to come together, we should be able to compete on the same level as the soccer powers, like Germany, Brazil, Italy and Spain.
If you were appointed by the President and your sole job description was to developing the U.S. program to the point that it won a World Cup ASAP what would you do first?
If money is not an option, the first thing would be to develop a minor league or farm system with the pro teams and tie it in, similar to baseball only house everyone at the same location. The second thing is that we need to start doing a better job identifying the potential top players that are out there. We need to get into the low income areas and expand the opportunities for the underprivileged. Soccer is a middle income sport and a lot of the poorer kids are getting overlooked. Let’s say I’m a kid in Harlem (New York). I like baseball, basketball, football and soccer. What do I choose, not soccer – it’s the lowest paying sport.
Do you think part of the problem is that Americans like to see explosive offenses and high-scoring games? Maybe Americans see soccer as being too boring.
Americans like scoring. They like to see the scoreboard flashing all the time. Soccer averages less than three goals a game. America needs to learn to see the beauty in a 0-0 or 1-0 game. We seem to like the big-time pitcher’s dual in baseball that ends 1-0. There is not a lot of flashing on the scoreboard in those games. I think that will all change as we begin to better understand the tactical sides of soccer.
All in all, how would you sum up the state of American soccer right now?
The tide is starting to turn. We’ve focused a lot at the pro level, now we’ve got to turn the tide and change the focus to start developing the players at the lower levels. But things are happing and more and more money and sponsorship is coming into the sport. Just recently the owner of the New York Red Bulls invested $100 million into Major League Soccer and more and more investors are interested in the sport. It will take time but I think by 2014 we could win a World Cup.
