City recreation staff told commissioners on Aug. 6 that the department has increased coach training and held player evaluations to improve program quality and consistency.

Staff said the program participated in the National Recreation and Park Association initiative that provided a free Nike online training course for coaches and reported 103 coaches completed training through that program. Staff also described a recent evaluations day intended to place players in appropriate divisions and confirm jersey sizing.

Referees and consistency
Staff acknowledged continuing inconsistencies in refereeing across divisions and said they planned a pre‑season meeting with the referee coordinator to set division‑specific expectations and reduce week‑to‑week variance.

Why it matters: coaches' training and player evaluation affect safety, development and seasonal competitiveness; referee consistency affects game experience and fairness.

Details and next steps
- Coach training: staff said all soccer coaches in relevant divisions were required to take the online course supplied through the NRPA program; the city also held in‑person skills clinics and is exploring volunteer subject‑matter experts for other sports.
- Evaluations: staff said evaluations were well attended and helped place players in appropriate divisions and confirm uniform sizes.
- Refs: staff said they will meet with referee coordinator Delvecchio Rudd to clarify how referees should officiate each division.

Quotes
- “We were selected to participate. We were given a free online training course, through Nike, and all our soccer coaches took it,” — Jaylen, recreation staff.
- “A 103,” — staff response when asked how many coaches completed the training.

Ending
Staff said they will continue to expand clinic and training offerings and to coordinate expectations with referees to improve consistency across divisions; they encouraged community volunteers to help run sport‑specific clinics.