It all started at the age of 14 while playing soccer for a league in Cupertino. Doing it for money was the way it all began but he never thought this would be his passion and career years later. Having a great mentor such as John Davis helped Brian Hall realize that a referee career was full of excitement, traveling and success. At the age of 19 and being part of a professional league as an assistant referee Brian found the way to become one of the top 10 referees in the world, according to the 2004 World Soccer Magazine.

After 34 years of refereeing, Hall retired as an active referee this March. He had spent 12 years as a referee for Major League Soccer and 15 years as a Federation of International Football Association, or FIFA referee.  Hall now hangs up his soccer cleats and thanks to his experience as referee, high level of knowledge and the ability to teach, he has become the new US Soccer Federation manager of assessment and training. Hall will be traveling around the country to watch MLS referees’ performance and to keep coaching them to become better at the game. And his wise words and advice can give a chance to somebody to assist a World Cup as Hall did in the Korea-Japan game of 2002.

This job is not only traveling around different states but also watching soccer on TV.

“The first week I spent eight hours watching MLS games on TV,” Hall said. He will be evaluating referees and assistant referees, working with on areas that need improvement.

But this new opportunity meant he had to move and leave the place where he had been living for more than seven years. Hall is a native Californian who grew up in the Santa Clara County. The windy, cold and snowy city of Chicago is the new destination for this coach, referee,  friend, and for many of his soccer players a father figure.

 “Thanks Brian for all your time and passion on and off the field,” Alfonso Montagalvan said. Montagalvan is a former Gilroy High student and one of the most recent players who Hall guided to achieve a scholarship to play soccer for the University of Santa Barbara.  Hall coached at Gilroy while refereeing on the professional level.   “Brian not only taught me to stay focused in soccer, but also in the way I play my life off the field, school and how to become someone in life,” Montagalvan said.

Hall has touched many hearts and changed many people's lives throughout his career. He will also be doing this in his new job. Hall was the head coach for Gilroy High for seven years.  He structured a strong system of playing there and won many titles, the most recent 2006-07 CCS Division 1 Section Championship. Hall is not planning on coaching any high school or college team but instead will be working on coaching his fellow referees on a professional level.

“Now, I am going to be able to give back to the referee community because it gave me so much to me,” Hall said.
 He is happy with his new job title, because he will be able to pass on his knowledge to a new generation of soccer referees.  And since the next World Cup is just two years away, he plans on working even harder to have the best referees representing the USA.

Getting acclimated to the cold and windy city is not the biggest challenge for Hall, but leaving his loved ones is going to be tough.  In particular, he says he will miss his mom and sister who live in Cupertino, the generous community, the kids and players that he has helped, and all of his friends. He will be living in downtown Chicago but will be visiting and working around the area.  He will be back in Gilroy area to help the new referees who want to follow the same path he started in 1975.

Even though Hall has hung up his cleats, he will always be ready to step on the field and do what he loves and enjoys the most-- referee. To Brian Hall, thank you for all the advice and setting an example of hard work.  You have proven that with passion and love people can accomplish everything they plan in their lives.