The soccer referee patrols more than an acre and a half of the field for 90-plus minutes. The six to seven miles of a ref’s running include plenty of sprinting to keep up with the actions of world-class athletes amid the decision-making and disciplining.

Tom Beckvermit is Director of Sports Performance for PRO (Professional Referee Organization), which provides officials for MLS, NWSL, USL Super League, USL Championship, USL League One and MLS Next Pro).

Beckvermit, who joined PRO in 2018, had served as strength and conditioning coach at UNC Charlotte and the University of North Carolina. While growing up in Upstate New York, he played soccer, ran track and was his Highland High School football team’s kicker. He played college soccer at the University of Buffalo when it still competed in NCAA Division I.

SOCCER AMERICA: Soccer was your main sport growing up. How’d you end up being the football kicker?

TOM BECKVERMIT: The older players ahead of me started kind of a tradition — whoever took the goal kicks would also be the football team’s kicker. It became my turn and I ended up having a lot of fun with it.

SA: What was your longest field goal?

TOM BECKVERMIT: Like 43 yards. In overtime of one of our first games. It was easy for me. Just swing your foot. The kickoffs were fun too. In high school, the kickoff line was not that far from the end zone. So you could bang it into the end zone or you could have fun with it — put it up in the air, or coach would say it’s time for a squib kick and you’d do something crazy. It was just a fun time.

SA: And as a soccer player the fitness training at football practice was probably easy …

TOM BECKVERMIT: I practiced a minimal amount, but there would always be running at the end. And yeah, I would just smash everybody. Everyone’s dying and I’m just laughing. 

SA: And you ran track?

TOM BECKVERMIT: I was playing travel soccer at a decently high level. I would qualify for states in track in my events. Then when it would be time to go to states, I’d be like, sorry guys, I have soccer practice. 

SA: At the University of Buffalo you studied physical therapy …

TOM BECKVERMIT: I was kind of on the PT track at Buffalo. Most of the people that I studied with ended up being physical therapists, but I took the strength conditioning coach route. The road less traveled from that program.

SA: What inspired that?

TOM BECKVERMIT: I tore my ACL when I was an incoming freshman. Probably from kicking too many footballs. 

My physical therapists were great and they really helped me out. But the person who really got me back to playing to the point where I was stronger, faster and better than before I tore my ACL was my strength and conditioning coach. 

SA: How did you end up at PRO?

TOM BECKVERMIT: I was coaching soccer and other athletes, but mainly soccer at the college level as a strength and conditioning coach. The sports psychologist at one of the teams that I was coaching with was working with PRO. He had identified that they had a job opening that I might be interested in.