The&nbsp;Lightning&nbsp;League&nbsp;is&nbsp;pleased&nbsp;to&nbsp;announce&nbsp;the&nbsp;appointment&nbsp;of&nbsp;Austin&nbsp;Cozzi&nbsp;as&nbsp;Director&nbsp;of&nbsp;Referee&nbsp;Development.Cozzi&nbsp;brings&nbsp;extensive&nbsp;officiating&nbsp;experience&nbsp;across&nbsp;the&nbsp;professional,&nbsp;collegiate,&nbsp;and&nbsp;elite&nbsp;youth&nbsp;levels&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;game.&nbsp;As&nbsp;a&nbsp;USSF&nbsp;National&nbsp;Referee,&nbsp;he&nbsp;has&nbsp;officiated&nbsp;matches&nbsp;in&nbsp;both&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlsnextpro.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MLS&nbsp;NEXT&nbsp;Pro</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.uslchampionship.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">USL&nbsp;Championship</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;currently&nbsp;ranks&nbsp;among&nbsp;the&nbsp;top&nbsp;0.3%&nbsp;of&nbsp;referees&nbsp;nationally.His&nbsp;background&nbsp;also&nbsp;includes&nbsp;collegiate&nbsp;officiating&nbsp;through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nisoa.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NISOA</a>,&nbsp;where&nbsp;he&nbsp;has&nbsp;worked&nbsp;matches&nbsp;through&nbsp;the&nbsp;NCAA&nbsp;Division&nbsp;I&nbsp;men’s&nbsp;level&nbsp;and&nbsp;gained&nbsp;experience&nbsp;with&nbsp;video&nbsp;review&nbsp;and&nbsp;NCAA-specific&nbsp;competition&nbsp;rules.&nbsp;He&nbsp;additionally&nbsp;serves&nbsp;as&nbsp;a&nbsp;referee&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maslsoccer.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Major&nbsp;Arena&nbsp;Soccer&nbsp;League</a>,&nbsp;bringing&nbsp;experience&nbsp;from&nbsp;the&nbsp;highest&nbsp;level&nbsp;of&nbsp;professional&nbsp;indoor&nbsp;soccer&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;United&nbsp;States.Throughout&nbsp;his&nbsp;career,&nbsp;Cozzi&nbsp;has&nbsp;developed&nbsp;significant&nbsp;experience&nbsp;in&nbsp;match&nbsp;control,&nbsp;application&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Laws&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Game,&nbsp;and&nbsp;player&nbsp;management.&nbsp;That&nbsp;experience&nbsp;will&nbsp;be&nbsp;central&nbsp;to&nbsp;his&nbsp;work&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;Lightning&nbsp;League&nbsp;as&nbsp;he&nbsp;supports&nbsp;the&nbsp;development&nbsp;of&nbsp;emerging&nbsp;referees,&nbsp;provides&nbsp;technical&nbsp;guidance,&nbsp;and&nbsp;works&nbsp;with&nbsp;coaches&nbsp;and&nbsp;officials&nbsp;through&nbsp;difficult&nbsp;or&nbsp;contentious&nbsp;situations.His&nbsp;significant&nbsp;assignments&nbsp;include&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://usclubsoccer.org/npl/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NPL&nbsp;</a>U19&nbsp;Boys&nbsp;National&nbsp;Final,&nbsp;<a href="https://theecnl.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ECNL</a>&nbsp;U19&nbsp;Boys&nbsp;National&nbsp;Final,&nbsp;National&nbsp;Cup&nbsp;U19&nbsp;Boys&nbsp;and&nbsp;Girls&nbsp;Finals,&nbsp;USYS&nbsp;National&nbsp;League&nbsp;U17&nbsp;Boys&nbsp;Final,&nbsp;UPSL&nbsp;Regional&nbsp;Final,&nbsp;Generation&nbsp;adidas&nbsp;semifinal,&nbsp;MLS&nbsp;NEXT&nbsp;Pro&nbsp;center-referee&nbsp;assignments,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;NCAA&nbsp;First&nbsp;Round&nbsp;match&nbsp;between&nbsp;UCLA&nbsp;and&nbsp;Grand&nbsp;Canyon&nbsp;University.Cozzi&nbsp;was&nbsp;named&nbsp;the&nbsp;2025&nbsp;<a href="https://calsouth.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cal&nbsp;South</a>&nbsp;Male&nbsp;Referee&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Year&nbsp;and&nbsp;2025&nbsp;SD-ISOA&nbsp;Referee&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Year.&nbsp;He&nbsp;is&nbsp;also&nbsp;a&nbsp;graduate&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ucsd.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">UC&nbsp;San&nbsp;Diego</a>,&nbsp;where&nbsp;he&nbsp;earned&nbsp;a&nbsp;Bachelor&nbsp;of&nbsp;Arts&nbsp;in&nbsp;Psychology.As&nbsp;Director&nbsp;of&nbsp;Referee&nbsp;Development,&nbsp;Cozzi&nbsp;will&nbsp;lead&nbsp;the&nbsp;League’s&nbsp;referee&nbsp;education&nbsp;and&nbsp;development&nbsp;efforts,&nbsp;help&nbsp;expand&nbsp;the&nbsp;pool&nbsp;of&nbsp;qualified&nbsp;officials,&nbsp;improve&nbsp;referee&nbsp;feedback&nbsp;and&nbsp;reporting&nbsp;processes,&nbsp;and&nbsp;assist&nbsp;in&nbsp;establishing&nbsp;clearer&nbsp;and&nbsp;more&nbsp;consistent&nbsp;officiating&nbsp;procedures&nbsp;across&nbsp;Lightning&nbsp;League&nbsp;competitions.&nbsp;He&nbsp;will&nbsp;also&nbsp;serve&nbsp;as&nbsp;Chair&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Lightning&nbsp;League&nbsp;Referee&nbsp;Committee.The&nbsp;appointment&nbsp;represents&nbsp;an&nbsp;important&nbsp;step&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;continued&nbsp;development&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Lightning&nbsp;League’s&nbsp;competition&nbsp;structure.&nbsp;As&nbsp;the&nbsp;League&nbsp;grows,&nbsp;maintaining&nbsp;a&nbsp;strong,&nbsp;well-supported&nbsp;and&nbsp;consistently&nbsp;developed&nbsp;referee&nbsp;pool&nbsp;will&nbsp;be&nbsp;essential&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;quality&nbsp;of&nbsp;competition.Please&nbsp;join&nbsp;us&nbsp;in&nbsp;welcoming&nbsp;Austin&nbsp;Cozzi&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;Lightning&nbsp;League.

The Lightning League has appointed Austin Cozzi as Director of Referee Development, bringing professional, collegiate, and elite youth officiating experience to the League. A USSF National Referee who has worked matches in MLS NEXT Pro and the USL Championship, Cozzi will lead referee development, education, and officiating standards as the League continues to grow.

THE LIGHTNING LEAGUE APPOINTS AUSTIN COZZI AS DIRECTOR OF REFEREE DEVELOPMENT

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