Katja Koroleva hasn’t had as much time for soccer this year as she usually does, and with very good reason.
One of North American refereeing’s rising stars, Koroleva is usually calling a packed slate of NWSL, USL and international matches, plus holding MLS VAR assignments, when summer rolls around. In 2020, however – thanks in large part to the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic – she’s remained immersed in her full-time job as a physician assistant at Regional Medical Center in San Jose, Calif., about five miles east of Earthquakes Stadium.
“I try to adjust it to the referee schedule during [soccer] season, so I usually work significantly less during the season,” Koroleva explained to MLSsoccer.com in a recent phone conversation. “So now I've been picking up more shifts, because unfortunately there are no sports.”
A FIFA badge holder, the Russian-born, Iowa-raised 33-year-old has climbed the referee ranks at an impressive pace while building her medical career. She was also one of three Americans to officiate at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Her work on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak, along with other hospital emergencies, has earned her feature coverage in the Los Angeles Times and other outlets, putting the relative importance of the beautiful game firmly into context.
Still, as vital as her life-saving work is for those under her care, she’s eager to get back on the field. Those hopes are boosted by MLS and NWSL announcing plans for summertime tournaments, but she feels a return to fans in stadiums remains uncertain.
“The difficulties we face in this US are unlike any other country, because of the sheer geographical regions and the vast amount of [COVID] hot spots that we have, so it's difficult to navigate,” she noted. “In addition, the challenges we're facing have never been dealt with before, so there is no road map to get to the finished product, which is soccer matches with stadiums as we had months ago.”
Katja Koroleva issues a yellow card | Concacaf
Analysis of MLS’s return to play has largely centered around the challenge of throttling players back up to full fitness and sharpness in a tight time window. Though refs will inevitably have work to do to regain their own version of midseason form – a process PRO is fostering via various online technologies – Koroleva points out that they’re well-accustomed to working out solo and honing their craft remotely.
“On our day-to-day basis, we train individually at our home locations. So we don't have to incorporate, or have the need of, teammates to pass the ball,” she said. “We can also maintain our physical fitness on our own, which ... has allowed us to have the freedom to even improve our fitness. Because the timeframe of travel has diminished completely, there's no matches to be reviewed.”
Typically working consecutive batches of 10-hour shifts interspersed with banks of rest days, Koroleva’s hospital work has some knock-on effects for her usual refereeing prep, but perhaps in a more limited way than you might expect.
“While I'm on shift, I try to have a good balance of prioritizing my own health,” she said. “That includes nine to 10 hours of sleep, a healthy diet, trying to get some mental health with touching base with my family and friends, as well as training to keep my sanity before I really enter the work environment.
“During my time at the hospital I do prioritize sleep. And if I am lacking sleep, I will diminish my [fitness] training, because sleep will help continue building my own immunity to prevent me possibly contracting COVID-19. And I know that I can make up for the extra fitness time in my days off.”
Every day without matches is precious time lost for refs, just as happens for players. Koroleva aspires to referee MLS matches and is prepared to scale back or pause her caregiving career in her pursuit of that dream.
“We as referees are just like any athletes,” she said. “We train on the field, off the field, we evaluate our game. So we have a timeframe for when we have this limited capability to reach our peak and to perform. And I would certainly want to take an advantage of any opportunity given in the professional ranks, while medicine is always there for me.”
As California and many other parts of the world struggle to cope with COVID’s stubborn staying power, Koroleva urges the public to listen to public health officials' recommendations and remain vigilant.
“We have an individual responsibility to help stop the spread, especially while we await the development of a vaccine,” she said. “I’d just like to remind everyone that while many of us are asymptomatic, it's important to adhere to social distancing guidelines to protect the population that is at risk, the vulnerable population who oftentimes, when faced with a virus, are fighting for their life.
“I maintain my optimism,” added Koroleva. “I think if we unite together and maintain a respect for COVID-19, we can diminish the mortality rate.”
