Star strikers aren’t the only ones on the field getting a leg up from soccer in the college admissions game. Several teenage DC Stoddert referees say the experience generated interest, acceptance letters—and even scholarships.

For Patrick Green, being a soccer referee not only came up during his college search senior year. It provided fodder for his Common Application. “Remember that incident in June of 2008 that resulted in a disciplinary hearing and then action against two parents?” Green, a ballet dancer, wrote DC Stoddert Soccer’s referee assignor, Walt Anderson. “Well, that incident got me a college essay.” His topic: the “ethical dilemma” of whether or not to report the incident. Green, now a freshman majoring in dance performance at Butler University in Indianapolis, applied to seven colleges. Each offered him academic and dance scholarships—and one, he notes, “specifically mentioned the essay in my acceptance letter.”

The fact that she had been “reffing for a while did come up as a topic of interest” at several interviews, reports Rutgers University freshman Naomi Washington Roque, who says years of wearing the yellow jersey “has significantly contributed to both my academic and personal lives.” Naomi, a top graduate of Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, also attracted offers from coaches for her prowess as a goalkeeper—a position she anchored on the DC Stoddert Fusion travel team from its inception until it disbanded last spring of 2009 after eight years.

Ben Blount was accepted to the University of Pittsburgh as a physics major for fall 2009, but planned to switch into electrical engineering. He says being a soccer referee for several years has had a major impact on many aspects of his life, including college admissions. "It taught me decision-making and management skills, how to deal with management conflict, and how to interact with people of all ages," he explains. "All of these life skills provided me with experiences that aren’t afforded most young men my age.  Thus, because of D.C. Stoddert Soccer, I was able to provide work experience coupled with leadership skills on my college applications. This fact helped to set me apart from other college applicants. "

Most referees don’t have college in mind when they join the ranks. Ben Wollam, a freshman at the University of Texas-Austin, started reffing when he was 12 and continued through all four years of high school. He played soccer, too, until deciding in middle school that he “wasn’t that good,” and donned the yellow jersey full time. “I love refereeing,” the Wilson High School graduate said last spring, after doing center duty for a U13 game at Roosevelt’s gorgeous new turf field. Not only does it pay well—young referees make $14 to $42 a game, depending on the age group. “You understand the game better as a referee,” contends Wollam, who mentioned the experience in college applications and in interviews. Among his takeaways: no matter how seasoned you are as a referee, folks on the sidelines always think they can call it better, particularly off-sides. “Coaches and players always expect you to call stuff that didn’t happen, like a foul,” says Wollam. He admits that sometimes he has felt like yelling back, but Stoddert Soccer’s young referees are too professional to give in to such temptation.

Ben Wollam, Wilson HS class of 2009, after reffing a U13 game @ Roosevelt HS last spring.

Photo by Mary Lord for DC Stoddert Soccer

posted by MCL 11/17/09