Maddie Hommey began officiating youth soccer games while in high school.
Her experiences gave her a different perspective on what officials go through trying to do their jobs. When she played collegiately on the Longwood women's soccer team, Hommey was able to give her teammates some advice whenever they became upset with a call made by the officials.
"I wish the abuse part of what referees go through was different," said Hommey, who competed at Longwood from 2017 to 2021. "I didn't want my team to be one of the teams that gave the officials a hard time. Whether we agree or not, they are trying to make the right call."
Hommey, a member of the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, enjoyed officiating from the start and has set a goal of becoming a college official in the future. She thinks it is a way for her to remain involved in the sport.
NCAA national office staff, campus and conference administrators recognize the importance of officiating to competition and the student-athlete experience. The state of officiating is at a critical level due to a declining pool affected by the advancing age of current officials and the lack of interest or incentive among younger people to enter or remain in the field.
The NCAA is dedicated to partnering with other organizations in the recruitment, retention and education/training of officials and the improvement of behavior and the game environment in college sports.
Hommey, who earned both her undergraduate degree in elementary and middle school math and a master's degree in health and physical education from Longwood, says when she started calling youth soccer games during her prep days, some of her friends tried it, as well.
While she was able to block out the negativity, she understands why some of her friends gave up officiating, in part due to the verbal volleys from the stands and the sidelines.
Hommey, who refereed some high school games in Virginia last season, considers herself a mentally tough person, but everyone can become sensitive to the criticism at times. She leans on her years of soccer knowledge when someone yells and thinks she made the wrong decision.
"I'm not perfect, and I will make mistakes," Hommey said. "But I can listen to people yell at me while their 12-year-old is playing recreation soccer because they may not know the rules. That doesn't faze me. Once the game is over, I try to reflect on what I can do to improve."
Hommey wishes some of the parents, coaches and fans could take the time to watch a game where they don't have a family member or friend playing in. She thinks if they watched from a neutral perspective, they might have a fairer evaluation about the job an official is doing.
"It's the emotional investment that leads to people giving officials a hard time," Hommey said. "That's when things get heated."
Since earning her master's degree, Hommey has taken some time to travel. She is also working some part-time jobs that include substitute teaching, doing some marketing projects for her graduate school and doing social media projects for the youth soccer club she grew up playing for in Maryland. Her former club also started a junior referee program last spring.
To help introduce teenage players to officiating, the club has them work under-8 and under-10 competitions. There are no training fees, and if they work 10 games, the junior referees are reimbursed for their equipment expenses. Over the next couple of years, the program will be evaluated to see how effective it is.
Hommey will be deciding on which direction she will go when it comes to start her full-time employment career, but whichever path she takes, she plans to leave enough time to be a soccer official.
"I'm glad I stuck with it because now I have many who have filled a mentor role for me," Hommey said. "When I was starting out, it was intimidating. Now, I've worked with some older officials, who have helped me and got my name out there. It takes time to get to this point."
