PREPS State's only female wrestling referee enjoys her work

Once she was told women couldn't officiate, Karen Conklin decided she would.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LIBERTY -- It's been 10 years since Karen Conklin started her side job as an official at wrestling matches.
In that time, she's received many things: a greater respect for the sport and its participants, the ability to teach her children it's never too late to set goals, the chance to travel and meet new people.
It even got her a husband.
In 1994, the Liberty woman was watching her sons, Zachary and Adam, wrestle for Ursuline High.
"Like so many other parents, I had never read the rule book," Conklin said.
"But I was very unhappy with one referee's call."
While venting her frustrations, she mentioned that the sport needed some female officials.
"I was immediately told a woman couldn't do the job," Conklin said.
As executive director of the Girl Scouts Lake to River Council, Conklin spends her days teaching girls and young women they can do whatever they want if they are willing to work for those goals. It's the same life lesson she worked to teach her children.
After being told she "couldn't," she decided then and there that she would actively prove that she indeed could.
Chance meeting
By that summer, she had sent in her paperwork and started attending meetings to learn about the sport and how to become an official. Her first meeting was at Hubbard High School, and she arrived right after work, still dressed in a suit and high heels.
"A gentleman walked in, looked at me and said, 'Excuse me. I think you might be in the wrong place,' " Conklin said.
She now laughs at that memory. The man was Gary Offerdahl, who's been officiating wrestling matches throughout the state for 25 years and serves as the secretary for the Steel Valley Wrestling Officials Association.
He's now also married to Conklin.
"It's great, because now I have somebody to wrestle with," Conklin joked.
The two became friends through their wrestling association, Conklin said, and Offerdahl taught her much about the sport and how to be a good official.
Today, they still watch each other officiate, and discuss matches and calls. With seven children, including five boys, between them, they've also become great wrestling spectators.
Desire to learn
Despite never having participated in the sport, Conklin was determined to learn all she could. Instead of simply studying the rule book to learn the legal and illegal maneuvers, she also challenged herself to learn the physical aspects of the sport.
"It was the hardest thing I'd tackled in many years," Conklin said. "I made a commitment to work out with a team so I could learn the moves, learn the pressure points, learn what the body could handle."
It's given her a greater respect for the wrestlers and the coaches, Conklin said.
She added that she understands now the incredible mental aspect of the sport, with the strategy involved.
And she admires the coaches who dedicate themselves to teaching boys and young men the finer aspects of wrestling, such as self-respect and sportsmanship.
"It really is an equality sport," Conklin said. "You don't have to be 6 feet tall and weigh 300 pounds to be good at it.
"And it teaches you that you can't blame anyone else for the outcome," Conklin said. "You can't say, 'he dropped the pass' or 'someone else missed that shot.' You have to take full responsibility for those six minutes you are on that mat."
Not easy
But Conklin admits it hasn't always been an easy adventure. She's the only active female wrestling official in the state, but there were times she considered throwing in the towel.
"In that first year, there were coaches yelling at me, screaming at me," Conklin said. "But some of the other officials told me to hang in there, to just stick it out."
She's glad she did, she says, because she's seen other females become more actively involved in the sport -- as wrestlers. In her 10 years as an official, she's seen more and more girls get involved, rather than just sit on the sidelines.
"I've seen such an amazing growth of girls in wrestling," Conklin said. "I just love it."
Aside from learning about the sport, and how to be a better fan of wrestling, Conklin also taught herself some new forms of discipline. She never lets herself agonize over a bad judgment call for more than 24 hours, and she's taught herself to have a better appreciation for those who "do" instead of simply "watch."
"I will never again complain about any official of any other sport ever again," Conklin laughed.
slshaulis@vindy.com