Article by Elaine

http://thewomenofhockey.com/?p=46#more-46

Kelli “OB” (O’Brian) Rolstad – Linesman
February 10th, 2010 Author: hockeylady

What started as a way to earn gas money and get free ice time during her senior year of high school became an Olympic dream for this once “green girl from Minnesota”. By the time Kelli “OB” (O’Brian) Rolstad steps onto the Olympic ice in Vancouver she will have trained and sacrificed for 13 years to reach her goal.
Kelli started playing hockey in 10th grade. As a regular in the penalty box, Kelli told refs what she thought about their calls. One encouraged her to come to an officiating clinic that weekend by telling her it was a way “to get to learn the rules better so when the refs make a mistake you’ll be able to tell them.” She had no idea that her road to the Olympics was about to begin.
They say goons and goalies make the best officials because they know where to look and see everything on the ice.”
The Olympic seed was first planted when she applied for USA Hockey’s Women’s Regional Camp in Lake Placid, NY, in her late teens. There she met some “big time” officials who introduced her to the opportunities that were out there for travel and international games including the Olympics. Kelli bought a US Olympic Center window decal for her car to remind her why she was sacrificing some of the other things in her life to work hockey. She hasn’t looked back since. What was once a vague dream is about to become a reality on February 13th.
Other officials have played a part in mentoring Kelli on her path to the Olympics. Kelli listened to their advice and appreciated their years of experience knowing she could learn from the pointers they offered. Now one of Kelli’s “biggest rewards is helping new officials network and improve their game on and off the ice.”
If there’s one thing that Kelli wishes fans/spectators understood about being an official, it’s “that you’re human and not perfect. No matter how hard you try, you will never call a perfect game. That’s what you always strive for, but it just isn’t possible. Officials make mistakes, but you have to realize that they are seeing the game at a different angle. It’s easy to see the perfect scenario from the stands and tell them to do it, but it’s a different situation to be in that scenario, to be in that position and do it 100%.”
Recently she watched a game from the stands and heard people yelling at the refs for making a call, for not making a call and yelling at a coach about a line change. People don’t realize that on-ice officials have 6 or 7 different rule books for the different leagues they work in. “That’s their job, to know the rules. How many people know them as well?” Many times not only the parents, players, etc. don’t know the rules, but sometimes the coaches as well.
Although Kelli works as an on-ice official, the only hockey officials who have a salary and benefits are full-time in the NHL. Her “real job” is in the IT department of C. H. Robinson as a Business Analyst. The travel required to officiate at high levels makes it challenging to do both and her colleagues wonder why she would use all her vacation time for hockey. Making it to the Olympics may be the only answer she needs.
Kelli reveals some of the reasons why she loves officiating. “You have the best seat in the house. You’re right on top of the action. You’re able to get to the highest level without being a player. It’s the best of both worlds. It’s almost like you’re taking part in their celebration and yet you’re still impartial and not letting that affect your judgment.”
Talking to Kelli you hear her passion for hockey and admiration for the elite athletes she skates with. “I know what it takes to sacrifice to reach your goal. I know what it takes to work that hard to form a team and work as a team to reach a goal.” As with others who love the game, she finds it hard to explain what takes hold of you out on the ice. “When you see people achieving something that you know they have practiced over and over – to see them be able to do that in a game situation, there is something emotionally overtaking in that situation.”
Being part of the experience of the Olympics and getting to watch the best hockey in the world is something that Kelli is looking forward to. “Knowing that there are so many people who gave up so much to be there. It’s a lot of sacrifice for that one moment. Being among people who have done what it took to get to that point in their life and their athletic achievement.”
There are 9 linesman and 6 referees going to the Olympics from different countries. Although there are two other officials from the US, Kelli will most likely be working with officials from other countries. When she’s on the ice her objective is to make her game successful by trying to read what the other official is going to do before they do it. If she can “get in their head and figure out how they are thinking, she can not only react to what they are doing, but be proactive in a particular situation.”
If you know what they (other officials) are going to do even before they do it, it will help you immensely with your game.”
Supervisors are present at each game at the international level and give the crew (referee, 2 linesmen, a back-up official and possibly a goal judge) a written and oral evaluation after the game. “They go over what you did good, what you need to improve on, go over each penalty and rate them and the standard of play. Sometimes they have videos they go over with you.”
When asked if she’s going to be nervous, Kelli answers, “It’s just another hockey game.” This is what she tells herself so she can be calm, but “it’s the Olympics – who knows.” Admitting that she “gets excited and nervous for junior games or when I run into a situation that I haven’t seen before. And even if I know the rule like the back of my hand, it’s still kind of an adrenaline thing. I’d be afraid if I didn’t have that, I think.” She’ll soon find out.
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Women’s Ice Hockey begins in Vancouver on February 13th. You can find out Kelli’s Olympic schedule and follow her on her blog Vancouver 2010. Contact us if you have any questions for Kelli. A follow-up is planned for after the Olympics.