CENTERVILLE, Ind. — Kelli Drake put on her black and white striped shirt in the dressing room, looked at herself in the mirror and was “terrified.”
“I said, ‘What are you doing? How are you going to do that?’” she recalls.
Drake walked out onto the main floor of the Centerville High School gym on Wednesday, June 22, and there was her uncle, Jeff Gwin. A referee since 1987, Gwin had a smile from ear to ear as he watched Drake in the same match. And who can blame him? He was about to officiate a basketball game with his niece.
“I was excited, way more excited than she was,” Gwin said.
Not only was it the first game the family members would referee together, but it was also Drake’s refereeing debut. Seeing her uncle’s expression calmed her nerves and she “couldn’t help but smile.”
Still, she was anxious as they went over the game plan. Drake wouldn’t have much responsibility. It was a high school summer league exhibition, the perfect scenario for an umpire to get his feet wet. Gwin explained to Drake that she would shadow him and they would take turns leading.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK, let’s get this started so I’m not in over my head,” Drake said with a laugh.
The first two minutes of the game were “a blur” for Drake, admitting she had forgotten how fast the game was since she played at Northeastern just three winters ago. She made free throws and layups, and by the end, she was ready to go again.
‘The right fit’Cody Dudley goes from Seton boys assistant to Northeastern girls head coach
As excited as she was for her next match, Drake was more thankful that her first match was with her uncle. She’s going into her junior year studying elementary education at Ball State University and hasn’t been able to see Gwin nearly as often as she’d like, which made this official opportunity mean so much more.
“He’s looking at my life through pictures and videos, and we’ve just been texting back and forth,” Drake said. “To be able to have that moment — I know it sounds silly — but that hour together side by side like old times was a really special moment of family bonding.”
Gwin’s past 34 years have been filled with such moments. His father, Randy Gwin – who just turned 50th year of IHSAA umpiring—was what got him interested in becoming an umpire. They have made many games together over the past few decades. Jeff and Randy were even joined by a third generation of the Gwin family, Cameron Gwin, for a football game in August 2020.
That same family aspect is what drew Drake to the job. Gwin said everything about his first match with his granddaughter was “surreal”.
“It was a great experience,” Gwin said. “I don’t even know if there are any words to explain it. It was just a great night.”
He felt the same way when he found out Drake was thinking of trying stripes. Along with regularly coaching high school games in Wayne County, Gwin has made the state finals as well as collegiate and professional sports. Despite his experience, he welcomes new officials to approach him with questions.
“I just love the teaching aspect at this point in my career,” Gwin said. “I like to give back. I love teaching new, younger individuals who are starting out.”
Drake is no exception to Gwin’s lessons, but it all came sooner than she expected. Drake was a three-sport athlete at Northeastern and graduated in 2020. She’s a little over two years removed from high school sports, and having never seen anyone referee her age before, she assumed there were some years before it started. Gwin shut that thought down immediately.
Connected:Anna Drake leads Northeastern girls basketball into the sectional championship game
Connected:Northeastern falls in 4th straight sectional final to end surging season
“My uncle sat me down and said, ‘You’ve got to do it now while you have the knowledge and you don’t forget it in those five to 10 years when you keep pushing it,'” Drake said. “I said, ‘You know what, you’re right. I hate to admit it, but you are.’
Since that conversation, Drake has seen matches differently. She looked at it from a player’s perspective, focusing on herself and her teammates. Now, she pays attention to everything that happens on the field, which has been “a real eye-opener.” Drake said she has already learned more about the game as a referee than she ever did as a player.
From the outside, it looks different. Drake is a college-age woman who referees boys’ basketball games. She knows people don’t see that very often, and she plans to use what she’s learned and what she needs to learn to influence the next generation of judges.
“I hope I can impress those little girls who maybe haven’t seen a woman in a striped shirt just to say, ‘Oh, I might want to do that when I grow up,'” Drake said. “I wanted to not only to graduate and leave it behind, but to be a part of it and give back to the schools that helped me experience the love of high school sports. I’m so excited to be able to give back and hopefully create some other memories along the way.”
Drake has a handful of high school basketball games lined up for the upcoming winter season and hopes to make some volleyball games next year. It’s still a few months away, but she’s ready.
“I want to stay in school as long as I can,” Drake said, “but now that this new ride is open, I just want to keep doing more.”
Zach Piatt reports on sports and education for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.