The Woman Behind the Whistle

BY LAUREN FILIPPINI (ALPHA CHI, BUTLER UNIVERSITY), MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

At a recent Arkansas high school wrestling tournament, dozens of athletes squared off across the mats. Standing in front of them in her officiating uniform with her whistle poised to make the call was collegiate sister Hadley Snyder (Delta Rho, University of Arkansas).

Following her own high school wrestling career, Hadley has been officiating at the high school level for the past several years, improving her skills and being invited to work some of the most prestigious competitions in the state.

“I knew senior year of high school that I would be officiating in the future, simply because I wasn’t going to wrestle in college –not because of burnout or lack of passion for the sport. I just wanted a sorority [experience]. I wanted the Arkansas experience,” she says. “I knew I could get the best of both worlds of being involved with the sport if I also officiated.” grade, she realized she wanted to give the sport a try (in addition to cheerleading). She joined the team her first year of high school and struggled to build her skills and confidence. But she pushed through the challenges, fell in love with wrestling and ultimately earned third place in the state of Texas her senior year.

Wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country for girls and women, and just this year, the NCAA added women’s wrestling as its 91st championship sport.

Hadley loves the discipline of the sport, the way it requires athletes to “grind day in, day out, on and off the mat,” especially when it came to integrating health, fitness and nutrition in her life. She also points out that while it’s essential to have good partners to practice with, “at the end of the day, when you step on the mat, it’s just you out there, and all you can rely on is yourself.”

After moving to Arkansas for college, Hadley signed up to officiate wrestling for both boys and girls high school competitions. She says that even though there was a learning curve (just like with competing in the sport), she knew “almost immediately” it was something she wanted to do. So she dove into the rulebooks and shadowed officials at tournaments to understand calls and improve her confidence.

Hadley is one of just a few women officials in the state. “A lot of our officials are older men because [women’s wrestling] hasn’t been around for a long time,” Hadley explains. “So I’m down on the mat in a different capacity. Wearing an official’s uniform, I have tons of young women that I know like being officiated by a female. It’s more representation in the sport.”

While some coaches are initially surprised to see her as the official, whether it’s because she’s a woman or because she’s young, Hadley has received many compliments and is proud to represent women in this role. And Hadley is always glad to interact with the girls who are competing, as well as the students at the scoring table to encourage them to try the sport.

From the start, Hadley knew she wanted to join a sorority, but she says she had no idea the impact that Alpha Chi Omega would have. She explains, “It’s funny because I look back and I don’t think I realized how serious who I preffed was, that preffing Alpha Chi Omega would change the trajectory of my life. It’s changed my friendships. It’s changed where I live … and it’s giving me so much room for growth and leadership. … It’s been all for the best.”

Hadley served as vice president chapter relations and standards last year and now this year as chapter president. As a former athlete, she knows the importance of teamwork and says her leadership roles in the chapter have taken that to a new level. “When you’re managing 500 women and a 15-person board, you learn about different personality dynamics and how to work through conflict,” she says. “Random problems arise all the time, and they might not directly impact me, but it’s my problem. [As chapter president, I’ve learned to] be a problem-solver and try to find solutions.”

One of the things Hadley loves about women’s wrestling is watching athletes grow in their confidence and feel empowered, and she sees the same thing happen for her chapter’s leaders over the course of their terms, explaining “They don’t see the confidence in themselves yet, but I see them.”

Hadley is proud of the way her Delta Rho sisters are uniquely themselves, which she views as a key part of being real, strong women. “We don’t try to train ourselves to fit a certain narrative, to fit a stereotype, to fit what the world wants us to be. We stay true to ourselves day in and day out,” she says. And the same is true for Hadley herself.

“I think Alpha Chi almost knew I was a real, strong woman before I knew I was a real, strong woman. Now I look back and think, ‘Yeah, that was so me, especially with wrestling,’” Hadley adds. “I’ve always been known to be independent, driven, a ‘big aspirations’ type of gal. … I think that’s always been my life.”