When looking at some of the best alter-egos, Clark Kent and Superman, Tony Stark and Iron Man, Peter Parker and Spider-Man, and new Assistant Coach at the University of Kentucky, Adriana Contreras, who, when she is not coaching All-American-caliber swimmers, is on the soccer pitch as an official.
Contreras, who just spent her first official day in her new position in Lexington after coming over from the University of Nevada, sat down for an interview with SwimSwam to detail her experiences on both the pool deck and the soccer pitch, where she has found so much joy in both.
Growing up and training in the western part of the US, Contreras first found herself playing soccer before putting on her cap and goggles to swim, mentioning that it was her family’s love for the game that got her in shin guards first, though swimming was quick to follow.
“My dad’s a big soccer fan. So started that really young and then started summer swimming at five, I want to say, five or six. But I played soccer mostly until I was about 12. And then I did both for a few years… then heading into high school. Turns out I’m a much better swimmer than I was a soccer player.”
Though her playing days may have come to an end, that was not the end of Contreras’ time with the world’s most popular sport. Even in her younger years, Contreras recalls her little sister playing soccer and her league needing referees for the games. She didn’t mind the criticism that came with the officiating position.
“I have two younger siblings; my little sister is two years younger than I am, and she also played soccer. They would never have enough referees, so a lot of times I would get volunteered to run the sideline, and it turns out, I’m not bothered by getting yelled at… it doesn’t faze me.”
Part of the reason for taking on the responsibility so young was the ability to earn money to buy what many young kids want, a cellphone, which her parents made it clear to her, she had to do with her own money.
Photo Courtesy of Adriana Contreras
“I was nine years old, and they paid 15-16 bucks for a 40-minute game. My parents always said if you want a cell phone, you need to pay for it yourself. I wanted this really badly. I didn’t get one for several years, but you can’t ever make that kind of money as a nine-year-old… I just kind of stuck with it.”
From that moment on, Contreras rose through the ranks as she got older. By her teenage years, she had climbed the ranks, earning more and more opportunities to officiate larger events.
“As I got 16, 17, 18, like the state association started reaching out and they were like, ‘ Hey, here are these opportunities. You can move up.” Contreras said in an interview with SwimSwam. “And I was like, what do you mean, move up? When I graduated from high school, they selected me to go to an out-of-state event in Idaho. And so I went to a tournament and got noticed and got a lot of feedback. It’s a cool way to stay involved.”
Even though she was done with competing, the opportunities continued to come, and the better she did, the better the assignments got.
“I got some assignments that are merit-based. If you perform well, you get better assignments at tournaments. It was made clear to me that you don’t get those in your first year; they have to know you- it’s, you know, reputation-based, and you’re just 17; nobody knows you yet you’re just a little girl. It’s very similar to coaching; there aren’t many women associated with it… so take the year to build your name. I got some assignments that were well beyond the ‘just take the year to build your reputation,’ and so then I got to make some really good friends.”
As Contreras continued to grow into her college days, she expanded into officiating collegiate matches, which brought on even bigger and more substantial matches, including a match at the University of Nevada, where she would one day end up coaching.
“Heading into college, I was selected to start officiating college matches. So I got on that list… You work your way from running lines to being in the middle. I got a couple of line opportunities as an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old. And then my very first Division One college middle was actually at the University of Nevada.” Contreras told SwimSwam. “You kind of get added to different conferences, and it’s very reputation-based. I was really lucky to start division one middles pretty early in my career, I would say. A lot of people don’t get to do that while they’re still in college.”
After quitting officiating for a few years, Contreras was pulled back in by a few friends, one of whom is currently officiating at the World Cup, which Contreras was able to watch in Kansas City during her move to Lexington. Another major factor in her return was Nevada Head Swimming and Diving Coach Brendon Bray, who wanted Contreras to continue doing something she was passionate about.
“When I got hired at Nevada, my boss, [Bray], was really supportive. He asked, how come you don’t referee anymore? And I said I didn’t know, and I was out of shape. He was like, “Why wouldn’t you? We have to take care of ourselves.” So I got back on the field.”
From there, Contreras was set to officiate some of the biggest matches of her career in the Big Ten Conference.
Photo Courtesy of Adriana Contreras
“Pretty quickly, I got added to the conference list again. Two years ago, I was added to the Big Ten list with its West Coast expansion. There are not very many women in officiating, and there are significantly fewer that do men’s games. But I’m one of a few in the country who do Division I men’s college games. And I got that opportunity. My very first Big Ten conference game was a Division I men’s match at the University of Washington. Last year was my second year in the conference. And I was assigned to the Big Ten Women’s Conference Championship. I did a lot of like regular season matchups and then got selected for the tournament and was able to officiate the final, which was really cool.”
The chance to officiate major games and championship finals is one that Contreras does not take for granted, and she is looking forward to what more is to come.
“I’ve since expanded to a couple more conferences for Division I men, so I’m really thankful for the opportunities, and I’m just going to keep trying to perform this year. I’m also assigned to a Division I men’s game, where I believe it’s the very first Division I men’s game that will have an all-women’s officiating crew on it.”
When asked which team she is supporting in this World Cup, she laughed and said she would be rooting for the referees, noting that she understands how difficult the job is.
Before Nevada, Contreras spent time coaching at the college level as a volunteer assistant coach at UC Davis (2021-2022), as an assistant coach at the University of the Pacific (2018-2019), and as director of operations (2017-2018).
Contreras also mentioned that a major factor in the current move from Nevada to Kentucky is the rest of the coaching staff, and that they are all “philosophically aligned”.
“The nice thing is we’re all philosophically aligned. We’re looking for quality swimming and really intentional work. And I think that that makes those moves easier, right? You’re not going from one philosophy to another if there’s a need for a group switch or something like that. We are all one staff sharing the same vision. I think that’s definitely a bonus and why I’m like, yeah, put me wherever. I’ll go wherever you need me.” Contreras added. “We are planning to be here for a while. So we are really excited about growing a home here at Lexington.”
What an amazing interview. This gal is so talented and insightful – Congratulations to her and Kentucky on what could be a great combination. Thankful SwimSwam offers unique articles like this also.