{"322421":{"#nid":"322421","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Alumni Spotlight: Corey Rockwell, IE 1998, Flagging Down His Soccer Dreams","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECorey Rockwell\u003C\/strong\u003E, IE 1998, attended this summer\u2019s World Cup as a spectator\u2014and that suited him just fine. Though he would have loved to officiate games at soccer\u2019s biggest event, after 10 years working for Major League Soccer in the United States, he thought going as a fan would be far less stressful. Then he got to Brazil.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile Rockwell describes his World Cup experience as the trip of a lifetime, he also couldn\u2019t have anticipated some of the situations he found himself in. On the day of the USA-Germany match, for instance, heavy flooding had washed out all the roads leading to the stadium, and taxis refused to drive them. To make it to the match, Rockwell and his friends had to take two trains and a bus, then they had to walk in a downpour for about two hours.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYes, he\u2019s that passionate about soccer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGrowing up, Rockwell played soccer constantly and followed its professional ranks as closely as he could living in the U.S. As a Tech freshman in 1992, he joined the Institute\u2019s club soccer team. But soon, Rockwell realized he \u201cneeded to start paying for college\u201d and also focus more on his engineering coursework.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s when he turned to refereeing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile still in college, Rockwell began officiating at the collegiate level, eventually working his way up to refereeing ACC tournaments. By the time he earned his degree in 1998, Rockwell had officiated the NCAA men\u2019s soccer Sweet 16 and began to see refereeing as more than a source of income.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was a way to still participate in soccer, and a way to do it more fully than I ever imagined,\u201d Rockwell says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEventually, Rockwell began looking around for more officiating opportunities. As he neared the completion of his degree, Rockwell started transitioning from the college circuit to the USA Soccer FIFA system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe switch was far from glamorous: traveling long hours to referee small tournaments in neighboring states, often for very little pay. And the work was year-round, while college soccer is structured in a less-demanding, three-month system. Even so, Rockwell loved the experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, he landed a full-time job as an industrial engineer with the Clorox Company in Atlanta. The opportunities opening up in his career might have offered some incentive to focus on engineering alone, but Rockwell continued to chase his passion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt wasn\u2019t until 2004\u2014six years after graduating Tech\u2014that Rockwell caught what he calls his \u201cbig break.\u201d He was working a soccer tournament in Minnesota when someone within the professional refereeing system approached him with some good news.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was told I had a chance to do Major League Soccer,\u201d Rockwell says. \u201cThat\u2019s when I started really concentrating, trying to make it to the next level.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERockwell stuck to a strict workout regimen, and he continued burning his vacation days with Clorox to work various tournaments and matches across the country. The commitment paid off: In 2005, Rockwell qualified to be a MLS referee and he\u2019s been officiating at that level ever since.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs his soccer refereeing dreams took flight, Rockwell\u2019s career at Clorox bloomed. He received a series of promotions that elevated him from engineering to management.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEven as his day job responsibilities have increased, Rockwell maintains a busy schedule with MLS. He typically works MLS matches on three weekends out of every month during the season, with some Wednesday night matches mixed in. The engineer said the logistics can be tough, but he\u2019s found a way to make it work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019m always honest about my schedule,\u201d Rockwell says. \u201cI can\u2019t call in sick and show up on ESPN that night.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe physical demands of officiating have also increased as he\u2019s moved up. According to Rockwell, all USA Soccer FIFA officials have to wear Polar brand sport watches that record their heart rate data and workout regimens. This data has to be downloaded and sent to FIFA on a regular basis to ensure officials remain in top shape. If officials fail to meet certain minimum standards, they are ineligible to officiate the matches.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERockwell doesn\u2019t just meet the standards set by FIFA\u2014he excels. In 2011, he was named the top assistant referee in Major League Soccer. His resume is strong enough that Rockwell could pursue eligibility to referee at a future World Cup, but the engineer says he\u2019s unlikely to take that step.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJust to be considered to officiate at a World Cup, referees must first endure intensive training and testing, as well as work various tournaments around the globe. Rockwell said he knows of one World Cup ref who had to go to Nigeria for five weeks to work at under-20 tournaments, and afterward had to complete a fitness test in Trinidad.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI don\u2019t think my job would let me take off five weeks several times a year,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd in fairness, it isn\u2019t something I\u2019ve asked for, either.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the World Cup is not on his radar, Rockwell still hopes to take part in the next World Cup qualifying process, which wouldn\u2019t require the same training or time commitment as a full tournament.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERegardless, Rockwell believes he\u2019s in the perfect work environment to continue living his dream as a soccer official. Germany-based Henkel acquired Rockwell\u2019s division from Clorox in 2003, and Rockwell currently works as the Regional Head of Corporate Audit for North and Latin America. Over the summer, everyone in Henkel\u2019s U.S. offices was carefully watching each Germany match leading up to the team\u2019s World Cup victory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cLuckily, a lot of the people I report to are soccer fans,\u201d Rockwell says. \u201cThey encouraged us to watch the games when Germany was playing, even though many of us were rooting for Team USA.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis article first appeared in the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine\u0026nbsp;Volume 90, No. 3 2014.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECorey Rockwell\u003C\/strong\u003E, IE 1998, who has spent\u0026nbsp;10 years working for Major League Soccer in the United States,\u0026nbsp;attended this summer\u2019s World Cup as a spectator. While Rockwell describes his World Cup experience as the trip of a lifetime, he also couldn\u2019t have anticipated some of the situations he found himself in.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Corey Rockwell, IE 1998, who has spent 10 years working for Major League Soccer in the United States, attended this summer\u2019s World Cup as a spectator. He describes his World Cup experience as the trip of a lifetime."}],"uid":"27868","created_gmt":"2014-09-08 08:47:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:04","author":"Lizzie Millman","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"}],"keywords":[{"id":"102101","name":"corey rockwell"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"102131","name":"major league soccer"},{"id":"167723","name":"soccer"},{"id":"9851","name":"world cup"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}