By John Ingoldsby

Engagement Insider

PITTSBURGH, PA August 15, 2013 – When you grow up in Pennsylvania, football is in your blood and often sticks with you for life.

In the “Cradle of Quarterbacks,” the gridiron is not gender-specific or age-appropriate, and many find their way onto field from their earliest days and then figure out ways to stay there throughout their lifetime.

For Pittsburgh-area mother Jen Berke, that meant becoming an official, and she is rising fast through the ranks with affiliations already established with the Pittsburgh Steelers and area associations governing colleges, high schools, and youth levels.

No surprise since she grew up in the KeystoneState watching her brother play midget football.

“I went to his games and just kept thinking, ‘I could do that,’ said the Hershey-area native.

Indeed she did, ultimately playing in a women’s professional league with the Pittsburgh Passion as a defensive back and wide receiver until she blew out her knee.

That meant moving into a new field while still staying between the white lines.

“I have already officiated over 35 games at the youth level, as well as working some scrimmages between big-time high schools, and hope to eventually officiate a full varsity schedule of games in Quad A (Pennsylvania’s highest level),” said Berke.

That’s serious pressure, as so accurately depicted in the high school football movie, “All the Right Moves” starring a young Tom Cruise and filmed in Johnstown, Pa.

But pressure Berke easily understands after attending the Women’s Officiating Institute, which she earned by attending an officiating academy by driving to East Liverpool, Ohio one evening per week for the 10-week program.

She also had attended another football clinic in New York City, which included a handful of female officials, that has led to her meeting crews from the NFL as well as local officiating associations.

“One of the organizations here in Pennsylvania had a Big Brother-Big Sister arrangement and I was paired with an Assigner, who got some games for me, and now I am back with them as a mentor,” said Berke, who also worked spring scrimmages for local Division III Colleges.

As a former R&D chemist who is now the mother of a 16-month-old, the weekend work is family-friendly.

“My husband is very supportive, and thinks my officiating is very cool,” Berke noted.

Cool enough that through the officiating academy, she is now running the Injury Video Review system for the Steelers home games on Sundays, perched in the press box with her husband helping from the field.

For a native Pennsylvanian, it’s living the football life to the fullest.