A love for the game of softball has made Olivia Grant want to be a coach. Her love of the game has also made her a pretty good umpire too.
Grant graduated from Orangefield in 2021 and was good enough to play for Navarro Junior College. She was looking for some summertime work and decided to talk to Dan Harris, a longtime TASO (Texas Assoc. of Sport Officials) umpire.
Harris trained Grant and cut her loose, umpiring little league to high school games. After two years she was good enough to call behind the plate in high school and has quickly become a “requested” umpire.
“She has exceeded all of our expectations,” Harris said. “She’s personable. She works well with the players and the coaches.”
But she was just looking for some extra work. “I was just looking at umpiring as a job,” Grant said. “But after the first year I realized how much I loved doing it.”
Grant and Harris were requested by Kountze in their fourth round series with Grandview which is a little unusual Harris said for someone with just two years behind the dish. “Not only did they request her, they wanted her behind the plate.” For those that don’t know it’s common in the playoffs to have a split-crew of umpires. That usually means each team requests two umpires from their local chapter.
The ultimate for Grant, at least so far, was Grandview stepping outside their zone after the Kountze series and asking her and Harris to umpire the Region Finals between GV and Franklin. “It’s unusual,” Harris said. “But definitely an honor for both of us. I’ve enjoyed sharing the field with Olivia and watching her grow.”
Grant reciprocated. “I would not be where I am with umpiring if not for Dan Harris and the other veteran umpires.”
The two got off to an interesting start in the series as they both experienced a first. “A tornado warning was sounded and the players, fans and umpires all had to run into the gym. It came through and did some damage and took the power out so game one was cancelled,” said Harris.
Grandview would go on to win Game One on Thursday in West, Texas and Grant will be behind the plate on Saturday in Game Two.
Harris said, “There could be many more Olivia Grants out there and we’re looking for them. You can make some good money on the side. The average age for an umpire in our association is 57. We have some good ones who are ready to train the next generation.” If you’re interested call Harris at 409-670-5981.
-Gary Stelly, KOGT-
Above: Harris (left), Grant joined by two umpires from another chapter.
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