Youngest Olson continues family softball legacy

When IU junior softball pitcher Lora Olson was growing up, softball was a family affair.

“I started playing when I was five,” Olson said. “It really was a family thing.”

Both of Lora’s older sisters, Anna and Sara, were on softball teams and were constantly traveling for tournaments.

Olson said even if she wasn’t playing in a game, she was consistently around the sport because of them.

“I was always at a softball field with my family,” she said. “I couldn’t even tell you how many games I’ve seen in my life. Every weekend I was traveling throughout the country watching my sisters play, even if I didn’t have a game.”

Anna, the oldest of the three sisters, was a highly decorated player at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Ill., before attending IU.

At the time, she graduated from high school with the program record for most RBIs in a single season and was named Player of the Year by the Chicago Star.

During her junior year at IU, Anna was selected for the Big Ten All-Conference Academic Team.

Lora’s other sister, Sara, graduated with a highly decorated career at IU. She finished fifth on IU’s all-time home run list and sixth on the career list for RBIs.

Sara was named to the Big Ten All-Conference team as a senior at first base, despite playing her first three seasons as pitcher.

Lora said her sisters coached her throughout the early part of her softball career.

“I never got to play with them because of our age difference,” Lora said. “Because of that, they both coached me. Since Sarah is a pitcher, it was cool to relate to someone in the house and get feedback right away. It was valuable to me and it really helped me grow as a player.”

Pitching and hitting techniques weren’t the only thing that Lora learned from her sisters.

She said their work ethic and constant desire to succeed helped make her the player she is.

“The thing about softball is that you get what you put into it,” Lora said. “I got to learn that by seeing both of them work hard every single day. Seeing them fight through trials and tribulations really helped shape the player and person that I am today.”

IU Coach Michelle Gardner, said Lora has a lot of similarities to Sara, including her competitive edge.

“They are both team-first players,” Gardner said. “Also, they both are extremely competitive.”

Although sibling rivalries sometimes form between athletes in the same family, Lora said they never experienced anything like that.

She said the only time they ever competed directly against each other was in hitting contests at a park close to their home.

“We would have competitions at parks and see who could hit the furthest,” she said. “That was about it. Unfortunately, I was usually the one who lost because I was the youngest.”

Nearly three years ago, Lora had no idea that she would attend college in Bloomington, like both of her sisters.

Lora originally committed to play for the University of Wisconsin.

“I committed to Wisconsin my junior year of high school,” she said. “Wisconsin is a great school. At that point in my life, I thought that was really what I wanted.”

All of that changed when Wisconsin parted ways with then-coach Chandelle Schulte, who heavily recruited Lora in high school.

Schulte was replaced by Brent Vigness, who also recruited Lora during her high school career, but he left Wisconsin nearly a week after being named coach.

The coaching changes led to Lora’s choice to re-open her recruitment.

“After the coaches left, I had to rethink my decision,” she said. “It was stressful. At that point, most players are committed and most teams have enough pitchers.”

She had scholarship offers from many schools including Georgia, Georgia Tech and Florida State.

Lora said though she seriously considered attending Georgia Tech, Gardner recruited her — which led to her signing with the Hoosiers shortly before her senior year of high school.

“Throughout the time it took Wisconsin to find another coach, I began to consider other programs,” Lora said. “Coach Gardner continued to recruit me heavily. At that point, I realized that everything happens for a reason.”

Gardner said when Lora decided she would no longer attend Wisconsin, she knew Lora was the perfect fit for the program.

“When Wisconsin made the coaching change, Lora began to look at other options,” Gardner said. “It worked perfectly for the program and for her to come here.”

Lora said though her sisters played for the program, they never tried to influence her decision.

“They never tried to persuade me,” she said. “I was just working hard and trying to be seen by as many programs as I could, and they understood that. They really just wanted me to be happy.”

Despite Lora almost ending up at another Big Ten school, she said IU is the right place for her.

“I figured out that IU was where I really wanted to be,” she said. “I know I made the right decision.”