General | 11/13/2024 10:05:00 AM

Crookston, Minn. -- In 44 years, a number of things have changed worldwide. Computers have taken over businesses all across the globe, smartphones have become essential companions, Minnesota sports teams have two championships (okay, maybe not that much has changed in that sense) and the University of Minnesota Crookston has evolved from a two-year college into a four-year institution. Yet, one thing that has remained consistent for the 44th autumn, is Linda Olson manning the scorer's book for Golden Eagle (Trojans) volleyball.
 
Olson, who works in the registrar's office on campus, will retire in the spring and will work her final volleyball match on Saturday, as the Golden Eagles welcome Minnesota State to wrap up the 2024 season.
 
Most journeys are those of the windy, curvy, and sometimes not sure what is at the end of the road. For Olson, that is true. Her journey started on a farm in Detroit Lakes, Minn., nearly 65 years ago.
 
Olson was a senior and, quite frankly, had no clear plans for her future. That was until a guest speaker came and spoke to her class. That guest speaker was none other than Stanley Sahlstrom, the Chancellor of the University of Minnesota Crookston.
 
Fast forward to graduation, Olson still wasn't sure what she wanted to do, but she knew she had to figure out something. Following her graduation ceremony, she headed back to her farmstead, and low and behold, Sahlstrom was sitting in her driveway, talking to her dad. Sahlstrom gave Linda a brochure and an application and in the words of Olson, said "Here, fill this out." Within an hour, Olson was admitted, beginning her journey as a Trojan for the next two years. 
 
The next two years turned into the next ten, which turned into the next 20, and finally, turned out to be the next 44 years. Olson never turned back on her decision and has never left the place she now calls home.
 
Olson finished her two years at Minnesota Crookston and was looking to get into secretarial work. She worked as a work-study student in both her years and was a complex director under Gary Wilhite, who is now retired. She graduated and found a brief job elsewhere in Crookston, but decided to return to Minnesota Crookston.
 
Over the years, Olson has taken on many roles and has worn many hats during her time at one of the five University of Minnesota campus schools. She even spent time working in athletics. Olson was lucky enough to go to Lake Placid, New York (home of the Miracle on Ice) with Golden Eagle hockey when they qualified for the National Tournament in the early 2000s.
 
Olson grew up playing sports, but due to various health reasons, she knew that she probably couldn't play any sports in college, but as a ballyhooed fan, she wanted to stay a part of collegiate athletics; someway, somehow.
 
Turn the clock to 1980. Marv Bachmeier, one of four Athletics Directors that Olson has worked with throughout the years, approached Olson if she would do book at an upcoming volleyball game.
 
"Back in those days, if you knew how to play the sport, you knew how to score the sport," said Olson. "All my coaches were big on that. I needed to know how to do the official book." 
 
Olson triumphantly agreed, because otherwise, she would be in the stands. Olson has seen a lot in her time, including the way volleyball is scored.
 
Ever since she started, Olson has taken the job in stride and has done it with passion that is seen, match in and match out.
 
"Scorekeeping entails subs, timeouts, and scores are the main thing. Making sure the scoreboard is correct, checking lineups, and checking with the libero tracker to make sure we are all on the same page," she mentions. "I get a little nervous when questions get raised about if the score is right or if the subs are right," Olson continued.
 
On Friday and Saturday nights in Crookston, there might not be a person more eager and excited to be inside the gymnasium than Olson.
 
"I like to get to the match sooner than I have to be. I make sure that my barriers are there, the sheets are to the right people, and get the balls, flags, and towels out."
 
Back when Olson started, volleyball matches were best two out of three, and in order to score, the team needed to be serving and the sets only went up to 15. That rule changed in 2001 when it was changed to rally scoring. The sets would go up to 30 for 10 years, until it was changed to 25, back in 2011.
 
Safe to say, the game has changed since Olson started. Olson knows the game has changed, but that hasn't stopped Olson.
 
"Oh, my goodness. I used to tell people to give me a pen and a paper towel, that's all I needed."
 
Linda thinks that she might be one of the only scorekeepers in the conference that gets certified every year, something she takes great pride in.
 
"Before you just had to worry about the points, timeouts, and subs and now you have to worry about libero tracking and all that stuff. It has just become more of a challenge, but it's a challenge I love."
 
One of the other changes that is most exciting to Olson is the talent of not only her favorite team but also the opponents that have made their way into Lysaker Gymnasium throughout the years.
 
The love for the maroon and gold varies for different people. It might be the relationships, the major you graduated with, the town or the sport you played or were a part of. For Olson, the answer might not be one certain thing, but everything that makes Minnesota Crookston special.
 
As a student, she met her husband, Lonnie, and together they raised their daughter, Larissa, in Crookston. Larissa would go on to graduate from the same college as her parents. Lonnie once coached wrestling at Minnesota Crookston, and both he and Linda remained avid supporters of the Golden Eagles. 
 
As one could imagine, doing the book runs in the family.
 
"She (Larissa) followed Mom's footsteps, if you know how to play the sport you know how to score the book. In her first practice as a coach, there were no balls. The girls learned how to do the book and libero tracking."
 
Seems pretty fitting.
 
Olson's love for Minnesota Crookston could also correlate to something her dad would always say when they dropped her off for the college experience in rural Minnesota.
 
"They locked the golden gate when we dropped you off and they haven't opened the gate for you since." 
 
That is something near and dear to her heart; her dad was a big influence in her life.
 
Olson's been doing book for four generations for some families and says that the relationships are one of the best parts of her 'side' job, as she likes to say.
 
"You get to know the student-athletes and their parents. After this many years, you get to know generations."
 
Linda has never missed a game in her 44 years and there have been various reasons as to why she might have missed a match, here and there and those reasons are valid, but to Olson, she has too much love and joy when she puts that pen to paper.
 
"No, I have never missed a game. Ever."
 
Surely she has to go through a number of pens throughout the school year, if she never misses a match, right? Wrong. Linda also takes pride in using the same pens throughout the year and getting new ones each year.
 
"I start the season with three pens, red, black, and blue. I use the different pen colors to alternate the colors in the book so I know right where the rotation is. It's easier to keep track that way."
 
By simple math, one can estimate that Olson has used 132 red, white, and black pens for her (roughly) 792 Trojan and Golden Eagle matches she has done throughout her career.
 
As she hangs up her pens, her patented NSIC vest, and various pieces of paper, Olson assures that she won't be going very far and plans to make her way to Lysaker Gymnasium, the UMC Soccer, Baseball and Softball Fields, the Crookston Sports Center and Charles H. Casey Arena to support her favorite University and its student-athletes.
 
"I do not foresee us going far, we aren't big travelers. The furthest I see us going is out west (Minot) to where my daughter and her family live. I will come to as many of the college games as I can. This is going to be a big adjustment, I am not used to staying home."
 
When the Golden Eagles take on Minnesota State on Saturday at home in their season finale, it will also be the final (scheduled) time that Olson will get to the gym early, set down her pens, get her paper ready, set out the three-game balls for the officials, and get ready to score her 794th and final match. Yet, it hasn't quite set in that it's the final time.
 
"Probably, it has not all hit. It's one of those things you don't realize until it happens."
 
If one had to guess, there's a good chance that she won't be the only emotional person in Lysaker Gymnasium, come 2:30 on Saturday.
 
Linda might not have known what her plan was when she graduated high school, but it led to what she calls a 'beautiful' journey, and as she soars to new plans and a new journey in her life, one thing is certain in the Olson family; they love Minnesota Crookston and always will.