Katie Olson of Forest Hills Eastern - Snickerdoodle Queen
As she grew up Katie Olson, a senior at Forest Hills Eastern, never devoted a lot of time or energy to bowling. By her own admission, prior to her sophomore year she “was not a big bowler”. All that changed when Olson tried out for the volleyball team and failed to make the cut. She wanted to be involved in a winter sport to stay active and then she heard the girls bowling team needed players.
Katie became coach Andy Evans best recruiter shortly after joining the team because in order to field a team the Hawks needed five girls and Katie was only the second one to show up. Olson solved that problem in short order when she persuaded her best friends Jill and Kelly, who are twins, and another friend Kelsey to bowl with her. She later brought two more friends, Lexi and Lisa, to be part of the team.
“Katie is the type of kid who will do anything for you,” Hawk coach Andy Evans said. “I really trust her; she is kind of like an assistant coach.”
Evans is confident that he can always count on Katie. He told us that she “goes the extra mile” as far as the team is concerned. Those extra miles are sometimes literal in that Katie often drives team members to and from practice. She is always upbeat and friendly with her opponents as well as her teammates. She is the lead off bowler for the team and while she is not breaking any State records, Katie is very consistent and the coach can always count on her rolling up 125-130 points for the Hawks. Olson did manage to set the girls high game record for Eastern when she bowled a 200 in regional competition last year. She also demonstrates good sportsmanship.
“You wouldn’t know if we are winning or losing – she is always upbeat,” Evans commented.
Her coach mentioned how Katie makes good choices with her life. She chooses to be responsible and “to do the right thing”. Evans also complimented Olson on her great personality and summed it all up by referring to her as “a class act”.
One of the things Katie enjoys most about bowling is the fact that it is not dependant on the weather. While she did say that after bowling 5-6 days a week from October to February, she will be glad to not bowl for awhile when the season ends. She also commented that she can easily see herself bowling for fun in the future.
“I like that if you do well bowling, you get rewarded,” Katie said. “It is immediate and obvious – if you get a strike you get more points carried over to the next frame.”
When we got talking about softball, Katie became very enthusiastic. She started playing softball as a freshman and was moved up to the varsity team near the end of her first season. She has been a varsity player ever since and has moved around the field “to every position except pitcher.” She likes playing behind the plate the most, but is also happy at short or on second base. She really likes the game a lot and told us she will be playing it “forever”.
Life is not all about athletics for Olson. She started playing the violin in the fifth grade and has been playing as member of school orchestras ever since. Katie likes the sound of stringed instruments and appreciates how high up the scale a violin can go. Lately she has been thinking about playing the piano. One reason the keyboard appeals to her is that when you strike a key on a piano that is in tune the note will always sound the same whereas there are many more variables that come into the picture when hitting a note on the violin.
Katie lives with her dad, Greg Olson, and is planning on attending GVSU next year. She is going to be studying Tourism and Hospitality Management, but her plan after earning a Bachelor’s degree is to get accepted into the Culinary Institute of America’s school in Napa Valley, California. Katie loves to create in the kitchen – her pastries and cookies, especially her snicker doodles, are very popular with her friends. She works at Carinos, an Italian restaurant, but since she is not yet 18 and therefore is not old enough to cook Katie has to be content with being a hostess.
In spite of her busy schedule Olson maintains a respectable 3.5 GPA. It should come as no surprise that her favorite class is Advanced Foods, but she is also fired up about her Human Anatomy class and explained how they are dissecting a cat to learn about muscle structure.
We wish Katie all the best as she finishes her bowling season and gears up for her last softball season. We have no doubt her goal of learning culinary secrets in California will be realized. In the meantime, if you ever find yourself with too many snicker doodles Katie, we might be able to help out.
Katie became coach Andy Evans best recruiter shortly after joining the team because in order to field a team the Hawks needed five girls and Katie was only the second one to show up. Olson solved that problem in short order when she persuaded her best friends Jill and Kelly, who are twins, and another friend Kelsey to bowl with her. She later brought two more friends, Lexi and Lisa, to be part of the team.
“Katie is the type of kid who will do anything for you,” Hawk coach Andy Evans said. “I really trust her; she is kind of like an assistant coach.”
Evans is confident that he can always count on Katie. He told us that she “goes the extra mile” as far as the team is concerned. Those extra miles are sometimes literal in that Katie often drives team members to and from practice. She is always upbeat and friendly with her opponents as well as her teammates. She is the lead off bowler for the team and while she is not breaking any State records, Katie is very consistent and the coach can always count on her rolling up 125-130 points for the Hawks. Olson did manage to set the girls high game record for Eastern when she bowled a 200 in regional competition last year. She also demonstrates good sportsmanship.
“You wouldn’t know if we are winning or losing – she is always upbeat,” Evans commented.
Her coach mentioned how Katie makes good choices with her life. She chooses to be responsible and “to do the right thing”. Evans also complimented Olson on her great personality and summed it all up by referring to her as “a class act”.
One of the things Katie enjoys most about bowling is the fact that it is not dependant on the weather. While she did say that after bowling 5-6 days a week from October to February, she will be glad to not bowl for awhile when the season ends. She also commented that she can easily see herself bowling for fun in the future.
“I like that if you do well bowling, you get rewarded,” Katie said. “It is immediate and obvious – if you get a strike you get more points carried over to the next frame.”
When we got talking about softball, Katie became very enthusiastic. She started playing softball as a freshman and was moved up to the varsity team near the end of her first season. She has been a varsity player ever since and has moved around the field “to every position except pitcher.” She likes playing behind the plate the most, but is also happy at short or on second base. She really likes the game a lot and told us she will be playing it “forever”.
Life is not all about athletics for Olson. She started playing the violin in the fifth grade and has been playing as member of school orchestras ever since. Katie likes the sound of stringed instruments and appreciates how high up the scale a violin can go. Lately she has been thinking about playing the piano. One reason the keyboard appeals to her is that when you strike a key on a piano that is in tune the note will always sound the same whereas there are many more variables that come into the picture when hitting a note on the violin.
Katie lives with her dad, Greg Olson, and is planning on attending GVSU next year. She is going to be studying Tourism and Hospitality Management, but her plan after earning a Bachelor’s degree is to get accepted into the Culinary Institute of America’s school in Napa Valley, California. Katie loves to create in the kitchen – her pastries and cookies, especially her snicker doodles, are very popular with her friends. She works at Carinos, an Italian restaurant, but since she is not yet 18 and therefore is not old enough to cook Katie has to be content with being a hostess.
In spite of her busy schedule Olson maintains a respectable 3.5 GPA. It should come as no surprise that her favorite class is Advanced Foods, but she is also fired up about her Human Anatomy class and explained how they are dissecting a cat to learn about muscle structure.
We wish Katie all the best as she finishes her bowling season and gears up for her last softball season. We have no doubt her goal of learning culinary secrets in California will be realized. In the meantime, if you ever find yourself with too many snicker doodles Katie, we might be able to help out.
Comments