For Karli Olson, confidence wasn't something that just showed up one day. It was built over years of competition, challenge, and learning to hold her own.

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Long before she ever put on a Dordt uniform, Olson's foundation was set in a neighborhood where keeping up wasn't optional. Growing up surrounded by older boys, including her brother and his friends, she learned quickly that if she wanted to be part of the game, she had to compete.

"It was always the older two versus the younger two," Olson recalled. "And I was on the younger team. We just battled."

Those backyard battles, whether it was tackle football, kickball, or made up basement games during the winter, did more than pass the time. They shaped how Olson saw herself. She wasn't just participating. She was proving she
belonged. That environment demanded toughness, resilience, and a willingness to fail and try again, all of which quietly built the confidence that would carry her forward.

By the time she reached high school, sports weren't just something Olson did. They were part of who she was. Yet even then, her path wasn't perfectly clear. She loved every sport she played, often saying her favorite was simply whatever was in season. The idea of playing at the next level lingered in the background, but it wasn't a certainty.

In fact, after graduation, Olson initially stepped away from athletics altogether, enrolling at the University of Northern Iowa with plans to be done competing. That decision didn't last long.

"Within a couple of days, I was like, man, I miss being part of a team," she said.

That realization, how deeply she valued the structure, relationships, and identity that came with athletics, prompted a transfer to Dordt. It was, in her words, the best decision she has made.

At Dordt, Olson found more than just a place to play softball. She found an environment that reinforced what sports had been teaching her all along. Confidence is not about never doubting yourself. It is about continuing to show up anyway.

That confidence also began to shift outward. Encouraged by her high school coach, who saw something different in her approach to the game, Olson started to envision herself not just as a player, but as a leader.

"I think you'd make a great coach," her coach had told her, a message that stuck.

It mattered who that message came from. Having a female coach during those formative years gave Olson a tangible example of what was possible. It was not just about strategy or skill development. It was about seeing someone who had walked a similar path and succeeded.

"That perspective is unique," Olson said. "And it was exactly what I needed at the time."

Today, Olson is paying that forward. Just two years removed from her playing career, she is coaching softball in Spirit Lake while also teaching first grade. And while her role has changed, her mission remains deeply connected to the confidence athletics gave her.

She is intentional about building relationships with her players, making sure they feel valued beyond their performance on the field.

"To let them know they matter to me as more than just what they can give as a softball player," Olson said. "But as who they are as people."